Q:
What are the laws on car searches without a warrant?
A:
The police can stop and search any person, vehicle, and anything in or on the
vehicle for certain items, but they must have reasonable grounds (e.g., smell of marijuana or suspicious behaviour by occupants) for suspecting
that they will find evidence (weapons, drugs, stolen property, masks, gloves,
etc.). Outside of this, a warrant is required under Section 41 of the Summary Courts Act 1918, as amended.
However,
if a crime has occurred and the police have been given permission to set up a
road block, they can stop and search you without having reasonable grounds for
suspecting they will find the aforementioned items.
The
police can become trespassers if they do not act within the law because without
their legal powers, they are considered regular citizens. This has been
established since Entick v Carrington [1765], where Lord Camden CJ said: Our law
holds the property of every man so sacred, that no man can set his foot upon
his neighbour’s [property] without his [permission]; if he does, he is a
trespasser, though he does no damage at all; if he will tread upon his
neighbour’s ground, he must justify it by law…
This
case has set a precedent all over the world, even being the reason behind the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
