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Anti-terrorism powers
The Terrorism Act 2000 (TA 2000) and the Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001 (ATSA 2001) have widened police powers in recent years with respect to terrorism. There are three published codes of practice under the legislation and the Codes of Practice accompanying PACE have been amended to deal with some of the legislative effects.
The most useful and possibly the only up-to-date source of information on these is to be found on the Home Office website.
The powers described below are in addition to all the general powers the police have under other legislation, that is PACE and the common law. They have extra powers at ports and airports that are not included below. This section outlines powers in relation to individuals rather than organisations.
These additional powers apply in the investigation of ‘terrorism’. Terrorism is defined by the TA 2000 as:
The use or threat of action where the action:
The term ‘action’ includes action outside the UK. ‘Public’ includes the public of any country other than the UK and ‘Government’ means the government of the UK or part of the UK or anywhere else.
Proscribed Organisations
The Secretary of State has discretion to designate an organisation as a proscribed one, just as he can de-proscribe one. You can find a list of proscribed organisations in Schedule 2 to the TA 2000. The list is updated as necessary. Currently it includes Northern Ireland related organisations and many others of which the following are just examples:
Al Qu'ada
Egyptian Islamic Jihad
Al Gama'at al-Islamiya
International Sikh Youth Foundation
Hisballah External Security Organisation
Kurdistan Workers' Party
Palestinian Islamic Jihad-Shaqaqi
Terrorism Offences
Most actions that are usually described as terrorism such as murder, arson, bombings etc. are offences under the general criminal law. However there are some offences created specifically by the TA 2000. These include:
These refer to persons and vehicles and it is an offence to fail to stop a vehicle.
When a police officer reasonably suspects you are a terrorist you can be stopped and searched to discover whether you have anything in your possession that could constitute evidence that you are a terrorist. Since being a terrorist is not in itself an offence, unless you are a member of a proscribed group, this power means that the police do not have to suspect you of committing an offence or of carrying prohibited articles.
In addition the police can designate specific areas to be places where they have special powers in relation to terrorism. This means that within these localities people and vehicles can be stopped and searched by the police if they consider it expedient to do so to prevent acts of terrorism. There is no need for any reasonable suspicion.
They should be looking for articles which could be used in connection with terrorism but the powers can be used whether or not the police have grounds for suspecting the presence of articles of that kind.
Failure to stop a vehicle or obstructing a police officer in the exercise of these powers is an offence punishable with a fine, a prison sentence of six months or both.
Authorisations to designate areas as subject to these powers last for 28 days but they can be renewed. The Secretary of State has powers to intervene in such authorisations.
Powers of Arrest
Offences under the terrorism legislation are all arrestable offences and there are also specific powers of arrest in the terrorism legislation. You can be arrested without warrant if you are reasonably suspected of being a terrorist. Because of the wide definition of terrorism it may be possible that you could be arrested under the terrorism legislation or other legislation - or even common law - but if you are arrested under the terrorism legislation the other provisions in relation to investigating terrorism come into operation. This arrest power may well be incompatible with Article 5 of the Convention.
Search of Premises
Police powers to enter and search premises without a warrant generally are wide enough to cover most terrorist situations. Nevertheless there are special powers in the terrorism legislation. A senior police officer can authorise a search of your premises if there are reasonable grounds for believing the case is one of great emergency and that in the interests of the state immediate action is necessary.
There are also powers for the police to cordon off certain areas so that they can enter and search premises within the cordon for material that would be of substantial value to the investigation.
The police may also obtain a warrant from a magistrate to search for material likely to be of substantial value to the investigation, provided that there are reasonable grounds for believing it is on particular premises.
Detention
The legislation permits terrorist suspects to be detained for longer than other suspects and for them to have fewer or more constrained rights. The maximum period of detention without charge for someone arrested under terrorism legislation is 14 days but this is subject to judicial authorisation. Access to a solicitor, although the latter can be consulted privately, can be delayed for 48 hours, with additional grounds for delay to those that apply to other suspects. The same applies to the right to have someone notified of arrest.
The most useful and possibly the only up-to-date source of information on these is to be found on the Home Office website.
The powers described below are in addition to all the general powers the police have under other legislation, that is PACE and the common law. They have extra powers at ports and airports that are not included below. This section outlines powers in relation to individuals rather than organisations.
