When can the Police search me or my things?
When can the Police search my house?
Who else can search my property?
When can the Police search me or my things?
Whatever your age, the Police can search you, your bag, or your car, for any of these reasons:
- You agree to the search
- They arrest you
- They have a search warrant
- They have reasonable grounds for believing you have drugs or an offensive weapon, for example, if they smell or see drugs on you
When can the Police search my house?
Whatever your age, the Police can search your house if:
- You agree, or
- They have a search warrant, or
- They have reasonable grounds for believing there are drugs, weapons or explosives in your house
Who else can search my property?
Under the Animal Welfare Act 1999, animal welfare inspectors are allowed to enter your land, premises, stationary vehicle, aircraft or ship to inspect animals. They'll need a search warrant to enter a dwelling or marae, but they don't need one to enter the other types of property.
They are also allowed to:
- Take any of your animals they think have been ill-treated or need to be removed
- Stop your vehicle if they think your animal is suffering, or is likely to suffer
- Take evidence from your land, premises, place, vehicle, aircraft or ship if they have a search warrant
- Take any steps they see fit to stop or mitigate the suffering of your animals