The Police and the Law
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X4201500302 |
| Date | 01 July 1942 |
| Published date | 01 July 1942 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
The
Police
and
the
Law
SERVICE OF
BILLETING
NOTICES
MANY of the Defence Regulations expressly authorise the police
to carry out the formalities requisite for their observance.
And
this is common even though other officials are the ones primarily
concerned in the matter. But with regard to the serving of billeting
notices on the occupiers of premises, Regulation 22 does not provide
for service by a constable.
The
High Court has, however, expressed
the opinion
that
the police may make valid service of notice if authorised
by the billeting officer.
In
the case of Humphreys v. Tyler (The Times, March 27, 1942)
abilleting officerprepared abilleting notice addressed to the defendant,
handing it to a police constable for service on him. On the same day
the constable handed the notice to him in a street.
The
defendant
returned the notice and a fresh notice was issued by the billeting officer
and handed by the constable to the defendant in the billeting officer's
presence. On a charge of failing to comply with the notice, the
Flintshire Justices held that it had not been validly served, and dis-
missed the information.
The
police superintendent who prepared
the information successfully appealed to the High Court.
The
Lord
Chief Justice, in giving judgment, said that there was no
doubt
what-
ever
that
the billeting notice was properly served, for the simple reason
that
the person who handed
it
to the defendant was expressly authorised
to do so by the billeting officer.
"It
could not have been the intention
of the regulation
that
billeting officers should serve these notices by
themselves placing
them
in the hands of the persons to whom they were
directed."
On the facts of the case, the billeting officer was present at the
time of service.
The
Court was asked 'to make observations on the
question, which has sometimes been raised, whether abilleting notice
should be served in the presence of the billeting officer.
Anyobserv-
ations of the Court on this point were, of course, only obiter dicta and
not a definite ruling,
but
Lord
Caldicote
"saw
no reason why
the
billeting officer should not authorise some person to serve notices
which had been duly prepared even if he (the officer)were not present."
The
other two judges agreed.
In
this way the powers of the police are
greater
than
they appear to be from the strict letter of the Defence
Regulations. But the additional powers attach to
them
not
as police
constables,
but
as deputies of billeting officers.
166
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