Law Enforcement (Controlled Operations) Act 1997

After considering an application for authority to conduct a controlled operation, and any additional information furnished under section 5(3), the chief executive officer—

may authorise a law enforcement officer for the law enforcement agency concerned to conduct the operation, either unconditionally or subject to conditions, or

may refuse the application.

An authority to conduct a controlled operation on behalf of a law enforcement agency may not be granted unless a code of conduct is prescribed by the regulations in relation to that agency.

An authority to conduct a controlled operation may not be granted unless the chief executive officer is satisfied as to the following matters—

that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that criminal activity or corrupt conduct has been, is being or is about to be conducted in relation to matters within the administrative responsibility of the agency,

that the nature and extent of the suspected criminal activity or corrupt conduct are such as to justify the conduct of a controlled operation,

that the nature and extent of the proposed controlled activities are appropriate to the suspected criminal activity or corrupt conduct,

that the proposed controlled activities will be capable of being accounted for in sufficient detail to enable the reporting requirements of this Act to be fully complied with.

In considering the matters referred to in subsection (3), the chief executive officer must have regard to the following—

the reliability of any information as to the nature and extent of the suspected criminal activity or corrupt conduct,

the likelihood of success of the proposed controlled operation compared with the likelihood of success of any other law enforcement operation that it would be reasonably practicable to conduct for the same purposes,

the duration of the proposed controlled operation.

(Repealed)