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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
South Australia
Summary Offences (Weapons) Amendment
Bill 2010
A BILL FOR
An Act to amend the Summary
Offences Act 1953; and to make related amendments to the Protective
Security Act 2007, the Serious
and Organised Crime (Control) Act 2008 and the Sheriff's
Act 1978.
Contents
Part 1—Preliminary
1Short
title
2Commencement
3Amendment
provisions
Part 2—Amendment of Summary Offences
Act 1953
4Repeal of sections 15
and 15A
5Insertion of
Part 3A
Part 3A—Weapons
etc
21AInterpretation
21BBody armour
21COffensive weapons and
dangerous articles etc
21DUnlawful selling or marketing of
knives
21EKnives in schools and public
places
21FProhibited
weapons
21GWeapons
prohibition order issued by Commissioner
21HEffect of weapons prohibition
order
21IRight of
appeal to District Court
21JPower to search for prohibited
weapons
21KForfeiture
21LGeneral
amnesty
21MRegulations
6Redesignation of
section 21A—Tattooing of minors
7Insertion of sections 72A,
72B and 72C
72APower to conduct metal
detector searches etc
72BSpecial powers to prevent
serious violence
section 72A or
72B
8Amendment
of section 74BAAB—Use of detection aids in searches
9Amendment
of section 85—Regulations
Schedule 1—Related amendments and
transitional provision
Part 1—Amendment of
Protective Security Act 2007
1Amendment of section
3—Interpretation
Part 2—Amendment of
Serious and Organised Crime (Control) Act 2008
2Amendment
of section 14—Court may make control order
Part 3—Amendment of
Sheriff's Act 1978
3Amendment of section
4—Interpretation
Part 4—Transitional
provision
4Declarations by Minister continue
The Parliament of South Australia enacts as
follows:
This Act may be cited as the Summary Offences (Weapons) Amendment
Act 2010.
This Act will come into operation on a day to be fixed by
proclamation.
In this Act, a provision under a heading referring to the amendment of a
specified Act amends the Act so specified.
Part 2—Amendment
of Summary Offences
Act 1953
4—Repeal
of sections 15 and 15A
Sections 15 and 15A—delete the sections
After section 21 insert:
Part 3A—Weapons etc
21A—Interpretation
(1) In this Part—
body armour means a protective jacket, vest or other article
of apparel designed to resist the penetration of a projectile discharged from a
firearm;
criminal intelligence means information relating to actual or
suspected criminal activity (whether in this State or elsewhere) the disclosure
of which could reasonably be expected to prejudice criminal investigations, to
enable the discovery of the existence or identity of a confidential source of
information relevant to law enforcement or to endanger a person's life or
physical safety;
dangerous article means an article or thing declared by
regulation to be a dangerous article for the purposes of this Part;
implement of housebreaking includes a picklock key, crowbar,
jack, bit or other implement of housebreaking;
knife includes a blade (for example a knife blade or razor
blade);
licensed premises means premises licensed under the Liquor
Licensing Act 1997;
night means the interval between 9 pm on one day
and 6 am on the next day;
offence of violence means an offence where the
offender—
(a) uses a weapon, or threatens to use a weapon, against another;
or
(b) inflicts serious harm on another, or threatens to inflict serious harm
on another,
for the purpose of committing the offence, or escaping from the scene of
the offence;
offensive weapon includes a rifle, gun, pistol, knife, sword,
club, bludgeon, truncheon or other offensive or lethal weapon or instrument but
does not include a prohibited weapon;
prohibited weapon means an article or thing declared by
regulation to be a prohibited weapon for the purposes of this Part;
school means a primary or secondary school;
suitable for combat, in relation to a knife, means suitable
for use as a weapon for inflicting injury on a person or causing a person to
fear injury;
violent behaviour means an unlawful act inflicting injury on
a person or causing a person to fear injury.
(2) For the purposes of this Part, a person will be taken to be
carrying a weapon or article if he or she has the weapon or
article on or about his or her person or if it is under his or her immediate
control.
21B—Body armour
(1) A person who,
without the approval in writing of the Commissioner—
(a) manufactures, sells, distributes, supplies or otherwise deals in, body
armour; or
(b) uses or has possession of body armour,
is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty: $10 000 or imprisonment for 2 years.
