Phone SeizedUnited KingdomPolice asking a victim or witness for their phone
Police asking a victim or witness for their phone
What you must do, what you can refuse, and what they can do
Every claim below links to the law it comes from, with the wording quoted so you can check it yourself.
You can refuse
No penalty for saying no.
Refuse to provide your device, or refuse to agree to extraction of information from it, even as a victim or witness.
The written notice you must be given before being asked has to say, in terms, that you may refuse.
Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, s.39(3)(d)
“An authorised person must have given P notice in writing— stating that P may refuse to provide the device or agree to the extraction of information from it”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-09-08
What they can do
A power the law gives them over you or your device.
The extraction power only applies where you, as a user of the device, have voluntarily provided it and agreed to the extraction — an authorised person cannot rely on it otherwise.
Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, s.37(1)(a)
“An authorised person may extract information stored on an electronic device from that device if— a user of the device has voluntarily provided the device to an authorised person, and— that user has agreed to the extraction of information from the device by an authorised person.”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-09-08
'Electronic device' for this power means any device information is capable of being stored on electronically, including any component of such a device.
Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, s.37(13) (interpretation: "electronic device")
“means any device on which information is capable of being stored electronically and includes any component of such a device”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-09-08
Limits on them
A rule that constrains them, or a remedy you can use.
An authorised person may only exercise the power where they are satisfied it is necessary and proportionate to the purpose they propose to use it for.
Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, s.37(5)(c)
“An authorised person may exercise the power in subsection (1) only if— in any case, the authorised person is satisfied that exercise of the power is necessary and proportionate to achieve the purpose within subsection (2) for which the person proposes to exercise the power.”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-09-08
The Code requires an authorised person to reasonably believe the information sought is relevant to a reasonable line of enquiry before extracting it.
Extraction of Information from Electronic Devices: Code of Practice (Oct 2022), para 71
“An authorised person must only exercise the Section 37 power for the purposes of preventing, detecting, investigating, or prosecuting crime if they reasonably believe that information on the device is relevant to a reasonable line of enquiry”
Read it at assets.publishing.service.gov.ukquote checked 2026-09-08
The Code requires the authorised person to be satisfied the same purpose could not be achieved by less intrusive means.
Extraction of Information from Electronic Devices: Code of Practice (Oct 2022), para 82
“the authorised person will have to be satisfied that the information sought is required to achieve the relevant purpose, e.g., preventing crime, and that the purpose cannot be achieved by other less intrusive means.”
Read it at assets.publishing.service.gov.ukquote checked 2026-09-08
Condition B is that a user of the electronic device is a child or an adult without capacity, and that an authorised person reasonably believes the user's life is at risk or there is a risk of serious harm to the user.
Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, s.40(3)
“Condition B is that— a user of the electronic device is a child or an adult without capacity, and— an authorised person reasonably believes that the user's life is at risk or there is a risk of serious harm to the user.”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-09-09
Information extracted and found not relevant must be deleted, unless there's a lawful basis to retain it.
Extraction of Information from Electronic Devices: Code of Practice (Oct 2022), para 138
“Information which is extracted and deemed not relevant must be deleted unless there is a lawful basis to retain it.”
Read it at assets.publishing.service.gov.ukquote checked 2026-09-08
This is about phones handed over voluntarily
Sections 37 to 42 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 cover a different situation from a phone taken from a suspect by force: a device a user — often a complainant or a witness — agrees to hand over. The power only applies where you have voluntarily provided the device and agreed to the extraction; it is not a route round the ordinary seizure powers.
“Electronic device” is defined broadly for this power — any device information can be stored on electronically, including any component of one — so it is not limited to phones.
You can say no
Before you are even asked, the officer is required to have given you written notice stating, in terms, that you may refuse to provide the device or agree to the extraction of information from it. That is not a courtesy — it is a condition the officer has to meet.
The conditions attached to using it at all
An authorised person can only use this power where they are satisfied it is necessary and proportionate to the purpose they are using it for. Guidance underneath the Act goes further: they have to reasonably believe the information sought is relevant to a reasonable line of enquiry, and be satisfied the same purpose could not be achieved by less intrusive means.
Where a user of the device is a child, or an adult without capacity, a different condition governs how the power can be used — recognising that “voluntary agreement” means something different in those cases.
What happens to what isn't relevant
Extraction under this power is not a licence to keep everything pulled from your phone. Information that is extracted and turns out not to be relevant must be deleted, unless there is a lawful basis to keep it.
Last reviewed 2026-09-08. Next review due 2027-03-08. No lawyer has reviewed this page — see [email protected] if you think something here is wrong.