Thomas v Director of Public Prosecutions: QBD 23 Oct 2009

The defendant appealed against his conviction for obstructing a police officer in the execution of his duty. The officers attended the house to search a bedroom of another tenant. The rooms were occupied separately by tenants each with their own locked rooms. The officers sought to search the defendant’s bedroom, and he obstructed them. He said that he had a right to exclude them.
Held: The appeal failed. There is no single decisive test for when properties were occupied as one or as several dwellings, but the defendant here did occupy a separate room and could lawfully exclude the officers from it. However the defendant had also obstructed the police by himself struggling to enter the room being searched.

Judges:

Lord Justice Elias and Mr Justice Openshaw

Links:

Times

Statutes:

Police Act 1996 89(2), Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1964 17

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Crime

Updated: 12 April 2022; Ref: scu.381616