(2) The Commissioner may, subject to such conditions and limitations as
the Commissioner thinks fit, give an approval to a person or a class of persons
for the purposes of
subsection (1) and
may revoke an approval or revoke or vary the conditions or limitations under
which an approval operates.
(3) The giving or a variation or revocation of an approval that applies to
a class of persons must be notified in the Gazette.
21C—Offensive weapons and dangerous articles
etc
(1) A person who,
without lawful excuse—
(a) carries an offensive weapon or an article of disguise; or
(b) has possession of an implement of housebreaking,
is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty: $2 500 or imprisonment for 6 months.
(2) A person who,
without lawful excuse—
(a) manufactures, sells, distributes, supplies, or otherwise deals in,
dangerous articles; or
(b) uses or has possession of a dangerous article,
is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty: $7 500 or imprisonment for 18 months.
(3) A person who,
without lawful excuse, carries an offensive weapon or dangerous article at night
in or in the vicinity of licensed premises is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty: $10 000 or imprisonment for 2 years.
(4) It is a defence to prosecution for an offence against
subsection (3) to
prove that—
(a) if the charge relates to the defendant's being in licensed
premises—the defendant did not know and had no reason to believe he or she
was in premises where liquor was sold or supplied; or
(b) if the charge relates to the defendant's being in the vicinity of
licensed premises—the defendant did not know he or she was in the vicinity
of premises where liquor was sold or supplied.
(5) If on the trial of a person for an offence against
subsection (3) the
court is not satisfied that the person is guilty of the offence charged, but is
satisfied that the person is guilty of an offence against
subsection (1)
or
(2), the court may find
the person guilty of the offence against
subsection (1)
or
(2).
(6) A person (being a person who is otherwise entitled to do so) must not
use or have possession of a dangerous article unless he or she does so in a safe
and secure manner.
Maximum penalty: $1 250 or imprisonment for 3 months.
21D—Unlawful selling or marketing of
knives
(1) A person who
sells a knife to a minor who is under the age of 16 years is guilty of an
offence.
Maximum penalty: $20 000 or imprisonment for 2 years.
(2) It is a defence
to prosecution for an offence against
subsection (1) to
prove that—
(a) the seller
requested the minor to produce evidence of age of a kind prescribed by
regulation; and
(b) the minor made a false statement or produced false evidence in
response to that request; and
(c) in consequence, the seller reasonably assumed that the minor was of or
above the age of 16 years.
(3) A person who makes a false statement or produces false evidence in
response to a request by a seller made in accordance with
subsection (2)(a)
is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty: $1 250.
(4) A person who markets a knife in a way that—
(a) indicates, or suggests, that the knife is suitable for combat;
or
(b) is otherwise likely to stimulate or encourage violent behaviour
involving the use of the knife as a weapon,
is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty: $20 000 or imprisonment for 2 years.
(5) For the purposes of this section, an indication or suggestion that a
knife is suitable for combat may (without limitation) be given or made by a name
or description—
(a) applied to the knife; or
(b) on the knife or on any packaging in which it is contained;
or
(c) included in any advertisement which, expressly or by implication,
relates to the knife.
(6) For the purposes of this section, a person markets a
knife if the person—
(a) sells or hires the knife; or
(b) offers, or exposes, the knife for sale or hire; or
(c) has possession of the knife for the purpose of sale or hire.
21E—Knives in schools and public
places
(1) A person who,
without lawful excuse, has possession of a knife in a school or public place is
guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty:
(a) for a first offence—$2 500 or imprisonment for
6 months;
(b) for a subsequent offence—$5 000 or imprisonment for
12 months.
(2) A person who,
without lawful excuse—
(a) uses a knife; or
(b) carries a knife that is visible,
in the presence of any person in a school or public place in a manner that
would be likely to cause a person of reasonable firmness present at the scene to
fear for his or her personal safety, is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty: $10 000 or imprisonment for 2 years.
(3) For the purposes of an offence against
subsection (2), no
person of reasonable firmness need actually be, or be likely to be, present at
the scene.
21F—Prohibited weapons
(a) manufactures,
sells, distributes, supplies or otherwise deals in, prohibited weapons;
or
(b) uses or has possession of a prohibited weapon,
is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty: $20 000 or imprisonment for 2 years.
