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WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS BY DEPUTY R.G. LE HÉRISSIER OF ST. SAVIOUR
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 10th JULY 2012
Question
In each of the last 5 years, how many police searches have been carried out at incorrect addresses and what procedures, if any, are in place to prevent this happening?
Answer
The question could be understood in 3 different ways, as follows:-
- that the police search was conducted at different premises to those which the police intended to search;
- that the police search was conducted at the premises which they intended to search but the description of the premises on the warrant was not correct; or
- that the police search was conducted at the premises which they intended to search and the description of the premises in the warrant was correct but the information which led to the obtaining of the warrant was incorrect.
In relation to (a), the senior police officers are not aware of any such occasion during the last 5 years.
In relation to (b) they are aware of only one during the last five years (in 2011), which has been previously publicised. This has resulted in a change of procedure in that officers are now instructed, where there is any degree of uncertainty, to use the local knowledge of the Parish Honorary Police in order to check the accuracy of the description of the premises.
In relation to (c) it is not possible without a huge amount of work to give an answer, although on occasions the execution of a warrant may not produce the anticipated evidence either because relevant items have been removed earlier, or because the underlying information is incorrect.