- Latest available (Revised)
- Point in Time (01/06/2021)
- Original (As made)
The Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989
You are here:
What Version
Advanced Features
- Show Geographical Extent(e.g. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)
- Show Timeline of Changes
More Resources
Status:
Point in time view as at 01/06/2021.
Changes to legislation:
The Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989, Section 55 is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 28 December 2024. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.
Changes to Legislation
Changes and effects yet to be applied by the editorial team are only applicable when viewing the latest version or prospective version of legislation. They are therefore not accessible when viewing legislation as at a specific point in time. To view the ‘Changes to Legislation’ information for this provision return to the latest version view using the options provided in the ‘What Version’ box above.
Searches of detained personsN.I.
55.—F1(1) The custody officer at a police station shall ascertainF2. . . everything which a person has with him when he is—
(a)brought to the station after being arrested elsewhere or after being committed to custody by an order or sentence of a court; or
(b)arrested at the station or detained there under Article 38(3).
[F2(2) The custody officer may record or cause to be recorded all or any of the things which he ascertains under paragraph (1).
(2A) In the case of an arrested person, any such record may be made as part of his custody record.]
(3) Subject to paragraph (4), a custody officer may seize and retain any such thing or cause any such thing to be seized and retained.
(4) Clothes and personal effects may only be seized if the custody officer—
(a)believes that the person from whom they are seized may use them—
(i)to cause physical injury to himself or any other person;
(ii)to damage property;
(iii)to interfere with evidence; or
(iv)to assist him to escape; or
(b)has reasonable grounds for believing that they may be evidence relating to an offence.
(5) Where anything is seized, the person from whom it is seized shall be told the reason for the seizure unless he is—
(a)violent or likely to become violent; or
(b)incapable of understanding what is said to him.
(6) Subject to paragraph (10), a person may be searched if the custody officer considers it necessary to enable him to carry out his duty under paragraph (1) and to the extent that the custody officer considers necessary for that purpose.
(7) A person who is in custody at a police station or is in police detention otherwise than at a police station may at any time be searched in order to ascertain whether he has with him anything which he could use for any of the purposes specified in paragraph (4)(a).
(8) Subject to paragraph (9), a constable may seize and retain, or cause to be seized and retained, anything found on such a search.
(9) A constable may only seize clothes and personal effects in the circumstances specified in paragraph (4).
(10) An intimate search may not be conducted under this Article.
(11) A search under this Article shall be carried out by a constable.
(12) The constable carrying out a search shall be of the same sex as the person searched.
F1mod. by SI 2003/3107
Modifications etc. (not altering text)
C1Art. 55 applied (with modifications) (1.12.2007) by Police and Criminal Evidence (Application to Revenue and Customs) Order (Northern Ireland) 2007 (S.R. 2007/464), arts. 3-15, Sch. 1, Sch. 2
C2Art. 55 applied (with modifications) (18.5.2009) by Police and Criminal Evidence (Application to the Police Ombudsman) Order (Northern Ireland) 2009 (S.R. 2009/142), art. 3, Sch. 1, Sch. 2
Options/Help
Print Options
PrintThe Whole Order
PrintThe Whole Part
PrintThis Section only
Legislation is available in different versions:
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
Point in Time: This becomes available after navigating to view revised legislation as it stood at a certain point in time via Advanced Features > Show Timeline of Changes or via a point in time advanced search.
See additional information alongside the content
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Opening Options
Different options to open legislation in order to view more content on screen at once
More Resources
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
- the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- confers power and blanket amendment details
- all formats of all associated documents
- correction slips
- links to related legislation and further information resources
Timeline of Changes
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.
More Resources
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
- the original print PDF of the as made version that was used for the print copy
- correction slips
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including:
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- confers power and blanket amendment details
- all formats of all associated documents
- links to related legislation and further information resources
All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. This site additionally contains content derived from EUR-Lex, reused under the terms of the Commission Decision 2011/833/EU on the reuse of documents from the EU institutions. For more information see the EUR-Lex public statement on re-use.