(2) It is a defence
to prosecution for an offence against
subsection (1) to
prove that the defendant was, in accordance with—
(a) a regulation made under
subsection (3);
or
(b) a declaration made by the Commissioner under
subsection (4),
an exempt person in the circumstances of the alleged offence.
(3) The regulations
may prescribe circumstances in which a person will be an exempt person for the
purposes of an offence against this section.
(a) may declare a person to be exempt from
subsection (1) in
the circumstances specified in the declaration; and
(b) may, on the
Commissioner's own initiative, vary or revoke such a declaration (provided that
such variation or revocation is of no effect unless the person has been given
notice of the variation or revocation).
(5) The declaration by the Commissioner under
subsection (4) may
be conditional or unconditional.
(6) An application to the Commissioner for a declaration must
be—
(a) in a form approved by the Commissioner; and
(b) accompanied by the fee prescribed by regulation.
(7) A person
aggrieved by a decision of the Commissioner to vary or revoke a declaration may
appeal against the variation or revocation to the District Court.
(8) If the
Commissioner has not given the person reasons in writing for making the decision
appealed against, the Commissioner must do so on request made within
28 days after the person received notice of the decision.
(9) If a decision was made because of information that is classified by
the Commissioner as criminal intelligence, the only reason required to be given
is that the decision was made on public interest grounds.
(10) An appeal under this section must be made—
(a) within 28 days after the person received notice of the decision
appealed against; or
(b) if a request for reasons in writing is made under
subsection (8)—within
28 days after the person received the reasons in writing.
(11) On an appeal under this section, the Court—
(a) must, on the application of the Commissioner, take steps to maintain
the confidentiality of information classified by the Commissioner as criminal
intelligence, including steps to receive evidence and hear argument about the
information in private in the absence of the parties to the proceedings and
their representatives; and
(b) may take evidence consisting of, or relating to, information that is
so classified by the Commissioner by way of affidavit of a police officer of or
above the rank of Superintendent.
(12) A person (being a person who is otherwise entitled to do so) must not
use or have possession of a prohibited weapon unless he or she does so in a safe
and secure manner.
Maximum penalty: $1 250 or imprisonment for 3 months.
21G—Weapons prohibition order issued by
Commissioner
(1) The Commissioner may issue a weapons prohibition order against a
person if satisfied that—
(a) the person has (whether before or after the commencement of this
section)—
(i) been found guilty of an offence of violence; or
(ii) been declared liable to supervision under Part 8A of the Criminal
Law Consolidation Act 1935 by a court dealing with a charge of an
offence of violence; and
(b) possession of a prohibited weapon by the person would be likely to
result in undue danger to life or property; and
(c) it is in the public interest to prohibit the person from possessing
and using a prohibited weapon.
(2) A weapons prohibition order must be served on the person personally
and is not binding on the person until it has been so served.
(3) If the Commissioner proposes to issue a weapons prohibition order
against a person, a police officer may—
(a) require the person to remain at a particular place while the order is
prepared and issued so that the order may be served on the person; and
(b) if the person refuses or fails to comply with the requirement or the
officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the requirement will not be
complied with, arrest and detain the person in custody (without warrant)
for—
(i) so long as may be necessary for the order to be served on the person;
or
(ii) 2 hours,
whichever is the lesser.
(4) A weapons prohibition order served on a person must be accompanied by
a notice setting out the Commissioner's reasons for issuing the order.
(5) If the decision to issue the order was made because of information
that is classified by the Commissioner as criminal intelligence, the only reason
required to be given is that the decision was made on public interest
grounds.
(6) Subject to
subsection (7), a
weapons prohibition order issued against a person remains in force for a period
of 5 years from the date on which it was served on the person or for such
lesser period as may be specified in the order.
(7) The Commissioner
may, on his or her own initiative or on application, by notice in writing served
personally or by post on a person, revoke a weapons prohibition order issued
against the person.
(8) For the avoidance of doubt, the fact that a weapons prohibition order
issued against a person has ceased to be in force in accordance with
subsection (6), or
has been revoked in accordance with
subsection (7),
does not prevent the Commissioner from issuing a subsequent weapons prohibition
order against the person in accordance with this section.
