Queensland Consolidated Acts

POLICE POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES ACT 2000 - SECT 724

724 Evidentiary provision about particular things in the possession of the police service

(1) This section applies in relation to a running statement.

(2) A certificate signed by the commissioner and stating a document attached to the certificate is a copy of a running statement is evidence of what is stated.

(3) Also, the copy of the running statement is evidence of what is stated in the running statement.

(4) If, in a criminal proceeding, the prosecuting authority intends to rely on the certificate, it must, at least 14 business days before the hearing day, give a copy of the certificate to the defendant or the defendant’s lawyer.

(5) If the defendant intends to challenge a matter stated in the certificate, the defendant must, at least 10 business days before the hearing day, give the prosecuting authority notice, in the approved form, of the matter to be challenged.

(6) If the defendant acts under subsection (5) , the certificate stops being evidence of the matter challenged.

(7) In this section—

"hearing day" means the day the hearing of the criminal proceeding starts.

"prosecuting authority" means the entity responsible for prosecuting the criminal proceeding.

"running statement" means a document that identifies itself as a running statement relating to a relevant thing in the possession of the police service that is evidence of the commission of an offence sufficiently identified in the running statement to connect it to the proceedings in which the certificate is evidence and including the following—

(a) where and when the relevant thing was found;

(b) who found the relevant thing;

(c) the name of each person to whom the thing was given after it was found;

(d) before the relevant thing was given to each person who had possession of it, the relevant thing was kept secure from tampering;

(e) how the thing was dealt with by each person who had possession of it including, but not limited to, how, when and by whom it was transported from person to person or place to place.