XN000022-1972-11-29 — Page 16

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Wednesday, November 29, 1972

CAREFUL USE OF GENERAL "STOP AND SEARCH" POWER ASSURED

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The Legislative Council was assured today that the proposed general

power for a police officer to search any member of the public in a public

place for any offensive weapon will not be used indiscriminately.

Giving this assurance, the Attorney General, the Hon. D.T.E. Roberts,

said that the Commissioner of Police fully agrees and he will do his best to

ensure this will not occur.

Moving the second reading of the Public Order (Amendment) (No. 2)

Bill 1972, Mr. Roberts said: "While the public has generally supported what

have been called 'stop and search' operations in the past, I am aware that

some misgivings have been expressed about this new wider power, which may cause

some inconvenience to innocent members of the public going about their ordinary

business."

He said he accepted the view that this power must be used with discretion.

At present, he said, a police officer may properly stop and search a

person in a public place if he is acting in a suspicious manner or if the police

officer suspects him of having committed, or being about to commit, any offence.

"The amendment proposed, therefore will relieve the police officer of

having to form a reasonable suspicion, before he carries out a search of a member

of the public and will enable areas to be cordoned off and anybody in the area

searched for offensive weapons," he said.

The bill has two other objects. Firstly, it provides for a minimum

sentence of six months' imprisonment to be imposed, or a detention order made,

against a person convicted of the offence of possessing an offensive weapon in a

public place; and secondly, it raises the maximus punishment for this offence

from two to three years.

/Mr. Roberts *******