Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, section 54

Searches of detained persons

Part V Questioning and Treatment of Persons by Police

(1)F416The custody officer at a police station shall ascertain . . . everything which a person has with him when he is—

(a)brought to the station after being arrested elsewhere or after being committed to custody by an order of sentence of a court; or

F417[F418 (b)arrested at the station or detained there [F419 , as a person falling within section 34(7), under section 37 above [F420 or as a person to whom section 46ZA(4) or (5) appliesF420,F419]] .F418]

[F421 (2)The custody officer may record or cause to be recorded all or any of the things which he ascertains under subsection (1).

(2A)In the case of an arrested person, any such record may be made as part of his custody record.F421]

(3)Subject to subsection (4) below, a custody officer may seize and retain any such thing or cause any such thing to be seized and retained.

(4)Clothes and personal effects may only be seized if the custody officer—

(a)believes that the person from whom they are seized may use them—

(i)to cause physical injury to himself or any other person;

(ii)to damage property;

(iii)to interfere with evidence; or

(iv)to assist him to escape; or

(b)has reasonable grounds for believing that they may be evidence relating to an offence.

(5)Where anything is seized, the person from whom it is seized shall be told the reason for the seizure unless he is—

(a)violent or likely to become violent; or

(b)incapable of understanding what is said to him.

(6)Subject to subsection (7) below, a person may be searched if the custody officer considers it necessary to enable him to carry out his duty under subsection (1) above and to the extent that the custody officer considers necessary for that purpose.

[F422 (6A)A person who is in custody at a police station or is in police detention otherwise than at a police station may at any time be searched in order to ascertain whether he has with him anything which he could use for any of the purposes specified in subsection (4)(a) above.

(6B)Subject to subsection (6C) below, a constable may seize and retain, or cause to be seized and retained, anything found on such a search.

(6C)A constable may only seize clothes and personal effects in the circumstances specified in subsection (4) above.F422]

(7)An intimate search may not be conducted under this section.

(8)A search under this section shall be carried out by a constable.

(9)The constable carrying out a search shall be of the same sex as the person searched.

Definitions used in section 54 2

offence

“offence”, in relation to any country or territory outside England and Wales, includes an act punishable under the law of that country or territory, however it is described;

Defined in s.65(1) · see it in the full Act
intimate search

“intimate search” means a search which consists of the physical examination of a person’s body orifices other than the mouth;

Defined in s.65(1) · see it in the full Act

Cases considering section 54 11

A (Respondent) v. Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police (Appellant) and another

[2004] UKHL 21 · 6 May 2004Interprets

Custody searches under section 54 had to be undertaken by a constable. The requirement formed part of the statutory context for determining whether searching ability was essential to appointment. The requirement that the searching constable be of the same sex as the person searched had to be read, consistently with Community law, as referring to the acquired gender of a post-operative trans person who had successfully transitioned.

Matthew Carter v The Chief Constable of Essex Police

[2025] EWCA Civ 367 · 9 April 2025Interprets

Section 54 establishes the custody officer’s duty to ascertain what a detainee has brought to the police station and the related power to seize clothing or personal effects only in the circumstances specified in subsection (4). The court construed subsection (4)(a) as requiring actual belief, but not objectively reasonable belief, and required case-by-case exercise. (see paras [2]-[4]; [34]; [59]-[60]) The court treated the duty to ascertain everything a detained person has with them as an important safety, evidence and escape-prevention objective informing the construction of section 54(4)(a). (see paras [2]; [44]) The court identified subsection (3) as the general seizure power, subject to subsection (4), in explaining the statutory structure governing seizure of clothing and personal effects. (see para [34]) The court treated subsection (4) as the controlling limitation on seizure of clothes and personal effects, distinguishing paragraph (a)’s actual-belief requirement from paragraph (b)’s express reasonable-grounds requirement. (see paras [34]; [37]-[39]; [59]-[60]) The court held that a custody officer must actually believe that the detainee may use clothing or personal effects to cause injury, damage property, interfere with evidence or assist escape. Reasonable belief is not an independent requirement, although unreasonableness may bear on whether the belief was genuinely held. (see paras [37]-[40]; [59]-[61]) The court used paragraph (b)’s express reference to reasonable grounds as contextual evidence that Parliament deliberately omitted an objective reasonableness requirement from paragraph (a). (see paras [38]-[39]) The court referred to subsection (6) as permitting a non-intimate search where the custody officer considers it necessary to perform the duty under section 54(1), forming part of the statutory context. It did not decide a separate issue under subsection (6). (see paras [3]; [34]) The court noted that subsection (6A) permits a search to ascertain whether a detainee has anything usable for the purposes in subsection (4)(a), as part of the statutory context. No separate construction of subsection (6A) was required. (see para [34]) The court noted subsection (6B)’s power to seize and retain things found on a subsection (6A) search, as part of the statutory context. It did not determine a separate issue under subsection (6B). (see para [34]) The court noted that subsection (6C) limits seizure of clothes and personal effects following a subsection (6A) search to the circumstances in subsection (4). It did not decide a separate issue under subsection (6C). (see para [34]) The court noted that subsection (7) prohibits an intimate search under section 54, as part of the statutory framework. It did not decide a separate issue under subsection (7). (see para [34])

Yousif v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis

[2016] EWCA Civ 364 · 14 April 2016

The court applied the statutory custody power to conclude that removing the detainee’s clothing was necessary on the facts. Alternative covering was also rejected because it might itself have been used for self-harm. (see paras [44], [65]-[66]) The court applied the power to seize clothing and personal effects where the custody officer believed that the detainee might use them to cause physical injury. That power supported the decision to remove the detainee’s clothing because of the unresolved self-harm risk. (see paras [40], [44])

What each judgment says about section 54 is in the case-law panel in the full Act.

