my son and the law

[tooloud]

My son is 18 years of age and whilst he has not been in trouble with the police in the past he is hanging with the wrong people and i fear he may get arrested. whilst he does live at my address i have a seperate single story granny flat at the bottom of my garden which is accessed through a side gate from the street, (sort of seperate accomadation but with no toilet or cooking) my question is: if he gets arrested have the police the right to search all of my property or just the room he stays in.
If they cannot search my property would someone direct me to the legislation that states that. this question relates to uk law..thanx

[factor-fiction]

Does it have separate postal address? Is it all part of the same property for council tax purposes and electoral roll purposes. I guess the answer to both these questions is yes, so as far as the police are concerned it's all one property and I'd expect any search warrant to cover all of your house.

[tooloud]

i understand that if the police visit me with a search warrant they are entitled to search the whole property. my question pertains to a person under arrest which gives the police power of search where the person lives, under these circumstances i am unsure if the police are able to search the whole of the property.
can anyone answer this

[ummmm]

Why are you worrying about something that might never happen?

I know some very dodgy people but that doesn't mean I'd get involved in any illegal activities.

[cassa333]

Yes of course they can.

Otherwise criminals would hide 'stuff' in other parts of the property and the police would only be able to search 'his' bedroom!!!

They will search everywhere he has access to. Probably even locked rooms he officaly shouldn't or wouldn't have access to. After all if he is a criminal he may try to hide stuff where he isn't supposed to :)

You could say "That's my knicker draw and my son doesn't need to go in it". That just means he shouldn't not that he doesn't

[tooloud]

ok so everyone has an opinion but does anyone actually know what the law says on this point preferably with direction to legislation backing up the facts

[grasscarp]

Full information is on this website
http://www.yourrights.org.uk/yourrights/the-ri ghts-of-suspects/police-powers-to-search-premi ses/index.html

[tooloud]

thank you very much

[pink-kittens]

I think the replies are more than opinions
Common sense tells you of course they can because if he has access at his home address to all rooms then he can hide what ever in any of them inc any garages or annexes's, Granny or otherwise
if you want specicifc law, GIYF

[tooloud]

GIYF what is that

[ChuckFickens]

http://catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/G/GIYF.html

[tooloud]

oh very polite and understanding thanx for ur help (i think not) the words arragant and condescending come to mind

[grasscarp]

Tooloud, everyone here is trying to help in one way or another. Let's hope you never have to find out what powers they have!

[tooloud]

oh so help now comes in the form of sarcasm does it? well thats the sort of help i and a lot of other people can do without. people come to these sites because they are unsure or seeking help not to be put down by people that have the answers if you cant part with your knowledge without belittling others then keep your knowledge to urself and don,t offer it up.
I for 1 will not use this site again, everyone,s got thier s**t to deal with without having people u dont know mugging you off

[grasscarp]

Too loud, I dont think that anyone meant anything sarcastic. If you are taking exception to google is your friend I think you are too sensitive. Google is terrific for specifics like this, which is where I found the link above. On here there are few real lawyers, though I am sure some of the posters are. All you will get is informed opinions. If you dont want opinions then you are on the wrong site. Hope that it all turns out alright for you in the difficult field of bringing up teenagers. One of these days he will be an adult, so it doesnt last forever. Good luck and dont judge this site too harshly.

[tamborine]

tooloud....the police will take kindly to your son and just search his pockets.

We all know the cops are too busy fining mis-parked motorists, non-seatbelt wearers and other motoring offences they can catch me for.

[factor-fiction]

Well I must be arrogant and condescending too because I think the responses given were helpful. Sometimes common sense is sufficient to answer a query and legislation doesn't tend to deal with specifics in detail such as those covered in the question. grasscarp's link is a good one and I'm glad you found it useful but I'm not aware it tells us any more about your specific query than the other 'common sense' answers.
Anyway, let's hope that the problem never arises for you