Armed Forces Act 2006

76 Stop and search by persons other than service policemen U.K.

(1) An officer may order or authorise a person subject to service law (other than a service policeman)—

(a) to search, in a place permitted by section 78—

(i) a person within subsection (2),

(ii) a vehicle in the charge of such a person, or

(iii) anything which is in or on such a vehicle,

for stolen or prohibited articles, controlled drugs [F1 , psychoactive substances] or Her Majesty's stores;

(b) to detain such a person or vehicle for the purposes of such a search; and

(c) to seize any article that he discovers in the course of such a search and that he has reasonable grounds for suspecting to be an article within section 75(4)(a) to (c);

but this is subject to subsections (3) to (7).

(2) A person is within this subsection if he is—

(a) a person subject to service law whose commanding officer is the officer mentioned in subsection (1);

(b) a civilian subject to service discipline whose commanding officer is that officer;

(c) a person whom—

(i) that officer (in the case of an order under subsection (1)), or

(ii) the authorised person (in the case of an authorisation under that subsection),

has reasonable grounds for believing to be a person within paragraph (a) or (b).

(3) An order under subsection (1) may be given only in relation to a particular person or vehicle.

(4) An officer may give an order under subsection (1) only in the circumstances mentioned in section 75(2) (references to the service policeman being read as references to the officer).

(5) A person authorised under subsection (1) may exercise the power of search conferred by virtue of that subsection only in the circumstances mentioned in section 75(2) (references to the service policeman being read as references to the authorised person).

(6) An officer may give an order or authorisation under subsection (1) only if he has reasonable grounds for believing that it is likely that—

(a) an offence under section 42 would be committed, or

(b) a person who has committed such an offence would avoid apprehension,

if the powers conferred by this section could not be exercised before the earliest time by which it would be practicable to obtain the assistance mentioned in subsection (7).

(7) That assistance is—

(a) the assistance of a service policeman; or

(b) in a case where corresponding powers conferred by section 1 of PACE or any other enactment are exercisable by a member of a UK police force, the assistance of a member of such a force who is capable of exercising those corresponding powers.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in s. 76(1)(a) inserted (26.5.2016) by Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 (c. 2), s. 63(2), Sch. 5 para. 7(3); S.I. 2016/553, reg. 2

Commencement Information

I1 S. 76 in force at 28.3.2009 for specified purposes by S.I. 2009/812, art. 3(a)(b) (with transitional provisions in S.I. 2009/1059)

I2 S. 76 in force at 31.10.2009 in so far as not already in force by S.I. 2009/1167, art. 4