Amendments and notes

17 notes from legislation.gov.uk

Amendments

  1. F416Words in s. 54(1) repealed (20.1.2004) by Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c. 44), ss. 8(1), 332, 336, Sch. 37 Pt. 1; S.I. 2004/81, art. 2(1)(2)(a)(f)(g)(i)
  2. F417Words in s. 54(1)(b) inserted (1.4.2007 for specified purposes, 14.11.2008 for specified purposes, 3.10.2011 for specified purposes, 8.10.2012 in so far as not already in force) by Police and Justice Act 2006 (c. 48), ss. 46(6), 53(1); S.I. 2007/709, art. 3(n) (with art. 6); S.I. 2008/2785, art. 2; S.I. 2011/2144, art. 2(1)(b); S.I. 2012/2373, art. 2(b)
  3. F418S. 54(1)(b) substituted by Criminal Justice Act 1988 (c. 33, SIF 39:1), s. 147(a)
  4. F419Words in s. 54(1)(b) substituted (10.4.1995) by 1994 c. 33, s. 168(2), Sch. 10 para.55; S.I. 1995/721, art. 2, Sch. Appendix A
  5. F420Words in s. 54(1)(b) inserted (1.4.2007 for certain purposes, otherwise prosp.) by Police and Justice Act 2006 (c. 48), ss. 46(6), 53; S.I. 2007/709, art. 3(n) (subject to arts. 6, 7) text inserted prospectively or the amendment may be in effect for limited purposes, see the commentary.
  6. F421S. 54(2)(2A) substituted (20.1.2004) for s. 54(2) by Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c. 44), ss. 8(2), 336; S.I. 2004/81, art. 2(1)(2)(a)
  7. F422S. 54(6A)–(6C) inserted by Criminal Justice Act 1988 (c. 33, SIF 39:1), s. 147(b)

Modifications

  1. C447Ss. 8, 9, 15, 16, 17(1)(b(2) (4), 18–20, 21, 22(1)–(4), 28, 29, 30(1)–(4)(a)(5)–(11), 31, 32(1)–(9), 34(1)–(5), 35, 36, 37, 39, 40–44, 50, 51(d), 52, 54, 55, 64(1)–(4)(5)(6), Sch. 1 applied with modifications by S.I. 1985/1800, arts. 3–11, Schs. 1, 2
  2. C448S. 54 extended (2.8.1993) by S.I. 1993/1813, art. 6, Sch. 3 paras. 1(2)(b), 3(2)(3); s. 54 extended by the said S.I. 1993/1813, art. 6, Sch. 3 paras. 3, 4 as incorporated (with modifications) (1.12.1997) by S.I. 1994/1405, art. 6, Sch. 3 paras. 4(b), 5
  3. C449S. 54 applied (with modifications) (1.1.2004) by The Extradition Act 2003 (Police Powers) Order 2003 (S.I. 2003/3106), art. 2
  4. C450S. 54: power to apply (with modifications) conferred (1.1.2004) by Extradition Act 2003 (c. 41), ss. 171(3)(a), 221; S.I. 2003/3103, art. 2 (subject to savings in Order (as amended by S.I. 2003/3312, art. 2(2) and S.I. 2003/3258, art. 2(2)))
  5. C451S. 54 applied (with modifications) (31.12.2006) by The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (Application to the Armed Forces) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/2015), arts. 2, 3, Schs. 1-3
  6. C452S. 54 applied (with modifications) (25.6.2013) by The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (Application to immigration officers and designated customs officials in England and Wales) Order 2013 (S.I. 2013/1542), arts. 1, 12(2)-(4), Sch. 2 (with arts. 13-31)
  7. C453S. 54 applied (with modifications) (4.11.2015) by The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (Application to Revenue and Customs) Order 2015 (S.I. 2015/1783), arts. 1, 3(1), Sch. 1 (with art. 3(2), (3), 4-19, Sch. 2)
  8. C454S. 54(6A)(6B) extended (2.12.2002) by Police Reform Act 2002 (c. 30), s. 38, Sch. 4 Pt. 4 para. 34(2)(a); S.I. 2002/2750, art. 2(a)(ii)(d)
  9. C455S. 54(6C) applied (2.12.2002) by Police Reform Act 2002 (c. 30), s. 38, Sch. 4 Pt. 3 para. 26(2); S.I. 2002/2750, art. 2(a)(ii)(d)
  10. C456S. 54(9) applied (2.12.2002) by Police Reform Act 2002 (c. 30), s. 38, Sch. 4 Pt. 3 para. 26(2); S.I. 2002/2750, art. 2(a)(ii)(d)