21H—Effect of weapons prohibition
order
(1) A person to whom a weapons prohibition order applies is disqualified
from obtaining an exemption under
section 21F.
(2) While a weapons prohibition order applies to a person—
(a) any exemption under a regulation made for the purposes of
section 21F does not
apply in relation to the person unless the regulation expressly provides that it
will apply to such a person; and
(b) any exemption held by the person under
section 21F is
suspended.
(3) A person to whom a weapons prohibition order applies must not
manufacture, sell, distribute, supply, deal with, use or possess a prohibited
weapon.
Maximum penalty: $35 000 or imprisonment for 4 years.
(4) A person to whom
a weapons prohibition order applies—
(a) must not be present at—
(i) a place at which a person carries on the business of manufacturing,
repairing, modifying or testing prohibited weapons or buying, selling or hiring
out, prohibited weapons; or
(ii) any other place of a kind prescribed by regulation; and
(b) must not be in
the company of a person who has a prohibited weapon on or about his or her
person or under his or her immediate physical control.
Maximum penalty: $10 000 or imprisonment for 2 years.
(5) It is a defence to prosecution for an offence against
subsection (4)(b)
to prove that the person did not know, and could not reasonably be expected to
have known, that the other person had a prohibited weapon on or about his or her
person or under his or her immediate physical control.
(6) A person to whom
a weapons prohibition order applies must not reside at premises on which there
is a prohibited weapon.
Maximum penalty: $10 000 or imprisonment for 2 years.
(7) It is a defence to prosecution for an offence against
subsection (6) to
prove that the person did not know, and could not reasonably be expected to have
known, that the weapon was on the premises.
(8) A person to whom a weapons prohibition order applies must inform each
other person of or over the age of 18 years who resides or proposes to
reside at the same premises as the person of the fact that a weapons prohibition
order applies to the person and ask each such person whether or not he or she
has or proposes to have a prohibited weapon on the premises.
Maximum penalty: $10 000 or imprisonment for 2 years.
(9) A person must not
supply a prohibited weapon to a person to whom a weapons prohibition order
applies or permit such a person to gain possession of a prohibited
weapon.
Maximum penalty: $35 000 or imprisonment for 4 years.
(10) A person who has
a prohibited weapon on or about his or her person or under his or her immediate
physical control must not be in the company of a person to whom a weapons
prohibition order applies.
Maximum penalty: $10 000 or imprisonment for 2 years.
(11) If a person to
whom a weapons prohibition order applies resides at premises, a person who
brings a prohibited weapon onto the premises or has possession of a prohibited
weapon on the premises is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty: $10 000 or imprisonment for 2 years.
(12) It is a defence to prosecution for an offence against
subsection (9),
(10) or
(11) to prove that the
person did not know, and could not reasonably be expected to have known, that a
weapons prohibition order applies to the person.
(13) For the purposes
of this section, if a person to whom a weapons prohibition order applies is on
or in premises or a vehicle, vessel or aircraft (other than any premises,
vehicle, vessel or aircraft to which the public are admitted) when a prohibited
weapon is found on or in the premises, vehicle, vessel or aircraft, the person
will be taken to possess the weapon, unless it is proved that the person did not
know, and could not reasonably be expected to have known, that the weapon was on
or in the premises, vehicle, vessel or aircraft.
(14) The Commissioner
may exempt a person, unconditionally or subject to conditions, from a specified
provision of this section and may vary or revoke an exemption by notice in
writing served personally or by registered post on the holder of the
exemption.
21I—Right of appeal to District
Court
(1) A person
aggrieved by a decision of the Commissioner to issue a weapons prohibition order
may appeal against the decision to the District Court.
(2) If the
Commissioner has not given the person reasons in writing for making the decision
appealed against, the Commissioner must do so on request made within
28 days after the person received notice of the decision.
(3) If a decision was made because of information that is classified by
the Commissioner as criminal intelligence, the only reason required to be given
is that the decision was made on public interest grounds.
(4) An appeal under this section must be made—
(a) within 28 days after the person received notice of the decision
appealed against; or
(b) if a request for reasons in writing is made under
subsection (2)—within
28 days after the person received the reasons in writing.
