Criminal Law Week

The following article is written for Police Professional by the editors of Criminal Law Week. Criminal Law Week is used by criminal justice professionals – including police officers, the CPS, judges and lawyers – to stay up to date with changes in the criminal law. Published weekly, each issue contains a comprehensive and concise roundup of new developments regarding offences, police powers, and the rules of procedure and evidence. It also contains commentary placing key developments in context. Criminal Law Week is published both online and in hardcopy. The online service (which includes a fully searchable database and access to updated and annotated key criminal legislation) is available free of charge to all police officers as part of a PNLD subscription at www.pnld.co.uk. For more information about Criminal Law Week or a sample hard copy issue please visit www.criminal-law.co.uk or call 01483 414040.

May a police officer use reasonable force when evicting a person from licensed premises at the request of the licensee?

Yes, said the Divisional Court in Semple v Director of Public Prosecutions (CLW/10/15/4).

The appellant went to a pub in Luton to speak to the landlord, and on his arrival there he was drunk. Following a verbal exchange, the landlord called the police and two police officers attended.

The landlord told them that he wanted the appellant to leave, but the appellant would not leave voluntarily and one of the officers took hold of his arm to escort him from the premises. He was ushered in this way through a first set of double doors, but he refused to go through the second set.

He pulled away from the officer, who placed his hands on the appellant’s back and pushed him through the second set of doors to the outside.

Once outside, the appellant threatened that he was going to go back into the pub and hit someone.

The officer took hold of the appellant’s hooded top to prevent him doing so. The appellant then pushed the officer, who stumbled backwards but who still managed to prevent the appellant from going back into the pub. However, a scuffle ensued, during which the appellant punched the officer in the face. Both the appellant and the officer ended up on the floor until the second officer pulled the appellant off. The appellant was then arrested, and subsequently charged with assaulting a police officer in the execution of his duty. He was convicted of that offence and appealed, arguing that the officer had not been acting in the execution of his duty, as he had not been entitled to use force in ejecting him from the premises.

The Divisional Court rejected this argument. It held that, at common law, an occupier of premises, whether licensed or not, has the right to ask a person to leave and the right to eject him using reasonable force if he refuses. Equally, it held, any person who assists the occupier in the ejection may use reasonable force and this includes a constable responding to a request from a licensee under section 143(4) of the Licensing Act 2003, which provides that, “on being requested to do so by a person to whom subsection (2) applies, a constable must (a) help to expel from relevant premises a person who is drunk or disorderly; and (b) help to prevent such a person from entering relevant premises.” The officer had therefore been acting lawfully in using reasonable force to eject the appellant, and his conviction was upheld.

CLW comment

The issue as to whether a constable acting under section 143(4)(b) may also use reasonable force did not arise, although it could easily have done. In the circumstances of this case, rather than arguing that section 143(4)(b) must imply a power to use reasonable force, the prosecution chose to argue that the officer had grounds to arrest the defendant and that he was in fact in the process of doing so. While he undoubtedly had grounds t