ABSTRACT
The substitution of the police by civilian security officers in the magistrates’ courts has been very apparent in recent years. The Le Vay Report1 identified the need for a visible uniformed presence to replace the diminished high police profile that once existed in those courts. The reason for this general reduction in police numbers during magistrates’ court proceedings is largely due to the way in which prosecutions are presented, especially since the 1980s, when the Crown Prosecution Service removed this responsibility from the police. Section 76 under Pt IV of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 makes provision for those responsible for maintaining the magistrates’ courts to either directly appoint or contract-in security officers for the purpose of maintaining order. These security operatives have also been given statutory powers in pursuance of their duties and therefore are not restricted to ordinary citizens’ powers applicable to conventional security officers. The powers and duties of magistrates’ court security officers are to be found under s 77 of the 1991 Act as follows:
(1) A court security officer acting in the execution of his duty shall have the following powers, namely-
(a) to search any person who is in or is seeking to enter the court-house, and any article in the possession of such a person;
(b) to exclude or remove from the court-house any person who refuses to permit such a search as is mentioned in paragraph (a) above, or refuses to surrender any article in his possession which the officer reasonably believes may jeopardise the maintenance of order in the court-house;
(c) to exclude or remove any person from the court-house, or restrain any person in the court-house, where (in either case) it is reasonably necessary to do so in order-
(i) to maintain order in the court-house; (ii) to enable court business to be carried on without interference or
delay; or (iii) to secure his or any other person’s safety.
