The defendant appealed by case stated against his conviction for assaulting a police officer in the execution of his duty. Three officers responded to a report of a disturbance and entered his house despite his struggle. The officers purported to use their powers under section 17 of the 1984 Act.
Held: The appeal succeeded. The entry was unlawful. The magistrates had accepted as a test that the officers had acted out of concern for the welfare of somebody in the house. That test was too low: ‘Parliament intended that the right of entry by force without any warrant should be limited to cases where there was an apprehension that something serious was otherwise likely to occur, or perhaps had occurred, within the house, hence the adjective ‘serious’ applied to any question of damage . . it again indicates a serious matter – that what had happened in the premises, or what might happen in the premises, would involve some serious injury to an individual therein.’
Mr Justice Collins and Mr Justice Silber
[2010] 1 Cr App Rep 34, (2010) 174 JP 97, [2010] EWHC 81 (Admin), Times 26-Jan-2010
Bailii
Police Act 1996 89(1), Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 17(1)(e)
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Bourne (Inspector of Taxes) v Norwich Crematorium Ltd 1967
Stamp J said: ‘Sentences are not mere collections of words to be taken out of the sentence, defined separately by reference to the dictionary or decided cases, and then put back again into the sentence with the meaning which one has assigned to them . .
Cited – Baker v Crown Prosecution Service Admn 27-Jan-2009
Complaint was made as to the entry by police officers into premises seeking a knife.
Held: May LJ said: ‘The expression ‘saving life or limb’ is a colourful, slightly outmoded expression. It is here used in close proximity with the expression . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Police, Crime
Updated: 10 November 2021; Ref: scu.393392