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Scottish Charity Register No. SC043760

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April – May 2024 : Compassion READ ONLINE

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A homeless man's castle

Police trespassed, says judge Police searching a room within a hostel have been labelled "trespassers" by a High Court Judge. At the hearing last month, the Court heard how police searched a room within a hostel without the occupier's permission. This was ruled unlawful, with Lord Justice Elias saying that each homeless individual has "the right to say 'my home is my castle' as much as anyone else." Omar Prince Thomas was living in the local authority hostel in Lewisham, south London, when Metropolitan Police officers raided it, to arrest burglary suspect Matthew Hamilton. Mr Thomas objected to his room being searched, but officers said they were entitled to search the whole building. Blackfriars Crown Court found that the premises were, in fact, one communal dwelling, and therefore the police had the right to search the whole of it. However, this was overturned by the High Court, which ruled that there was a "sufficient degree of exclusive occupation", as the rooms were numbered, and each had its own lock. Fellow high court judge Mr Justice Openshaw, said: "Officers should be treated as though they were trespassers and were not, all the time they remained in his room, acting in the court of their duty." He added: "It seems to me that homeless people living in rooms in local authority hostels are as much entitled to the protection of the law as those living a more settled, conventional life. Indeed, they may be particularly vulnerable and may need more protection." A spokesperson for the Home Office said: "Section 17 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 gives the police a power to enter and search premises without a search warrant in order to arrest a person for an indictable offence. This includes burglary. However, the power is subject to limitations. "It may only be exercised if police have reasonable grounds to believe the person they wish to arrest is on the premises. If the premises that police wish to enter and search consists of two or more separate dwellings, then the power to enter and search is limited to any communal parts of the premises and any such dwelling in which police have reasonable grounds to believe the person sought may be. The premises may only be searched to the extent that is reasonably required to find the person sought, ie, only those parts where a person could conceal themselves." Put simply, the police are allowed to search your room without permission only if they have reasonable grounds to think someone is hiding in there. The Home Office said it would study the judgment in terms of police policy going forward.
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April – May 2024 : Compassion

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