Review of police powers to search places for high-risk missing persons

In 2018, Queensland was the first Australian jurisdiction to provide police with new powers to conduct searches in cases where: 

• a missing person meets the definition of a ‘high-risk missing person’ because they are either: under the age of 13 or are at risk of serious harm if not found as quickly as possible
• a police officer holds a reasonable suspicion that searching a particular place may locate the person or provide information relating to their disappearance, and
• the occupier of the place cannot or will not give consent for the search to occur.

These provisions are contained in Chapter 7, Part 3A of the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 (Qld).

Under section 879 of the Act, the CCC was required to review the provisions. 

The CCC’s review identified that although the powers are rarely used, they proved to be a useful and valuable tool to progress investigations. It has made two recommendations for consideration by government.