Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Search and Surveillance Act 2012

General provisions in relation to search, surveillance, and inspection powers - Procedures applying to seized or produced materials - Rights of owners and others in relation to things seized or produced

160A: Disposal of weapons

You could also call this:

"What happens to weapons the police take during a search"

If a weapon is taken by the police when they are searching somewhere under a warrant issued under section 18D, and there is no other law that says what to do with the weapon, and no court has made a decision about what to do with it, then the police might be able to get rid of the weapon. The police can destroy the weapon if they tell the person it was taken from and that person agrees, or if they do not agree within 30 days. The police can also destroy the weapon if they cannot find the person it was taken from, even after trying really hard to locate them. In this law, a weapon means the same thing as it does in section 18A.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS833391.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Police and safetyCrime and justice > Criminal law
Previous

160: Disposal of unlawful items, or

"What happens to things that are against the law, like drugs, that the police take from you"

Next

161: Disposal of forensic copies, or

"What happens to computer copies used for investigations: deleting or keeping them safely"

Part 4General provisions in relation to search, surveillance, and inspection powers
Procedures applying to seized or produced materials: Rights of owners and others in relation to things seized or produced

160ADisposal of weapons

  1. Subsection (2) applies if a weapon is seized as a result of the execution of a warrant issued under section 18D and—

  2. there is no mechanism provided for disposing of the weapon, or it has not been disposed of, under any other legislation; and
    1. no order has been made by a court in relation to the disposal of the weapon.

      1. The Police may destroy the seized weapon if—

      2. notice is given to the person from whom the weapon was seized and that person—
        1. consents to its destruction; or
          1. does not within 30 days consent to its destruction; or
          2. the person to whom the notice would otherwise be given under paragraph (a) cannot be located after reasonable inquiries have been made; or
            1. in a case where a person objects to the destruction of the weapon within 30 working days of receiving a notice under paragraph (a) and any person applies within that period to a court to determine the status of the weapon, the court is satisfied that—
              1. the possession of the weapon by the person from whom it was seized is unlawful under New Zealand law; or
                1. there is no legitimate reason to own or possess the weapon and the destruction of the weapon is just.

                2. In this section, weapon has the same meaning as in section 18A.

                Notes
                • Section 160A: inserted, on , by section 23 of the Criminal Activity Intervention Legislation Act 2023 (2023 No 7).