(5) On an appeal under this section, the Court—
(a) must, on the application of the Commissioner, take steps to maintain
the confidentiality of information classified by the Commissioner as criminal
intelligence, including steps to receive evidence and hear argument about the
information in private in the absence of the parties to the proceedings and
their representatives; and
(b) may take evidence consisting of, or relating to, information that is
so classified by the Commissioner by way of affidavit of a police officer of or
above the rank of Superintendent.
21J—Power to search for prohibited
weapons
(1) A police officer
may, as reasonably required for the purpose of ensuring compliance with a
weapons prohibition order issued by the Commissioner—
(a) detain a person to whom this subsection applies and search the person
for prohibited weapons; and
(b) stop and detain a vehicle, vessel or aircraft to which this subsection
applies and search the vehicle, vessel or aircraft for prohibited weapons;
and
(c) enter premises to which this subsection applies and search the
premises for prohibited weapons.
(2)
Subsection (1)
applies—
(a) to a person who a police officer suspects on reasonable grounds is a
person to whom a weapons prohibition order issued by the Commissioner applies;
and
(b) to a vehicle, vessel or aircraft that a police officer suspects on
reasonable grounds is in the charge of a person to whom the subsection applies;
and
(c) to premises that a police officer suspects on reasonable grounds are
occupied by, or under the care, control or management of, a
person—
(i) who the police officer suspects on reasonable grounds of contravening
a weapons prohibition order; or
(ii) who has previously contravened a weapons prohibition order.
(3) If a prohibited weapon is delivered or seized under this section, it
must be forwarded immediately to the Commissioner.
21K—Forfeiture
A court that has convicted a person of an offence against this Part may
order that the weapon, implement or article in relation to which the offence was
committed be forfeited to the Crown.
21L—General amnesty
(1) The Commissioner
may, with the approval of the Minister, from time to time declare a general
amnesty from 1 or more of the provisions of this Part.
(2) An amnesty—
(a) must be declared by notice in the Gazette and in a newspaper
circulating generally throughout the State; and
(b) applies in relation to the provision or provisions of this Part
specified in the notice, either generally or subject to limitations specified in
the notice (the relevant provisions); and
(c) applies for the period specified in the notice; and
(d) applies for the benefit of all members of the class or classes of
persons affected by the relevant provisions; and
(e) is subject to the terms and conditions (if any) set out in the
notice.
(3) The Commissioner may, with the approval of the Minister, vary or
revoke the declaration of an amnesty under
subsection (1) by
notice in the Gazette and in a newspaper circulating generally throughout the
State.
21M—Regulations
Regulations made for the purposes of this Part may, without
limitation—
(a) prescribe the circumstances in which a person will, or will not, be
taken to have a lawful excuse in relation to an act or omission referred to in
section 21C
or
21E; and
(b) provide that this Part or specified provisions of this Part do not
apply to a specified class of weapon, implement or article; and
(c) prescribe evidentiary provisions to facilitate proof of an offence
against this Part.
6—Redesignation
of section 21A—Tattooing of minors
Section 21A—redesignate the section as
section 21N
7—Insertion
of sections 72A, 72B and 72C
After section 72—insert:
72A—Power to conduct metal detector searches
etc
(1) A police officer may, for the purpose of detecting the commission of
an offence under Part 3A, carry out a metal detector search in relation
to—
(a) any person who is in, or is apparently attempting to enter or to
leave, an area to which this section applies; and
(b) any property in the possession of such a person.
(2) This section
applies to the following areas:
(a) licensed premises and the vicinity of licensed premises;
(b) a public place
holding an event (being a community, cultural, arts, entertainment,
recreational, sporting or other similar event that is to be held over a limited
period of time) declared by the Commissioner by notice in the Gazette under
subsection (3).
(3) A declaration
referred to in
subsection (2)(b)—
(a) must be made in accordance with guidelines (if any) prescribed by
regulation; and
(b) must specify the event and the public place to which the declaration
relates; and
(c) must specify that the declaration operates during the period for which
the event is held; and
(d) may be subject to conditions specified in the notice.
(4) The Commissioner
must cause notice of the declaration to be published in a newspaper circulating
throughout the State before the commencement of the period during which the
declaration will operate.
