Commentary on Sections Power to search for prohibited items Section 244: Power of members of staff to search students for prohibited items: England
776.A principal or an authorised member of the college staff has a statutory power, under section 85B of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 (“the 1992 Act”), to search a student or his possessions without consent if there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that the student is in possession of a weapon. This section extends this power to cover controlled drugs, alcohol and stolen property. There is a power to make regulations to add to the list of ‘prohibited items’.
777.This section inserts new sections 85AA, 85AB and 85AC for England, into the 1992 Act. These new sections re-enact the existing powers to search a student and his or her possessions without the student’s consent for weapons, and extend the powers to enable searches to be made for, controlled drugs, stolen items or alcohol (for students under 18) where the member of staff has reasonable ground to suspect possession of a prohibited item. The section gives members of staff a power to search but does not impose any duty on them to carry out any searches.
778.The new powers will be supported by guidance. The guidance will explain how the powers should be exercised by providing advice to institutions on what they must and must not do if and when choosing to search a student or student’s possessions for a prohibited item; as well as good practice that can help those exercising search powers to ensure they comply with the law and make an effective search.