Search and Surveillance Bill

50 Form and content of surveillance device warrant

• (1) Every surveillance device warrant must—

  • (a) be in the prescribed form form, if any; and

  • (b) be directed to every enforcement officer who has authority to carry out the activities authorised by the surveillance device warrant; and

  • (c) specify a period, of no more than 60 days after the date on which the warrant is issued, for which it is in force; and

  • (d) contain a condition that, in accordance with section 53, a surveillance device warrant report must be provided within 1 month after the expiry of the period for which the warrant is in force to the Judge who issues the warrant or, if that Judge is unable to act, to a Judge of the same court as the Judge who issues the warrant; and

  • (e) contain a condition that the enforcement officer carrying out the activities authorised by the warrant must not use any communication obtained under the authority of the warrant unless the privilege is waived or its use is authorised by a Judge, if he or she has reasonable grounds to believe that the communication may be subject to a privilege specified in section 130.

  (2) A surveillance device warrant may be subject to any other conditions specified in the warrant that the Judge issuing it considers reasonable, including a requirement for inclusion of specified information in the surveillance device warrant report provided under section 53.

  (3) Every surveillance device warrant must also contain, in reasonable detail, the following particulars:

  • (a) the name of the Judge issuing the warrant and the date of issue:

  • (b) the provision authorising the making of an application for a search warrant in respect of the suspected offence:

  • (c) the type of surveillance device the use of which the warrant authorises:

  • (d) the name, address, or other description of the person, place, vehicle, or other thing that is the object of the proposed surveillance:

  • (e) the evidential material relating to the suspected offence that may be obtained by use of the surveillance device:

  • (f) that an enforcement officer carrying out the activities authorised by the warrant may use any assistance that is reasonable in the circumstances:

  • (fa) that an enforcement officer who, while carrying out the activities authorised by the warrant, obtains the content of a telecommunication may direct the relevant network operator to provide call associated data (as defined in section 3(1) of the Telecommunications (Interception Capability) Act 2004) that is—

    • (i) a document within the meaning of section 68; and

    • (ii) related to that telecommunication:

  • (g) that, subject to section 42AA, an enforcement officer carrying out the activities authorised by the warrant may do any or all of the following, using any force that is reasonable in the circumstances to do so, in order to install, maintain, or remove the surveillance device, or to access and use electricity to power the surveillance device:

    • (i) enter any premises, area, or vehicle specified in the warrant:

    • (ii) break open or interfere with any vehicle or other thing:

    • (iii) temporarily remove any vehicle or other thing from any place where it is found and return it to that place.

  (4) Despite subsection (3)(d) and (e), if the Judge has not been provided in the application, or otherwise, with the information specified in those provisions because the applicant is unable to provide it, the warrant must instead state the details (as provided under section 47(2) or otherwise) of the circumstances in which the surveillance is to be undertaken in enough detail to identify the parameters of, and objectives to be achieved by, the use of the surveillance device.

  (5) Despite subsection (1)(c), a Judge may issue a further surveillance device warrant in respect of the same suspected offence in regard to which the Judge, or another Judge, has previously issued a surveillance device warrant.