188Entry without consent or warrant

188 Entry without consent or warrant

(1) For the purpose of monitoring compliance with this Act, regulations made under this Act or a service standard, an inspector may, subject to subsection (2)—

(a) enter and search any premises, including any tow truck found on the premises, at which the inspector believes on reasonable grounds—

(i) a person is conducting an accident towing services business or a business of repairing accident damaged motor vehicles; or

(ii) a person is keeping a record or document that is required to be kept by this Act or regulations made under this Act, or that may show whether or not this Act, regulations made under this Act or a service standard is being complied with;

(b) examine anything found on the premises;

(c) seize anything found on the premises or secure anything found on the premises against interference, if the inspector believes on reasonable grounds that it is connected with a contravention of this Act, regulations made under this Act or a service standard;

(d) examine and test any equipment found on the premises that is of a kind used in connection with an accident towing services business or a business of repairing accident damaged motor vehicles;

(e) in the case of any document on the premises, do all or any of the following—

(i) require the document to be produced for examination;

(ii) examine, make copies or take extracts from the document, or arrange for the making of copies of or the taking of extracts to be done on the premises or elsewhere;

(iii) remove the document for so long as is reasonably necessary to make copies of or take extracts from the document;

(f) make any still or moving image or audio-visual recording;

(g) bring any equipment onto the premises that the inspector believes on reasonable grounds is necessary for the examination or processing of things (including documents) found at the premises in order to determine whether they are things that may be seized under this section.

(2) An inspector—

(a) must not exercise a power under subsection (1) in any part of the premises that is used for residential purposes; and

(b) must not exercise a power under subsection (1) except—

(i) between the hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; or

(ii) when the premises are open for business.

(3) If an inspector exercises a power of entry under this section without the owner or occupier being present the inspector must, on leaving the premises, leave a notice setting out—

(a) the time of entry; and

(b) the purpose of entry; and