Can Gardaí just search any vehicle for no reason?

ney001

Registered User
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Hi just wondering, are the gardaí allowed to search any vehicle without cause/reason??. Mr Ney just rang me he has my jeep today and I have his car, we are both insured on each vehicle. Mr Ney had just run to the builders suppliers and had left his license in his jacket on site - gardaí didn't believe he was who he said he was as he had no ID with him. They proceeded to search the jeep as he stood by the side of the road?. I would have thought that a garda must have to suspect that the vehicle is carrying something it shouldn't be before they can search it, is this not the case? At the end of the search they found a number of letters etc in my glove box and eventually came across a statement addressed to both of us from EBS mortage. They gave him back the keys then and told him to produce insurance and license at station.
 
They can search if they suspect drugs..

I presume here they though he was giving a false identity.... I know in the UK they can search for that as well , but not sure about Ireland...
 
I don't know what they suspected, they checked him against the system and found nothing. He was carrying bricks in the back of the jeep, he asked where had he bought the bricks - show him a receipt etc. He said that no matter what he said - they didn't seem to believe him!.
 
Find out off him did he give them his permission for the vehicle to be searched. If he did then they do not need any legislative authority to search.

The situation could of went something like "Well Mr x do you mind if we take a look inside the jeep?" If he answered yes then they dont need authority.

I kind of suspect this is what happened.
 
get on to the garda ombudsman right away and complain...if they think they think they can throw their weight around like this.. there is no knowing where they will stop!
 
On the plus side, if your jeep had been stolen, you'd have it back now and the culprit would be caught. Sometimes the Gardai are damned if they do and damned if they don't.
 
get on to the garda ombudsman right away and complain...if they think they think they can throw their weight around like this.. there is no knowing where they will stop!

Nonsense. Both you or I or indeed the original poster do not know the exact facts/circumstances of this as neither of us were there to witness. What we have is limited facts from a third party. Youre shooting from the hip.
And by the way I dont have any particular affinity towards the Garda but I just believe in a bit fairness to both sides.
 
I am with Davy Jones as I could just see the post here.... A Garda stopped my stolen jeep and the driver couldn't provide any form of identity but the Garda let him off with my jeep..can I sue them?

I am not sure that I understand what the issue would be with allowing searches of vehicles.
 
They proceeded to search the jeep as he stood by the side of the road?
Are you asking us? Or just not sure?

As mentioned earlier if they asked could they search it and your husband (?) said yes then there's your answer.
 
And by the way I dont have any particular affinity towards the Garda but I just believe in a bit fairness to both sides.

point taken.....if the man gave the gards consent to search his jeep then thats fair enough......strange,,but fair enough. on the other hand if he did not give consent,then they overstepped the mark.
 
strange,,but fair enough. on the other hand if he did not give consent,then they overstepped the mark.


how should they have handled it ?


Just let him off on his merry way when he may not have a license , insurance or even permission to drive the vehicle ?
 
If he had no license while driving then he could get http://www.penaltypoints.ie/licence_offences.php (2 or 5 penalty points). Perhaps the Gardaí are letting him off lightly by just requiring him to present the license and other details at the station within some period of time?
 
you dont have to search a vehicle to ask the driver for his licence ect...
The original poster has not yet clarified whether or not the Gardaí asked could they search the vehicle and if they did whether or not her husband consented. If they asked and he consented then there's nothing to see here folks.
 
Is the suggestion that the Garda were doing anything other that verifying that the vehicle was not stolen or involved in any illegal activity. I assume you are not suggesting they took particular dislike to Mr Ney and behaved unprofessionally.

If i had no identification and was driving a vehicle that was not registered to me I would expect the Garda to run further checks, up to and including searching the vehicle. Not a big inconvenience I'd have thought. In fact, in the circumstance, if they had not made further checks I'd ask why not.

If the Garda recovered your stolen vehicle in this manner you would be here singing their praises.
 
they cant search it,they can arrest him then search it,but they must give a reason for the arrest.
 
they cant search it,they can arrest him then search it,but they must give a reason for the arrest.
But if they ask can they search it and the driver consents then it's OK presumably?

If i had no identification and was driving a vehicle that was not registered to me I would expect the Garda to run further checks, up to and including searching the vehicle.
In that case you could be liable for 2 or 5 penalty points as mentioned above.
 
hi guys, thanks for replies. He has informed me that he did in fact consent to the search of the vehicle yesterday. Basically, garda asked him who's vehicle it was, he explained the situation and told them that he could produce his license within an hour at a garda station. Garda looked into back of jeep, saw bricks etc and asked for receipt for them. Garda then asked if he had ever been in trouble with the law and was he carrying drugs. Mr Ney responded no to both and garda asked if he could search the jeep - Mr Ney consented as he did not want garda to think that he was hiding anything. I understand he had no id and I understand that he did give his consent, my question is....is not carrying id reason enough to request a search of a vehicle and to ask somebody if they are carrying drugs?. just seemed a bit odd to me that a guy wearing builders work clothes, driving a jeep loaded with bricks in the middle of a working day was stopped and searched?
 
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