Federal Police Counter-Terrorism Powers under Review by PJCIS
Wednesday 16 August 2017 @ 12.51 p.m. | Crime | Legal Research
On 10 August 2017, the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) announced two new reviews into Federal police powers related to counter-terrorism - specifically, a review into police stop, search and seizure powers, control order regime and preventative detention order regime; and a review of the 'declared area' provisions.
Background to the Reviews
The Committee is required under section 29 of the Intelligence Services Act 2001 (Cth) to review each of the four pieces of legislation by 7 March 2018, prior to their sunset on 7 September 2018.
Stop, search and seizure powers – Division 3A of Part IAA of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) enables police officers to stop and search a person in a Commonwealth place, and seize items found in that search, if the officer suspects on reasonable grounds that the person might have just committed, might be committing or might be about to commit, a terrorist act; or if the person is in a prescribed security zone.
Control orders – issued under Division 104 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth), persons subject to a control order may be prevented from being in certain areas or leaving Australia, communicating or associating with certain people, owning or using certain things, carrying out certain activities, or accessing certain forms of technology. A control order may also require a person to remain at specified premises, wear a tracking device, report to someone at a certain time and place, and allow themselves to be photographed and fingerprinted.
Preventative detention orders (PDOs) –issued under Division 105 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth), PDOs may be used either where there is a threat of an imminent terrorist attack and the order might help prevent it, or immediately after a terrorist act if it is likely vital evidence will be lost. A person may be detained by police for up to 48 hours under the Commonwealth PDO regime. Similar regimes under state and territory laws allow for detention for up to 14 days.
‘Declared area’ provisions – Under Section 119.2 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth), it is an offence for a person to enter, or remain in, an area in a foreign country that has been declared by the Foreign Affairs Minister under section 119.3 of the Code. The offence is punishable by up to ten years’ imprisonment. There are a number of exceptions to the offence, including where the sole purpose for entering or remaining in a declared area is providing aid of a humanitarian nature, visiting family members, performing official duties, working as a professional journalist, or serving in the armed forces of a foreign country. To date, two areas have been declared by the Minister: al-Raqqa province in Syria and Mosul district in Iraq.
Review of Police Stop, Search and Seizure Powers
The Committee will review:
- the stop, search and seizure powers provided for under Division 3A of Part IAA of the Crimes Act 1914;
- the control order regime provided for under Division 104 of the Criminal Code; and
- the preventative detention order regime provided for under Division 105 of the Criminal Code.
Written submissions addressing the three provisions are due by Friday, 22 September 2017.
Review of the 'Declared Area' Provisions
The Committee also will review the provisions under sections 119.2 and 119.3 of the Criminal Code that make it an offence for a person to enter, or remain in, a ‘declared area’ in a foreign country.
Written submissions addressing the ‘declared area’ provisions are due by Friday, 6 October 2017.
The Committee Chair, Mr Andrew Hastie MP, said:
“The Committee wants to ensure the counter-terrorism powers available to Australian authorities are as effective as possible for dealing with the current threat, while at the same time protecting individual rights and liberties...The Committee will also examine how the control order regime interacts with the continuing detention order regime for high risk terrorist offenders that passed through the Parliament in December 2016.”
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