(5) Nothing in this section authorises a police officer to carry out a
metal detector search of a person, or property of a person, in his or her place
of residence or in a hotel room, lodging room or any other place in which he or
she is temporarily residing.
(6) If a metal detector search indicates the presence, or likely presence,
of any metal, a police officer may proceed to conduct a search in accordance
with procedures prescribed by regulation.
(7) The Commissioner
must, on or before 30 September in each year (other than the year in which
this section comes into operation), provide a report to the Minister containing
the following information in respect of the period of 12 months that ended
on the preceding 30 June:
(a) the number of declarations made under
subsection (3);
(b) the number of metal detector searches carried out under this
section;
(c) the number of occasions on which a metal detector search indicated the
presence, or likely presence, of any metal;
(d) the number of occasions on which weapons or articles of a kind
referred to in Part 3A were detected in the course of such searches and the
types of weapons or articles so detected;
(e) any other information requested by the Minister.
(8) The Minister must, within 12 sitting days after receipt of a
report under
subsection (7),
cause copies of the report to be laid before each House of Parliament.
(9) In this section—
licensed premises means—
(a) premises in respect of which 1 of the following classes of
licence is in force under the Liquor
Licensing Act 1997:
(i) a hotel licence;
(ii) a restaurant licence that includes an extended trading
authorisation;
(iii) an entertainment venue licence;
(iv) a club licence that includes an extended trading
authorisation;
(v) a special circumstances licence that includes an extended trading
authorisation;
(vi) a licence of a class prescribed by regulation;
(b) the premises defined in the casino licence, within the meaning of the
Casino
Act 1997, as the premises to which the licence relates;
(c) premises subject to a licence prescribed by regulation;
metal detector search means a search
conducted—
(a) using only a metal detector of a kind approved by the Commissioner;
and
(b) in accordance with any directions issued by the
Commissioner.
72B—Special powers to prevent serious
violence
(1) A police officer may, for the purpose of locating weapons and other
articles in an area to which this section applies, carry out a search in
relation to—
(a) any person who is in, or is apparently attempting to enter or to leave
the area; and
(b) any property in the possession of such a person.
(2) This section
applies to an area in relation to which the exercise of powers under this
section is authorised in accordance with
subsection (3).
(3) A police officer
of or above the rank of Superintendent may authorise the exercise of powers
under this section in relation to an area if he or she has reasonable grounds to
believe—
(a) that an incident involving serious violence may take place in the
area; and
(b) such powers are necessary to prevent the incident.
(4) An authorisation must not be granted under
subsection (3) in
relation to persons participating in advocacy, protest, dissent or industrial
action.
(5) An authorisation
granted under
subsection (3)—
(a) must be granted in accordance with guidelines (if any) issued by the
Commissioner; and
(b) must specify the area to which the authorisation relates;
and
(c) must specify the grounds for granting the authorisation; and
(d) must specify a period of not more than 24 hours during which the
authorisation operates (the authorisation period); and
(e) may be subject to conditions specified by the police officer granting
the authorisation.
(6) An authorisation granted under
subsection (3) may
be varied or revoked by a police officer of or above the rank of Superintendent
at any time.
(a) it is proposed to grant an authorisation in relation to an area;
and
(b) a previous authorisation has been granted in relation to that area or
a part of that area,
the authorisation period specified in the proposed authorisation must not
commence within 48 hours of the end of the authorisation period specified
in the previous authorisation, unless the consent of the Commissioner has been
obtained in accordance with
subsection (8).
(8) The Commissioner
may, by instrument in writing, give consent to the granting of an authorisation
of a kind specified in
subsection (7) if
the Commissioner is satisfied that it is in the public interest to do
so.
(9) The Commissioner
must, on or before 30 September in each year (other than the year in which
this section comes into operation), provide a report to the Minister containing
the following information in respect of the period of 12 months that ended
on the preceding 30 June:
(a) the number of authorisations granted under
subsection (3) and
the nature of the incidents in relation to which such authorisations were
granted;
(b) the number of occasions on which persons were searched in the exercise
of powers under this section;
(c) the number of occasions on which weapons or articles of a kind
referred to in Part 3A were detected in the course of such searches and the
types of weapons or articles so detected;
(d) the number of occasions on which the Commissioner gave consent under
subsection (8);
(e) any other information requested by the Minister.
