Vehicles (Crime) Act 2001

26 Rights to enter and inspect premises: Part 2

(1) A constable or an authorised person may at any reasonable time enter and inspect premises for the time being entered in the register as premises which are occupied by a person carrying on business as a registration plate supplier wholly or partly for the purposes of his business so far as it consists in selling registration plates.

(2) A constable or an authorised person may at any reasonable time—

(a) require production of, and inspect, any registration plates kept at premises falling within subsection (1); and

(b) require production of, inspect and take copies of or extracts from any records which the person carrying on business as a registration plate supplier is required to keep at such premises by virtue of this Part.

(3) Subsection (4) applies where, on an application made by a constable or an authorised person, a justice of the peace is satisfied that admission to premises specified in the application is reasonably required in order to secure compliance with the provisions of this Part, or to ascertain whether those provisions are being complied with.

(4) The justice may issue a warrant authorising a constable or (as the case may be) an authorised person to enter and inspect the premises concerned.

(5) A constable or an authorised person—

(a) shall not be entitled to use force to enter premises in the exercise of his powers under subsection (1); but

(b) may, if necessary, use reasonable force in the exercise of his powers under a warrant issued under subsection (4).

(6) A constable or an authorised person in seeking to enter any premises in the exercise of his powers under subsection (1), and an authorised person in seeking to enter any premises in the exercise of his powers under a warrant issued under subsection (4), shall, if required by or on behalf of the owner or occupier or person in charge of the premises, produce evidence of his identity, and of his authority for entering, before doing so.

(7) Any person who obstructs an authorised person in the exercise of his powers under subsection (1) or (2) or under a warrant issued under subsection (4) shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale.

(8) In this section “an authorised person” means a person authorised for the purposes of this section by a local authority in respect of premises situated in the area of the local authority.