CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION ACT 2006 - SECT 38B

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION ACT 2006 - SECT 38B

38B .         Entry of place or vehicle to prevent or disperse out-of-control gathering

        (1)         Under an authorisation given under section 38A(2) in relation to a gathering and a place or vehicle, as the case requires, a police officer may do one or more of the following —

            (a)         enter the place, or stop and enter the vehicle, for any of the purposes mentioned in paragraphs (b) to (g);

            (b)         locate, or attempt to locate, a person in authority;

            (c)         order any person or group of persons in or in the vicinity of the place or vehicle to leave the place or vehicle immediately;

            (d)         order any person or group of persons in or in the vicinity of the place or vehicle to cease any conduct of a kind described in The Criminal Code section 75A(1)(b)(i) to (xiv) or any other conduct that is unlawful;

            (e)         order any person or group of persons to do anything that is reasonably necessary to enable or assist any other person to comply with an order under paragraph (c) or (d) or subsection (2);

            (f)         take, or order any person or group of persons to take, any reasonable measures that the officer considers necessary —

                  (i)         if an out-of-control gathering is occurring — to prevent the out-of-control gathering from continuing, to restore peace and good order, to protect the safety of any person or to prevent damage to property; or

                  (ii)         if a gathering is occurring that is likely to become an out-of-control gathering — to prevent the gathering from becoming an out-of-control gathering;

            (g)         ascertain or attempt to ascertain whether any offence has been committed under section 38C or another written law.

        (2)         A police officer giving an order under subsection (1)(c) may in addition do either or both of the following —

            (a)         order the person or group of persons to go beyond a reasonable distance from the place or vehicle, set by the officer;

            (b)         order the person or group of persons to obey the order or orders for a reasonable period set by the officer, but the period must not be longer than 24 hours.

        (3)         An order under subsection (1) or (2) is to be given orally and, if given to a group of persons, it is to be given in a manner that is likely to be audible to all persons in that group, or as many of them as practicable.

        (4)         If an order under subsection (1) or (2) is given to a group of persons, it is not necessary to repeat the order to each person in the group.

        (5)         However, the fact that the police officer is not required to repeat the order does not in itself give rise to any presumption that each person in the group has received the order.

        (6)         A police officer may exempt a person or group of persons from the effect of an order given under subsection (1) or (2).

        (7)         An exemption under subsection (6) is to be given orally.

        (8)         A person is not failing to comply with an order under subsection (1) or (2) if the person is taking reasonable steps to comply with the order.

        (9)         This section does not prevent a police officer from charging a person with an offence without having exercised a power in this section.

        (10)         Without limiting section 6(1)(b), the powers conferred by this section on a police officer are in addition to and do not derogate from any powers conferred on the police officer by another provision of this Act.

        [Section 38B inserted: No. 56 of 2012 s. 7.]