Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000

This section applies if a police officer reasonably suspects a person has consorted, is consorting, or is likely to consort with 1 or more recognised offenders.

The police officer may stop the person and require the person to remain at the place where the person is stopped for the time reasonably necessary for the police officer to do any or all of the following—

confirm or deny the police officer’s suspicion, including, for example, by exercising a power under section 40 or 43B;

give the person an official warning for consorting;

if the official warning is given orally—confirm under subsection (5) the official warning.

However, before giving an official warning under subsection (2)(b), the police officer must consider whether it is appropriate to give the warning having regard to the object of disrupting and preventing criminal activity by deterring recognised offenders from establishing, maintaining or expanding a criminal network.

If an official warning for consorting is given in writing, the warning must be in the approved form.

If an official warning for consorting is given orally, the police officer must, within 72 hours after giving the warning orally, confirm the warning by giving it, in the approved form, to the person in the prescribed way.

Unless the contrary is proved—

an approved form given by post is taken to have been received by the person to whom the form was addressed when the form would have been delivered in the ordinary course of post; and

an approved form given by electronic communication is taken to have been received by the person to whom the form was sent on the day the form was sent to the unique electronic address nominated by the person to a police officer.

If practicable, the giving of an official warning under subsection (2)(b) must be electronically recorded.

To remove any doubt, it is declared that—

an official warning for consorting may be given to a person in relation to a recognised offender before, during or after the person has consorted with the recognised offender; and

a failure to comply with subsection (3) does not affect the validity of an official warning for consorting.

In this section—criminal activity means the commission of a relevant offence under the Criminal Code, section 77.prescribed way, for giving an approved form to a person, means—

delivering the form to the person personally; or

sending the form by electronic communication to the unique electronic address nominated by the person to a police officer; or

sending the form by post or certified mail to the person at the last known or usual place of residence or business of the person or the last known or usual postal address of the person.