Policing definitions (FOI)

Produced by the Freedom of Information office
Authored by Government of Jersey on behalf of the States of Jersey Police and published on 29 August 2019.
Prepared internally, no external costs.

Request

In a previous Freedom of Information request, see link below, paragraph 5, you have stated "The Police do not freeze bank accounts, if the Police have indicated to the financial institute that they do not consent to an account being operated normally as they are suspicious about the funds, then this is a decision for that business to make."

The right to enjoyment of property (FOI)

A

Please can you identify which article of which law grants the States of Jersey Police or any individual officer, to consent or otherwise, to the operation of a bank account, without a Court Order to that effect?

B

Please can you provide a definition of "suspicious"? Is any actual evidence required for an individual officer to be "suspicious"?

C

What measures are in place to protect the Public from an arbitrary "suspicion"?

D

How do these measures conform to the demands of Natural Justice?

E

Natural Justice demands a fair hearing of both sides of the argument, a written decision and the opportunity to appeal that decision to a higher authority, the response to the previous Freedom of Information at the link shown above, indicates that Natural Justice and the Right to a Fair Hearing have not properly been protected by the current procedure. Such protections would exist if such actions required a Court Order.

Response

A

Article 32 (particularly paragraph 4) of the Proceeds of Crime (Jersey) Law 1999

B to D

The Oxford English Dictionary provides the following definition of “suspicious” as “a feeling or belief that someone is guilty of an illegal, dishonest, or unpleasant action”.

The College of Policing provides the following guidance,

There must be some objective grounds for that suspicion, based on facts, information, and/or intelligence. The officer should take into account the following factors:

• how the individual or premises were identified

• previous intelligence on persons or premises

• previous involvement with the persons or premises

• suspected links with criminal activities whether in the UK or overseas.

E

The applicant is making a statement rather than asking a question, therefore no response is required.