360.Part VII of the Act sets out provisions relating to powers to arrest and search and to take fingerprints from certain persons.
361.The White Paper explained that immigration officers currently have to rely on the police to perform certain tasks relating to the enforcement of immigration law and announced that, in order to reduce this dependency and ensure a more effective use of resources the Government intended to extend the existing powers of arrest of immigration officers and to provide immigration officers with powers of search, entry and seizure in respect of immigration offences equivalent to those the police already have. Part VII gives effect to this but imposes certain limitations on the exercise of these powers. The new powers – and associated safeguards – have been modelled on those contained in the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE). In exercising these and other powers, immigration officers will be allowed to use reasonable force if necessary.
Schedule 9 Part VII: Power to arrest, search and fingerprint