(10) The Minister must, within 12 sitting days after receipt of a
report under
subsection (9),
cause copies of the report to be laid before each House of Parliament.
72C—General provisions relating to exercise of
powers under
section 72A or
72B
(1) Nothing in
section 72A or
72B derogates from the power
of a police officer to do anything pursuant to a general search
warrant.
(2) The Commissioner must establish procedures to be followed by police
officers in the exercise of powers under
section 72A or
72B, being procedures
designed to prevent, as far as reasonably practicable, any undue delay,
inconvenience or embarrassment to persons being subjected to the
powers.
(3) A police officer may, in exercising powers under
section 72A or
72B, be assisted by such
persons as the officer considers necessary or desirable in the
circumstances.
(4) A police officer conducting a search under
section 72A or
72B may—
(a) enter and remain in any premises or place necessary for the purpose of
conducting the search; and
(b) give such directions as are reasonably necessary for, or incidental
to, the effective conduct of the search; and
(c) give such directions as are reasonably necessary to determine the
nature of anything found as a result of the search.
(5) A police officer may only detain a person, by directions given under
section 72A
or
72B, for so long
as is reasonably necessary to carry out a search in relation to the person and
any property in the possession of the person.
(6) A person must not—
(a) hinder or obstruct a police officer, or a person accompanying a police
officer, in the exercise of the powers conferred by
section 72A or
72B; or
(b) refuse or fail to comply with a requirement made of the person, or a
direction given to the person, pursuant to
section 72A or
72B.
Maximum penalty: $2 500 or imprisonment for 6 months.
(7) For the avoidance of doubt, a search may be conducted in accordance
with
section 72A
or
72B whether or not
it would be lawful to conduct a search in accordance with any other provision of
this Part.
(8) In any proceedings, an apparently genuine document purporting to be a
certificate signed by the Commissioner and certifying that—
(a) a particular area was subject to an authorisation properly granted in
accordance with
section 72B during a
period specified in the certificate; or
(b) a device used during a specified period to carry out metal detector
searches within a specified area, or at a specified place, was a metal detector
approved by the Commissioner,
constitutes proof, in the absence of proof to the contrary, of the matters
so certified.
8—Amendment
of section 74BAAB—Use of detection aids in
searches
Section 74BAAB(1)—delete subsection (1) and
substitute:
(1) A police officer may, in exercising powers under this Part, use a drug
detection dog, an electronic drug detection system, a metal detector or any
other system or device designed to assist in the detection of objects or
substances.
9—Amendment
of section 85—Regulations
(1) Section 85(2)(a) and (b)—delete paragraphs (a)
and (b)
(2) Section 85—after subsection (2) insert:
(3) The regulations may—
(a) be of general application or vary in their application according to
prescribed factors; and
(b) provide that a matter or thing in respect of which regulations may be
made is to be determined according to the discretion of the Minister or the
Commissioner.
Schedule 1—Related
amendments and transitional provision
Part 1—Amendment of Protective Security
Act 2007
1—Amendment
of section 3—Interpretation
Section 3, definition of dangerous object or substance,
(b)—delete paragraph (b) and substitute:
(b) a dangerous article, offensive weapon or prohibited weapon, in each
case within the meaning of section 21A of the Summary
Offences Act 1953; or
(ba) a firearm within the meaning of the Firearms
Act 1977; or
Part 2—Amendment of Serious and Organised
Crime (Control) Act 2008
2—Amendment
of section 14—Court may make control order
Section 14(5)(b)(ii)—delete "section 15" and substitute:
section 21A
Part 3—Amendment of Sheriff's
Act 1978
3—Amendment
of section 4—Interpretation
Section 4(1), definition of restricted item, (b)—delete
paragraph (b) and substitute:
(b) a dangerous article, offensive weapon or prohibited weapon, in each
case within the meaning of section 21A of the Summary
Offences Act 1953;
(ba) a firearm within the meaning of the Firearms
Act 1977;
Part 4—Transitional
provision
4—Declarations
by Minister continue
A declaration by the Minister in force under section 15(2d) of the
Summary
Offences Act 1953 immediately before the commencement of
section 5
continues in force as if it were a declaration by the Commissioner of Police
under section 21F of that Act (as in force after the commencement of
section 5).