In light of the upcoming visits of the British Royalty and US President the Irish Times has an article on security measure to be put in place, [broken link removed]
A paragraph states:
"Officers on foot will stop and search people and those questioned will be asked to indicate their destination. Checkpoints will also be set up and motorists will be questioned. Road users will also be asked to explain the purpose of their journey."
We were discussing such issues yesterday among friends and none of us knew if Gardai were actually allowed to stop and search any member of the public without good reason to suspect them of some crime or intention to commit one. Can anybody clarify what the legalities of such a situation are?
Can a member the Gardai stop any person in a public place and search them and is such a person obliged to cooperate or provide identification?
Does the Garda have to inform the person of the piece of legislation under which they wish to search them?
A paragraph states:
"Officers on foot will stop and search people and those questioned will be asked to indicate their destination. Checkpoints will also be set up and motorists will be questioned. Road users will also be asked to explain the purpose of their journey."
We were discussing such issues yesterday among friends and none of us knew if Gardai were actually allowed to stop and search any member of the public without good reason to suspect them of some crime or intention to commit one. Can anybody clarify what the legalities of such a situation are?
Can a member the Gardai stop any person in a public place and search them and is such a person obliged to cooperate or provide identification?
Does the Garda have to inform the person of the piece of legislation under which they wish to search them?