NCJ Number
120300
Date Published
1987
Length
27 pages
Annotation
The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 clarified and partially codified police powers dealing with searching and seizing land and goods. However, allegations that the police have unlawfully interfered with a person's land or goods must establish that the interference was unlawful and that the police did not have a lawful justification for their apparently unlawful actions.
Abstract
Constables must act within their powers when seizing land and goods in order to avoid tort liability. Their common law powers are discussed, and the law of trespass and licenses is defined. The law of wrongful interference with another's goods, trespass to goods, and conversion is outlined, with emphasis on the concepts of ownership and possession and the defendant's acts and state of mind. The article concludes with a list of legal actions against police in relation to land and goods. 31 footnotes.