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Your rights and section 50 Police Reform Act

Netpol | 04.05.2013 11:49 | Policing

If you are stop and searched or to held in a kettle, you DO NOT have to give police your name and address. The police will often ask for your details in these situations, but you DO NOT have to provide them.

However, under section 50 of the Police Reform Act the police DO have powers to take your name and address (but not date of birth) IF they reasonably believe you have engaged in anti-social behaviour. Anti-social behaviour is defined as doing something likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to others.


Section 50 powers are sometimes used by the police as a blanket means of obtaining protester names and addresses. This is potentially unlawful and seriously undermines protest freedoms.

If you are told to give your details under ‘section 50′:

  • Clarify that they are using s50 Police Reform Act. If possible, record them saying this. In some circumstances the police have subsequently denied using s50 powers, claiming that people gave their details voluntarily.
  • Ask them to tell you exactly what they believe you have done that constitutes anti-social behaviour. They must have a reasonable belief that you did something likely to cause ‘harassment, alarm or distress’.
  • If possible film what they do, or record what they say on your mobile phone.
  • It is not enough for the police to say they believe you are ‘going to’ engage in anti-social behaviour. Section 50 powers do not apply to possible future actions – only if a person ‘has been acting, or is acting in an anti-social manner’.

Refusing to give your details under section 50:

  • If you refuse to give your name and address you may be arrested, but this is not always the case. Even though the police may threaten to arrest for not providing details they do not always do so.
  • If you are arrested, you may be taken to the police station and charged with an offence under s50. However, in some cases the police have been known to ‘de-arrest’ if a person gives their details after arrest.
  • If you are prosecuted, the police will have to provide some evidence to the court that they reasonably believed you had been engaged in anti-social behaviour. If they cannot do this, you should not be convicted.
  • If you are convicted you may be fined, but you cannot be imprisoned for breaching section 50.
  • Giving a false or inaccurate name and address is also an offence under section 50.

A number of people arrested under s50 have taken civil actions against the police for damages. If you are unlawfully arrested for not giving your details, you may be able to claim compensation. Contact Green & Black Cross or Netpol if you want to explore doing this. It may help if you have an audio or video record of the incident.

Note: Behaviour ‘likely to cause harassment, alarm and distress’ is a very broad definition, and the courts may allow the police to extend it to all sorts of behaviour, including swearing.

You may be interested in a previous post exploring how the police use section 50 powers.

Netpol
- Homepage: http://netpol.org/2013/05/03/your-rights-and-section-50-police-reform-act/#more-992

Comments

Hide the following 4 comments

redefining behaviours

04.05.2013 15:03

"Anti-social behaviour is defined as doing something likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to others."
which in a nutshell can be and has been manipulated on demand to suit practically any 'disliked' or 'unwanted' behaviour.


newsmedia


slim chance

04.05.2013 20:46

Of suieng cops. Its rare u get a penny plus if you have one conviction going back years even less chance. Its a lot of work and even if u win u get peanuts.

robert


suing cops

04.05.2013 21:08

worked well for my mate... I don't call 5k peanuts.

anon


@anon

04.05.2013 22:07

Details please as ive sued em three times after being found not guilty three times first time i got £500. next two times nothing reason was they would appeal and i couldnt carry on as legal aid money lasts two days.

robert