Part 4General provisions in relation to search, surveillance, and inspection powers
Carrying out search powers
113Powers of persons called to assist
Every person called on to assist a person exercising a search power is subject to the control of the person with overall responsibility for exercising that power.
Every person called on to assist a person exercising a search power may—
- enter the place, vehicle, or other thing to be searched:
- while under the direction of the person exercising the power, use reasonable force in respect of any property for the purposes of carrying out the entry and search and any lawful seizure:
- search areas within the place, vehicle, or other thing that the person exercising the power has determined may lawfully be searched:
- seize anything that is the subject of the search or anything else that may be lawfully seized:
- take photographs, sound and video recordings, and drawings of the place, vehicle, or other thing, and things found in or on the place, vehicle, or other thing, if the person exercising the power has determined that those things may be lawfully taken:
- bring into or onto the place, vehicle, or other thing searched and use any equipment, make use of any equipment found in or on the place or in the vehicle or other thing, or extract electricity from the place, vehicle, or other thing for the purposes of operating the equipment that the person exercising the power has determined may be lawfully used:
- bring in and use in or on the place, vehicle, or other thing searched a dog (being a dog that is trained to undertake searching for law enforcement purposes and that is under the control of its usual handler):
- use any reasonable measures to access a computer system or other data storage device located (in whole or in part) at the place, vehicle, or other thing if any intangible material that is the subject of the search may be in that computer system or other device:
- if any intangible material accessed under paragraph (h) is the subject of the search or may otherwise be lawfully seized, to copy that material (including by means of previewing, cloning, or other forensic methods either before or after removal for examination):
- copy any document, or part of a document, that the person exercising the power has determined may be lawfully copied.
If a constable is assisting another person exercising the search power, that constable may, without any direction or supervision by the person he or she is assisting, exercise any power ordinarily exercisable by that constable.
The person exercising the search power must—
- accompany any assistant on the first occasion when the assistant enters the place, vehicle, or other thing to be searched; and
- provide such other supervision of any assistant as is reasonable in the circumstances.
Subsection (4) does not apply if the assistant is a constable.