These additional powers apply in the investigation of ‘terrorism’. Terrorism is defined by the TA 2000 as:
The use or threat of action where the action:
- Involves serious violence against a person;
- Involves serious damage to property;
- Endangers a person's life, other than that of the person committing the action;
- Creates a serious risk to the health or safety of the public or a section of the public; or Is designed to seriously interfere with or seriously disrupt an electronic system; and
- The use or threat of this action is designed to influence the government or to intimidate the public or a section of the public; and
- The use or threat is made for the purpose of advancing a political, religious or ideological cause.
The term ‘action’ includes action outside the UK. ‘Public’ includes the public of any country other than the UK and ‘Government’ means the government of the UK or part of the UK or anywhere else.
Proscribed Organisations
The Secretary of State has discretion to designate an organisation as a proscribed one, just as he can de-proscribe one. You can find a list of proscribed organisations in Schedule 2 to the TA 2000. The list is updated as necessary. Currently it includes Northern Ireland related organisations and many others of which the following are just examples:
Al Qu'ada
Egyptian Islamic Jihad
Al Gama'at al-Islamiya
International Sikh Youth Foundation
Hisballah External Security Organisation
Kurdistan Workers' Party
Palestinian Islamic Jihad-Shaqaqi
Terrorism Offences
Most actions that are usually described as terrorism such as murder, arson, bombings etc. are offences under the general criminal law. However there are some offences created specifically by the TA 2000. These include:
- Membership of a proscribed organisation or supporting a proscribed organisation.
- Possession of money with intent to use it for terrorism.
- Failure to stop a vehicle in accordance with police requirements under the terrorism legislation.
- Providing instruction or training for the purposes of committing terrorist offences.
These refer to persons and vehicles and it is an offence to fail to stop a vehicle.
When a police officer reasonably suspects you are a terrorist you can be stopped and searched to discover whether you have anything in your possession that could constitute evidence that you are a terrorist. Since being a terrorist is not in itself an offence, unless you are a member of a proscribed group, this power means that the police do not have to suspect you of committing an offence or of carrying prohibited articles.
In addition the police can designate specific areas to be places where they have special powers in relation to terrorism. This means that within these localities people and vehicles can be stopped and searched by the police if they consider it expedient to do so to prevent acts of terrorism. There is no need for any reasonable suspicion.
They should be looking for articles which could be used in connection with terrorism but the powers can be used whether or not the police have grounds for suspecting the presence of articles of that kind.
Failure to stop a vehicle or obstructing a police officer in the exercise of these powers is an offence punishable with a fine, a prison sentence of six months or both.
Authorisations to designate areas as subject to these powers last for 28 days but they can be renewed. The Secretary of State has powers to intervene in such authorisations.
Powers of Arrest
Offences under the terrorism legislation are all arrestable offences and there are also specific powers of arrest in the terrorism legislation. You can be arrested without warrant if you are reasonably suspected of being a terrorist. Because of the wide definition of terrorism it may be possible that you could be arrested under the terrorism legislation or other legislation - or even common law - but if you are arrested under the terrorism legislation the other provisions in relation to investigating terrorism come into operation. This arrest power may well be incompatible with Article 5 of the Convention.
Search of Premises
Police powers to enter and search premises without a warrant generally are wide enough to cover most terrorist situations. Nevertheless there are special powers in the terrorism legislation. A senior police officer can authorise a search of your premises if there are reasonable grounds for believing the case is one of great emergency and that in the interests of the state immediate action is necessary.
There are also powers for the police to cordon off certain areas so that they can enter and search premises within the cordon for material that would be of substantial value to the investigation.
The police may also obtain a warrant from a magistrate to search for material likely to be of substantial value to the investigation, provided that there are reasonable grounds for believing it is on particular premises.
Detention
The legislation permits terrorist suspects to be detained for longer than other suspects and for them to have fewer or more constrained rights. The maximum period of detention without charge for someone arrested under terrorism legislation is 14 days but this is subject to judicial authorisation. Access to a solicitor, although the latter can be consulted privately, can be delayed for 48 hours, with additional grounds for delay to those that apply to other suspects. The same applies to the right to have someone notified of arrest.
