Duties of enforcement officers
Section 289: Duty to provide evidence of authority
718.This section obliges enforcement officers who are exercising the common enforcement powers to show evidence that they have the authority to carry out their enforcement functions, when asked to do so. The duty does not apply to Marine Enforcement Officers of the Armed Services. If the officer thinks that to comply with the request immediately would create problems, such as putting the officer in personal danger or allowing evidence of an offence to be destroyed, the officer may defer complying with the request until it is practicable to do so.
Section 290: Duty to state name and purpose, etc
719.In conjunction with section 289, enforcement officers are also obliged to state their name, the power they are intending to use and reason for its use whenever they are requested to do so, although the officer may defer complying with the request if the immediate situation requires it (for example, if an officer thinks that the request is a delaying tactic to avoid the officer discovering an offence being committed at that moment in time). Someone assisting the enforcement officer need not give their name, but would need to say what power that person was proposing to exercise and the grounds for so doing, if so requested.