Search and Surveillance Act 2012

Police powers - Warrantless powers for evidential material relating to serious offences

15: Entry without warrant to find and avoid loss of evidential material relating to certain offences

You could also call this:

"Police can search a place without permission if they think a serious crime is happening and evidence will be lost."

If you are a police officer, you can enter and search a place without a warrant. This can happen if you have good reasons to think a serious crime has been committed, is being committed, or is about to be committed. You must also believe that evidence related to the crime is in that place and that it will be destroyed or damaged if you wait to get a search warrant, for example, in cases involving offences like a terrorist act. You need to think that the crime is punishable by imprisonment for 14 years or more. If you think the evidence will be lost, you can enter the place to find and keep it safe.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM4355322.


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14: Warrantless entry to prevent offence or respond to risk to life or safety, or

"Police can enter without permission to stop something bad happening or to keep people safe."


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16: Searching people in public place without warrant for evidential material relating to certain offences, or

"Police can search you in public without a warrant if they think you've committed a serious crime."

Part 2Police powers
Warrantless powers for evidential material relating to serious offences

15Entry without warrant to find and avoid loss of evidential material relating to certain offences

  1. A constable may enter and search a place without a warrant if he or she has reasonable grounds—

  2. to suspect that an offence punishable by imprisonment for a term of 14 years or more or an offence against section 6B(1) (terrorist act: planning or other preparations to carry out) of the Terrorism Suppression Act 2002 has been committed, or is being committed, or is about to be committed; and
    1. to believe—
      1. that evidential material relating to the offence is in that place; and
        1. that, if entry is delayed in order to obtain a search warrant, the evidential material will be destroyed, concealed, altered, or damaged.
        Notes
        • Section 15(a): amended, on , by section 39 of the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Act 2021 (2021 No 37).