IT'S NOT 2008, IT IS 1984...
I was reading that there are now over 1000 laws in the UK that permit the State to enter your home. More than half of these have come into being since this Labour government - the most totalitarian we have ever seen - came to power just over 10 years ago.
Some of the lawful reasons now available for agencies of the State to enter your home include;
Seize fridges without the correct energy rating (Energy Information Household Refrigerators and Freezers Regulations 2004).
Check that accommodation given to asylum seekers is not being lived in by non-asylum seekers (Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
Survey your home and garden to see if your hedge is too high (Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003).
It's not 2008, it IS 1984 and Big Brother is not only watching you from CCTV's dangled from every corner but he has the power to walk into your home. ALL these laws quoted above need to be repealed and the State told to STAY OUT of our business.
David Vance
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Reader Comments (13)
Do they have to have a warrent signed by a judge?
No, and if you refuse an official entry, you can be fined up to £5,000 ($9,992).
Amazing! As y'all know, here the police must have a warrent and only tthe things listed on the warrent are fair game. If the warrent just says their looking for guns, and you have no guns, but they find dope, your in the clear.
Time for a bonfire of the laws.
"Amazing! As y'all know, here the police must have a warrent and only tthe things listed on the warrent are fair game. If the warrent just says their looking for guns, and you have no guns, but they find dope, your in the clear."
You might find this quote familiar Charles:
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
It is the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. In the United Kingdom, there is no Constitution, so laws can be changed even if the infringe on civil liberties. Even the English Bill or Rights didn't have the defence of the privacy of a person's home.
Seamus
If Pete Moore wasn't on holiday he'd soon lay into you over the Bill of Rights.
PS - what's wrong with the second law in David's posy. If the State is paying you a rent to house asylum seekers they have every right to ensure that is what is being paid for.
Charles: Don't get your hopes too high about your pot plants. If the police come across contraband during a valid search for something else, they can arrest you if they find the other in the natural course of their search, so long as the discovery was reasonable. For instance, in searching for guns they could look in your closet. But in searching for a stolen car, they could not.
Mahons, then I must hide my kilo of coke, where they wouldn't reasonably look for a gun! I'm sure lawyers have gotten rich on trying to surpress search warrents.
However, it does seem that our Fourth Admendment keeps from happening here what the article talks about.
Charles - We could always let them become the 51st State.
And the police must convince a judge that there is "reasonable cause" and can't come into your home on a fishing expidition.
How often do judges refuse a search warrant ?
Don't forget the Telly licence Nazis.
In the UK & Republic of Ireland these twits have more powers to enter your house than the police.
Colm- every day, often instead of an outright refusal they will modify it or ask for more information before they sign, but they don't hold a full blown hearing before hand because that would just frustrate the nature of policing. Some judges give more deference to the police than others. There are also limited circumstances where the police do not need a warrant to enter a premises (during a chase for example, or some real threat of harm).