Australian Capital Territory Consolidated Acts Australian Capital Territory Consolidated ActsSchedule 1 Conduct of personal searches
(see s 41 and s 80)
This schedule applies to a search of a person conducted, or authorised to be conducted, by a police officer under section 41 (Search of person taken into custody under preventative detention order) or section 80 (Power to search people under special powers).
(1) In this Act:
"frisk search", of a person, means—
(a) a search of the person conducted by quickly running the hands over the person's outer clothing or by passing an electronic metal detection device over or close to the person's outer clothing; and
(b) an examination of anything worn or carried by the person that is conveniently and voluntarily removed by the person, including an examination conducted by passing an electronic metal detection device over or close to the thing.
"ordinary search", of a person, means a search of the person or of anything in the person's possession, and may include—
(a) requiring the person to remove only the person's overcoat, coat, jacket or a similar article of clothing and any footwear, gloves or headwear; and
(b) an examination of them.
"strip search", of a person, means a search of the person or of anything in the person's possession, and may include—
(a) requiring the person to remove the person's clothes; and
(b) an examination of the person's body (but not of the person's body cavities) and of the person's clothes.
(2) In this section:
"electronic metal detection device" means an electronic device that can detect the presence of metallic objects.
1.3 Frisk searches and ordinary searches
(1) A police officer who is authorised to search a person may conduct a frisk search or an ordinary search of the person for any purpose for which the search may be conducted.
(2) In conducting a frisk search, a police officer may, if the officer has asked the person to remove an overcoat, coat, jacket or similar article of clothing, treat the person's outer clothing as being the person's outer clothing after that article of clothing has been removed.
(1) A police officer who is authorised to search a person may conduct a strip search of the person if the officer suspects, on reasonable grounds, that—
(a) the person is a target person; and
(b) it is necessary to conduct a strip search of the person to find and seize something; and
(c) the thing can only be found and seized by conducting a strip search of the person.
(2) If a police officer conducts a strip search, the officer must record the reasons for conducting the search.
1.5 Preservation of privacy and dignity during search etc
(1) A police officer who conducts a search of a person must—
(a) comply with this section as far as practicable; and
(b) if not practicable to comply with this section in any respect—record the noncompliance and the reasons for it.
(2) The police officer must tell the person—
(a) whether the person will be required to remove clothing during the search; and
(b) if so, why it is necessary to remove the clothing.
(3) If the person asks for the reasons for the search being conducted in a particular way, the police officer must tell the person the reasons.
(4) The police officer must ask for the person's cooperation.
(5) The police officer must conduct the search—
(a) in a way that provides reasonable privacy for the person; and
(b) as quickly as is practicable.
(6) The police officer must conduct the least invasive kind of search practicable.
(7) The police officer must not search the genital area of the person searched or, for a female, the person's breasts unless the officer suspects, on reasonable grounds, that it is necessary to do so for the purposes of the search.
(8) If the person searched is of the opposite sex to the police officer, the officer may conduct the search only if the officer believes, on reasonable grounds, that the seriousness and urgency of the circumstances require the officer to conduct the search.
(9) If the police officer acts under subsection (8), the officer must record the reasons for acting under that subsection.
(10) Subject to subsection (8), a search must be conducted by—
(a) a police officer of the same sex as the person searched; or
(b) another person of the same sex as the person searched, under the direction of a police officer.
(11) A search of the person must not be carried out while the person is being questioned.
(12) If questioning has not been completed before the search is carried out, it must be suspended while the search is carried out.
(13) If clothing is seized because of the search, the police officer must ensure the person searched is left with or given reasonably appropriate clothing.
(14) In this section:
"questioning", of a person, means questioning the person or carrying out an investigation (in which the person participates).
1.6 Rules for conduct of strip searches
(1) A police officer who conducts a strip search of a person must—
(a) comply with this section as far as practicable; and
(b) if not practicable to comply with this section in any respect—record the noncompliance and the reasons for it.
(2) The search must be conducted in a private area or an area that provides reasonable privacy for the person searched.
(3) Subject to subsection (9), the search must not be conducted in the presence or view of a person who is of the opposite sex to the person searched.
(4) Except as provided by this section, the search must not be conducted in the presence or view of a person whose presence is not necessary for the search or the safety of everyone present.
(5) If the police officer suspects, or has grounds to suspect, that the person searched is a child or a person with impaired decision-making ability, the search must be conducted in the presence of a parent or guardian of the person.
(6) However, if the presence of a parent or guardian is not acceptable to the person searched, the search must be conducted in the presence of someone else who—
(a) is not a police officer; and
(b) can support and represent the interests of the person; and
(c) is acceptable to the person.
(7) The search must not involve—
(a) the removal of more clothes than is reasonably necessary to conduct the search; or
(b) the removal of more clothes at any time than is reasonably necessary to conduct the search; or
(c) without limiting paragraph (b), both the upper and lower parts of the person's body being uncovered at any time.
(8) The search must not involve more visual inspection of the person's body than is reasonably necessary to conduct the search and, in particular, any visual inspection of the person's genital area, anal area, buttocks and, for a female, breasts must be kept to a minimum.
(9) The search may be conducted in the presence of a doctor or nurse, including a doctor or nurse of the opposite sex to the person searched, if the person has no objection to the doctor or nurse being present.
(10) The person searched must be allowed to dress in private as soon as the search is finished.
(11) This section is additional to the other requirements of this Act about searches.
1.7 Search of transgender or intersex person
(1) If a transgender or intersex person is searched, the person may require that the search be conducted by either a male or a female.
(2) If the transgender or intersex person requires that the search be conducted by a male, the person is taken, for this schedule, to be male.
(3) If the transgender or intersex person requires that the search be conducted by a female, the person is taken, for this schedule, to be female.