Maidstone Borough Council Act 2006

5 Street trading: seizure

(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, if on or after the appointed day an authorised officer or a constable has reasonable grounds for suspecting that a person has committed a relevant offence, the authorised officer or constable may seize—

(a) any article in relation to which he suspects an offence has been committed and which is being offered or exposed for sale or displayed; or

(b) any other article which—

(i) is in the possession of or under the control of any person who is offering or exposing for sale or displaying an article; and

(ii) which is of a similar nature to the article being offered or exposed for sale or displayed, as the case may be; or

(c) any receptacle or equipment being used by that person.

(2) No article, receptacle or equipment shall be seized under subsection (1) above unless the conditions of subsection (3) below apply.

(3) The conditions are that the article, receptacle or equipment—

(a) may be—

(i) required to be used in evidence in any proceedings in respect of the suspected offence; or

(ii) the subject of forfeiture under section 7 (forfeiture of seized items) of this Act; and

(b) in the case of an article is not of a perishable nature.

(4) An authorised officer shall produce his authority if required to do so by the person having care or control of anything seized in pursuance of the powers in subsection (1) above.

(5) An authorised officer or a constable shall, forthwith after seizing any article, receptacle or equipment under subsection (1) above, give to the person from whom the article, receptacle or equipment was seized a certificate containing the following information—

(a) the name and address of the person who the authorised officer or constable suspects has committed the suspected offence;

(b) if different from the name and address of the person mentioned in paragraph (a) above, the name and address of the owner of the article, receptacle or equipment;

(c) the type of article, receptacle or equipment seized; and

(d) information about subsection (2) of section 7 (forfeiture of seized items) of this Act.

(6) If an authorised officer or constable is unable, after reasonable inquiry of the person who he suspects has committed the suspected offence, to ascertain the name or address of—

(a) that person; or

(b) the owner of the article, receptacle or equipment,

or has reasonable cause to suspect that a name or address provided to him is incorrect, he need not comply with paragraph (a) or (b), as the case may be, of subsection (5) above.

(7) The authorised officer or constable shall, before the end of the period of 14 days beginning with the date of seizure, give or serve a copy of the certificate to or on any person who is named on the certificate under paragraph (b) of subsection (5) above at the address shown on the certificate.