POLICE have enough powers to deal with people committing minor offences. Police chief George Le Page said yesterday that they were applied rigorously for offences such as daubing graffiti and dropping litter.
The Home Office issued a consultation document yesterday which would give greater powers of arrest to UK forces.
Currently they can arrest people only for crimes with sentences of at least five years, meaning breach of the peace is often used as a ‘catch all’ offence.
‘If an officer suspects an individual is providing false details that person can, under existing legislation, be arrested,’ said Mr Le Page. ‘However, there has to be a sense of proportionality and a police officer is able to use his greatest power - discretion.’
The daubing of graffiti was covered under criminal damage laws while Mr Le Page said he believed most people would pick up litter when asked to do so by a police officer.
The UK Government was also considering giving police the power to test anyone arrested for drug offences regardless of whether a charge had been brought against them.
Mr Le Page said while the local force did not have this power at present, it did have the right to take samples from people charged with offences such as theft, burglary, robbery, and drug-related crime.
‘This is a recently introduced power within the Police Powers and Criminal Evidence Law and something we would wish to evaluate before seeking further powers,’ he said.
‘Clearly if we were to test every person who was arrested and not subsequently charged it may give an indication as to just how widespread the drug problem is, but we would be unlikely to charge them on this basis alone.’
The Home Office also wants to change the way in which search warrants work.
If the new proposals were accepted, warrants would be granted for any address connected to a suspect and not just a single property.
Currently, if UK police wish to search more than one property, they have to apply to magistrates for a number of warrants.
Mr Le Page said the local force was already suitably provided for under existing laws.
‘The island police feels it has sufficient powers granted to it at this time under a number of statutes but we will watch developments on the mainland with interest,’ he said.
BBC Crime correspondent Neil Bennett told Radio Five Live that it was curious that there was no great pressure from UK forces for the reforms for which the Home Office had issued the document.
The proposals have been attacked by civil rights groups such as Liberty.
Article posted on 13th August, 2004 - 12.00am
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