Herevaluering van polisiebevoegdhede tot visentering en beslaglegging vervat in die Strafproseswet 51 van 1977

Abstract

"Free people expect much from their police. In such societies the police stand at the point of balance on the one hand securing human rights on the other exercising their lawful powers given to them by Governments in the name of the people, to protect people and their institutions" (J Alderson Human Rights and Police Rights. Publication of the Council of Europe.) This is no small expectation. It means that the police are expected to maintain and secure the principles of democracy and human rights, the principles upon which our Constitution is based. At the same time it is the duty of a police service to maintain law and order which sometimes require the exercise of power and the use of force which on the face of it may appear to violate human dignity and certain rights and freedoms which a police force is expected to maintain in a democratic society. The manner of exercising that power has an impact on the credibility and effectiveness of the police. Human rights law internationally accepts that a police service needs to be given the power to, at times restrict certain individual freedoms in the interests of the security of the community at large. These restrictions may take place only in a constitutional way. If it takes place in an unconstitutional way the courts must have the right to exclude evidence which is unconstitutionally obtained. At this stage the courts have to formulate such a qualified exclusionary rule, but the ultimate goal must be to include such an exclusionary rule in a future Constitution.