53Search warrants for location, &c., of property

### 53 Search warrants for location, &c., of property > > (1)  If – > > > > > > (a) a person has been convicted of a serious offence and a police officer has reasonable grounds for suspecting that there is on any premises a property-tracking document in relation to the offence; or > > > > > > > (b) a police officer has reasonable grounds for suspecting that a person has committed a serious offence and that there is on any premises a property-tracking document in relation to the offence – > > > > the police officer may apply to a magistrate for a search warrant to be issued under [subsection (4)](#GS53@Gs4@EN) in respect of those premises. > > > (2)  If a police officer who applies for a search warrant under this section in respect of an offence includes in the application information that the police officer has reasonable grounds for believing that – > > > > > > (a) the person who was convicted of the offence, or who is believed to have committed the offence, derived a commercial or other benefit, directly or indirectly, from the commission of the offence; and > > > > > > > (b) property specified in the information is subject to the effective control of that person – > > > > the magistrate may treat any document relevant to identifying, locating or quantifying that property as a property-tracking document in relation to the offence for the purposes of this section. > > > (3)  A magistrate may have regard to the matters referred to in [section 8](#GS8@EN) [(2)](#GS8@Gs2@EN) in determining whether to treat a document as a property-tracking document in relation to an offence. > > > (4)  Subject to [subsection (7)](#GS53@Gs7@EN) , a magistrate to whom an application is made under this section may, if satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for doing so, issue a search warrant authorizing a police officer – > > > > > > (a) to enter premises; and > > > > > > > (b) to search those premises for documents of the kind referred to in [subsection (1)](#GS53@Gs1@EN) ; and > > > > > > > (c) to seize any document found in the course of the search that the police officer believes, on reasonable grounds, to be a document of that kind. > > > (5)  Nothing in this section limits any other statutory law relating to search warrants. > > > (6)  [Schedule 1](#JS1@EN) has effect with respect to a search warrant issued under this section. > > > (7)  A magistrate is not to issue a search warrant under this section unless the magistrate is satisfied that – > > > > > > (a) the relevant document cannot be identified or described with sufficient particularity for the purpose of obtaining a production order in respect of the document; or > > > > > > > (b) a production order made in respect of the relevant document has not been complied with; or > > > > > > > (c) a production order in respect of the relevant document would be unlikely to be effective because there are reasonable grounds to suspect that such an order would not be complied with; or > > > > > > > (d) the investigation in connection with which the search warrant is being sought might be seriously prejudiced if the police officer does not gain immediate access to the relevant document without notice to any person. > > > (8)  A search warrant issued under this section is of no effect unless – > > > > > > (a) it states the purpose for which the warrant has been issued, including a reference to the nature of the relevant serious offence; and > > > > > > > (b) it specifies whether entry is authorized to be made at any time of the day or night, or only during specified hours of the day or night; and > > > > > > > (c) it contains a description of the kind of documents authorized to be seized under the warrant; and > > > > > > > (d) it specifies a date, being a date not later than one month after the day on which the warrant is issued, on which the warrant ceases to have effect. > > > (9)  If, in the course of executing a search warrant issued under this section a police officer finds a document that the police officer believes on reasonable grounds to be – > > > > > > (a) a property-tracking document in relation to the relevant serious offence, although not of a kind specified in the warrant; or > > > > > > > (b) a property-tracking document in relation to another serious offence – > > > > and the police officer believes, on reasonable grounds, that it is necessary to seize that document in order to prevent its concealment, loss or destruction, the warrant is taken as authorizing the police officer to seize that document. > > > (10)  The power conferred by this section to seize a document includes – > > > > > > (a) a power to remove the document from the premises where it is found; and > > > > > > > (b) a power to guard the document on those premises.