South Australian Current Acts

SUMMARY OFFENCES ACT 1953 - SECT 66ZA

66ZA—Power to conduct metal detector search etc of certain persons

        (1)         This section applies in relation to the following persons:

            (a)         a person who has, within the 5 years immediately preceding the relevant time, been found guilty of a prescribed offence;

            (b)         a person who was, at any time within the 5 years immediately preceding the relevant time, a member of a criminal organisation (within the meaning of Part 3B Division 1 or Division 2 of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 );

            (c)         any other person, or person of a class, prescribed by the regulations.

        (2)         Subject to this Part, a police officer may, for the purpose of detecting the commission of an offence against Part 3A, carry out a search of—

            (a)         a person to whom this section applies who is in, or is apparently attempting to enter or to leave, a public place; and

            (b)         any property in the possession of such a person.

        (3)         Before carrying out a search under this section, a police officer must—

            (a)         give the person to be searched the following information:

                  (i)         the grounds for the search;

                  (ii)         any other information required by the regulations; and

            (b)         if the person so requests, give the person to be searched the identification number of the police officer; and

            (c)         explain to the person to be searched the effect of section 66ZJ(6), and the penalty for contravening that subsection,

however a failure to comply with this subsection does not, of itself, affect the validity of a search.

        (4)         The following provisions apply to a search carried out under this section:

            (a)         the search must, in the first instance, be a metal detector search;

            (b)         if the metal detector search indicates the presence or likely presence of metal, a police officer may require the person to produce items detected by the metal detector (and, for the purpose of determining whether or not the person has produced such items, may conduct further metal detector searches);

            (c)         if the person refuses or fails to produce any such item, a police officer may, for the purpose of identifying the item, conduct a search in relation to the person or property (which need not be a metal detector search but may be conducted as if it were a search of a person who is reasonably suspected of having, on or about their person an object, possession of which constitutes an offence).