The Armed Forces (Powers of Stop and Search, Search, Seizure and Retention) Order 2009

Access and copying

16.—(1) A person who seizes anything in the exercise of a power conferred by or under Part 3 of the Act (an “authorised person”) shall, if so requested by a person showing himself—

(a) to be the occupier of the premises on which it was seized, or

(b) to have had custody or control of it immediately before the seizure,

provide that person with a record of what he seized.

(2) The authorised person shall provide the record within a reasonable time from the making of the request for it.

(3) Subject to paragraph (8), if a request for permission to be granted access to anything which—

(a) has been seized by an authorised person, and

(b) is retained for the purpose of investigating a service offence,

is made to the investigator by a person who had custody or control of the thing immediately before it was so seized or by someone acting on behalf of such a person, the investigator shall allow the person who made the request access to it under the supervision of a person authorised for that purpose by the investigator.

(4) Subject to paragraph (8), if a request for a photograph or copy of any such thing is made to the investigator by a person who had custody or control of the thing immediately before it was so seized, or by someone acting on behalf of such a person, the investigator shall—

(a) allow the person who made the request access to it, under the supervision of a person authorised for that purpose by the investigator, for the purpose of photographing it or copying it; or

(b) photograph or copy it, or cause it to be photographed or copied.

(5) A person may also photograph or copy, or have photographed or copied, anything which he has power to seize in exercise of a power conferred by or under Part 3 of the Act, without a request being made under paragraph (4).

(6) Where anything is photographed or copied under paragraph (4)(b), the photograph or copy shall be supplied to the person who made the request.

(7) The photograph or copy shall be so supplied within a reasonable time from the making of the request.

(8) There is no duty under this article to grant access to, or to supply a photograph or copy of, anything if the person in charge of the investigation for the purposes of which the thing was seized has reasonable grounds for believing that to do so would prejudice—

(a) that investigation;

(b) the investigation of an offence other than the offence for the purposes of investigating which the thing was seized; or

(c) any criminal proceedings or any service proceedings which may be brought as a result of any investigation within sub-paragraph (a) or (b).

(9) In paragraph (3) “the investigator” means the person in charge of the investigation.