Page 2720 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 21 November 1989
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bring into law what effectively has been the situation in practice over the last few years. It consolidates, from various Acts in force in the Territory, the power of arrest into one Act, the Crimes Act 1900, which is the principal Act in relation to giving the power of arrest to a private citizen - such power, of course, is exercised very rarely - but more specifically to a member of the police force. As such, all the people to whom I have spoken in the legal area, including defence lawyers, prosecutors and police, are quite happy with this Bill.
I just draw the Government's attention to one area of concern which was expressed to me by several of my former colleagues in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, and that was in relation to section 352, the power of arrest, and specifically in relation to some of the possible problems regarding the question of summonsing a person to appear in court as opposed to arresting him or her.
One of the scenarios put to me - and I mention it because it certainly carried some weight with me as an interesting statement of what the law is at present and something the Government might like to consider amending - is where a person has committed a serious crime, for example, murder, which satisfies the criteria of section 352(2)(b) of the Crimes Act. That section deals with a person suspected of having committed, or of being about to commit, an offence. It states:
A police officer may, without warrant, arrest a person for an offence against a law of the Territory if the police officer believes on reasonable grounds that -
(a) the person has committed or is committing the offence; and
(b) proceedings by way of summons against the person in respect of the offence would not achieve one or more of the following purposes:
(i) ensuring the appearance of the person before the court in respect of the offence;
(ii) preventing the continuation of, or a repetition of, the offence or the commission of some other offence;
(iii) preventing the concealment, loss or destruction of evidence of, or relating to, the offence;
(iv) preventing harassment of, or interference with, a person who may be required to give evidence in proceedings in respect of the offence;
(v) preventing the fabrication of evidence to be given or produced in proceedings in respect of the offence;
(vi) preserving the safety or welfare of the person.
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