[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"stats-overview":3,"kb-article-section-50":10},{"officers":4,"forces":5,"courts":6,"prisons":7,"hearings":8,"legals":9},769,50,224,120,41,11437,{"id":11,"slug":12,"name":13,"content":14,"category_id":15,"source":16,"source_url":16,"source_ref":16,"licence":16,"sort_order":17,"published":18,"created_at":19,"updated_at":20,"category":21,"category_icon":22,"category_slug":23,"excerpt":24,"word_count":25,"reading_time":26,"is_official":27,"related":28,"previous":42,"next":43},"15","section-50","Section 50: when the police can demand your name and address","Normally you do not have to give the police your name and address. Section 50 of the Police Reform Act 2002 is the main exception, and it is linked to anti-social behaviour.\n\nThe power\n\nA constable in uniform (and a Police Community Support Officer who has been designated the power) who has reason to believe that you have been acting, or are acting, in an anti-social manner can require you to give your name and address. \"Anti-social manner\" has the meaning in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998: behaviour that caused, or was likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to one or more people not of the same household as you.\n\nThe offence\n\nIf you fail to give your name and address when required under section 50, or give a false or inaccurate one, you commit a summary offence punishable by a fine of up to level 3 (currently £1,000). You cannot be sent to prison for breaching section 50 itself, but you can be arrested so that your identity can be established.\n\nWhat the police must have\n\nThe officer must have a reasonable belief that you have been, or are, behaving anti-socially. Section 50 does not cover what you might do later: a belief that you are \"about to\" cause trouble is not enough. If it comes to a prosecution, the police must put evidence before the court of what you were doing and why they believed it amounted to anti-social behaviour; without that, you should not be convicted.\n\nIf you are stopped under section 50\n\n- Ask the officer to confirm they are using section 50 of the Police Reform Act, and what they believe you did that caused harassment, alarm or distress. You can record this on your phone.\n- You can state that you do not accept you were behaving anti-socially, and still give your details. Giving your details is not an admission of anything.\n- If you refuse, expect to be arrested. Officers sometimes de-arrest if you then provide details, but you may still be prosecuted.\n- Keep a note of the officer's number, the time and place, and the names of any witnesses.\n\nUnlawful use\n\nSection 50 has been used, and misused, at protests, in town centres on a Saturday night, and against young people simply hanging around. Where a court finds there were no grounds to believe you were behaving anti-socially, an arrest for refusing to give your details is unlawful, and a number of people have recovered damages for false imprisonment. A complaint to the force and advice from a civil actions solicitor are the routes to that.\n\nNot to be confused with\n\nSection 50 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 is a different power (\"seize and sift\") that allows the police to take away property, including computers, to examine elsewhere. If an officer mentions \"section 50\" when seizing devices, that is the one they mean. See our guide on how devices are seized.\n\nThis is general information for England and Wales, not legal advice. If you have been arrested or charged, speak to a solicitor: advice at the police station is free for everyone.","8",null,0,true,"2022-11-03T02:38:33.000Z","2026-10-06T09:14:18.000Z","Sections","mdi:format-section","sections","Normally you do not have to give the police your name and address. Section 50 of the Police Reform Act 2002 is the main exception, and it is linked to…",526,3,false,[29,35],{"id":30,"slug":31,"name":32,"source":16,"source_url":16,"sort_order":17,"category":21,"category_icon":22,"category_slug":23,"excerpt":33,"word_count":34,"reading_time":26,"is_official":27},"16","section-49","Section 49 RIPA notices: being ordered to hand over a password","Section 49 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) is the power that turns a request for your password into a legal order. It is used…",544,{"id":36,"slug":37,"name":38,"source":16,"source_url":16,"sort_order":17,"category":21,"category_icon":22,"category_slug":23,"excerpt":39,"word_count":40,"reading_time":41,"is_official":27},"17","section-8","Section 8 PACE: how police search warrants work","A \"section 8\" is the standard police search warrant in England and Wales, issued under section 8 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. If officers…",652,4,{"slug":31,"name":32},{"slug":37,"name":38}]