United Kingdom
- Can police take my phone, and what happens to it?England & Wales
What police in England and Wales can seize under PACE, when they can require data in readable form, how long it can be kept, and applying for its return.
- What happens when police examine a seized phoneEngland & Wales
Equipment Interference Code example: no equipment interference warrant is required where an officer uses PACE seizure powers; plus the ICO extraction report.
- The RIPA s.49 notice: when failing to disclose is an offenceEngland & Wales · Scotland · Northern Ireland
RIPA s.49 notice: knowingly failing to make the disclosure a notice requires is an offence under s.53(1). The conditions and maximum terms, quoted.
- Stopped at a port or airport: Schedule 7 and your phoneEngland & Wales · Scotland · Northern Ireland
Schedule 7 para 2(4): an examining officer may exercise his para 2 powers whether or not he has grounds for suspecting a person falls within s.40(1)(b).
- Phone extraction under the PCSC Act 2022: ss.37, 39 and 40England & Wales · Scotland · Northern Ireland
PCSC Act 2022 s.39(3): an authorised person must have given written notice that you may refuse to provide a device or agree to extraction. The law, quoted.
- How long police can keep your phone dataEngland & Wales
How long police in England and Wales can hold phone data: the necessity tests in PACE s.22 and DPA 2018 s.39, and what the extraction Code says on deletion.
- Crime & Policing Act 2026: account extraction, not in forceEngland & Wales · Scotland · Northern Ireland
Crime and Policing Act 2026 s.173, not yet in force: senior officers will be able to authorise extraction of online accounts accessed from a seized device.
- PACE s.8 search warrants and s.18 searches after arrestEngland & Wales
PACE s.8 warrants, parts of ss.15 and 16 and Code B, s.18 searches after arrest, and what officers may seize. Quoted.
- Property taken in police custody: PACE s.54England & Wales
PACE s.54: what a custody officer may seize from a detained person, the limit on taking clothes and personal effects, and the reason to be given. Quoted.
- Seize and sift: removing property to examine it elsewhereEngland & Wales
CJPA 2001 ss.50-51: removing something to work out what can be seized, the s.53 examination and return duty, and the s.59 court application.