Police Reform Act 2002

57 Use of specimens taken from persons incapable of consenting

(1) In subsection (2) of section 15 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 (c. 53) (evidence of blood alcohol level)—

(a) after “provided by” there shall be inserted “or taken from”; and

(b) after the word “provided”, in the second place where it occurs, there shall be inserted “or taken”.

(2) In subsection (3)(a) of that section (rebutting the assumption in subsection (2)), after “provided the specimen” there shall be inserted “or had it taken from him”.

(3) In subsection (4) of that section (circumstances in which a specimen of blood is to be disregarded), for the words from “unless” to the end there shall be substituted “unless—

(a) it was taken from the accused with his consent and either—

(i) in a police station by a medical practitioner or a registered health care professional; or

(ii) elsewhere by a medical practitioner;

or

(b) it was taken from the accused by a medical practitioner under section 7A of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the accused subsequently gave his permission for a laboratory test of the specimen.”

(4) After subsection (5) of that section, there shall be inserted—

“(5A) Where a specimen of blood was taken from the accused under section 7A of the Road Traffic Act 1988, evidence of the proportion of alcohol or any drug found in the specimen is not admissible on behalf of the prosecution unless—

(a) the specimen in which the alcohol or drug was found is one of two parts into which the specimen taken from the accused was divided at the time it was taken; and

(b) any request to be supplied with the other part which was made by the accused at the time when he gave his permission for a laboratory test of the specimen was complied with.”

(5) In subsection (1) of section 16 of that Act (documentary evidence as to specimens), after “15(5)” there shall be inserted “and (5A)”.

(6) In subsection (2) of that section (documentary evidence as to consent), after the words “medical practitioner”, in both places where they occur, there shall be inserted “or a registered health care professional”.