Courthouse Access - Prohibited Articles
The following list provides some examples of prohibited articles which may not be brought into the Courthouse or Registries buildings.
The list is not exhaustive and other articles may also be regarded as being dangerous or prohibited by the security personnel, in which case the item(s) must be surrendered by a visitor before access to the buildings is granted.
If such item(s) are not surrendered upon request, access to the buildings will be denied.
Prohibited items include:-
- Any type of knife or bladed/pointed item (including scissors) ;
- Hypodermic syringes (except for medical purposes);
- Alcohol and drinks containers;
- Electronic cigarettes (the use of which is prohibited on the premises);
- Items containing incapacitating or inflammable substances such as sprays, mace, petrol, methylated spirits and other dangerous substances that could be used inappropriately;
- Sports equipment including darts, bats, and pool/snooker cues;
- Any other item adapted or intended for potential restraint purposes;
- Mobile telephones (mobile telephones may be permitted from time to time, but camera, music playing and recording functions may not be used within the building);
- Audio recording equipment;
- Cameras (unless permission has been granted by a senior manager of the General Registry);
- Equipment for playing music ;
- Any other items which may be regarded as prohibited or potentially dangerous at the discretion of the Security personnel or General Registry management.
Offensive or Illegal Articles
The following items are regarded as being offensive or illegal which may not be brought into the Courthouse/Registries buildings. The list is not exhaustive and other articles may also be regarded as being offensive by the security personnel, in which case the item(s) must be surrendered by a visitor before access to the premises is granted. If an illegal (or suspected illegal) item is discovered, the visitor and item must be detained/arrested while the Police are called to investigate the matter further.
Under the Operating Procedures and the agreement, offensive or illegal items include:-
Illegal
- Anything that is made/adapted to cause injury to another or intended by a person to cause injury to another (Prevention of Crime Act 1954);
- Bladed instruments/sharply pointed articles with a cutting blade of 3” or more (Criminal Justice Act 1991);
- All firearms whether loaded or unloaded (including imitation firearms);
- All ammunition;
- Illegal/suspected illegal substances/drugs;
- Unidentified powder substances (including suspected narcotics);
- All explosives.
Offensive
- Explicit Pornographic materials.
