Summary Offences Act 1953

This section applies to the following areas and vehicles:

licensed premises;

a declared place of worship;

a public place holding a declared public event;

a declared shopping precinct;

a declared public transport hub;

a car parking area specifically or primarily provided for the use of patrons and customers of an area referred to in a preceding paragraph;

a public transport vehicle providing a declared public transport service;

any other place prescribed by the regulations.

Subject to this Part, a police officer may, for the purpose of detecting the commission of an offence against Part 3A, carry out a search in relation to—

any person who is in, or is apparently attempting to enter or to leave, an area or vehicle to which this section applies; and

any property in the possession of such a person.

The following provisions apply to a search carried out under this section:

the search must, in the first instance, be a metal detector search;

if the metal detector search indicates the presence or likely presence of metal, a police officer may require the person to produce items detected by the metal detector (and, for the purpose of determining whether or not the person has produced such items, may conduct further metal detector searches);

if the person refuses or fails to produce any such item, a police officer may, for the purpose of identifying the item, conduct a search in relation to the person or property (which need not be a metal detector search but may be conducted as if it were a search of a person who is reasonably suspected of having, on or about their person an object, possession of which constitutes an offence).

Nothing in this section authorises a police officer to carry out a search of a person, or property of a person, in their place of residence or in a hotel room, lodging room or any other place in which they are temporarily residing.