What Is A Section 8 PACE Warrant?
Section 8 of the Police and Crime Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) provides the authority for a judge or justice of the peace to grant a constable the power to enter and search premises, if, on application, a justice of the peace is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that:
1. The offence involved is an indictable offence
2. There is material on the premises which is likely to be of substantial value to the investigation of the offence; and
3. The material is likely to be relevant evidence; and
4. The material is not subject to privilege
If granted under these provisions, the warrant authorises a constable to enter the premises and seize material authorised by the Magistrates Court.
What happens next?
If the police turn up and seize property under a Section 8 warrant, they will take the property away and forensically examine the items.
This will be extremely stressful for you and your family, waiting to be contacted by the police and wondering if the police are going to return and knock on the door or call you directly.
How Can Monan Gozzett Assist? And What Action Can We Take?
Our team of expert lawyers are proactive and will take action immediately by contacting the police in order to take control of the case.
Taking action early may prevent the police from returning to your property and arresting you. If they need to interview you, we can request that any interview be voluntary, which would prevent you from being arrested and taken into custody and leaving a record on the Police National Computer (PNC).
After taking control of the situation, we can utilise the time to prepare a dossier of evidence to use in any future interview and safeguard your interests. We will also ask the police to contact your dedicated lawyer directly and not yourself if they need any further assistance.
This will alleviate any anxiety that you may have about the police returning to your property or making any further direct contact.
If you require any assistance, please contact our expert team to take action immediately.
If you would like to speak to our expert legal team about this, or any related subject then please contact our team by phone on 0207 936 6329, Email or by completing our Quick Contact Form below.