Courts and Court Officers Act 2009
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Functions of holding area officer. |
11.— (1) Notwithstanding section 9 , a holding area officer shall, as regards a person who has been placed in his or her temporarycustody under section 6 — | |
(a) prevent his or her escape from lawful custody, | ||
(b) prevent the commission of an offence by him or her, | ||
(c) ensure that he or she behaves in an orderly and disciplined fashion, | ||
(d) bring him or her to a court or court office, as required, | ||
(e) ensure his or her appearance before a court, and | ||
(f) comply with any order of a court relating to his or her custody, treatment or transfer. | ||
(2) A holding area officer may search, in accordance with the Prison Rules, the person of any person who has been placed in his or her temporary custody under section 6 if he or she is of the opinion that it is necessary to do so to perform his or her functions under this Part. | ||
(3) A holding area officer may, where necessary, use all reasonable force in the performance of his or her functions under this Part. | ||
(4) Where section 6 (4) applies to a person who is lawfully in the custody of the Garda Síochána, a member of the Garda Síochána in whose custody that person is shall, without prejudice to any other enactment, have the powers and functions of a holding area officer under subsections (1) to (3). | ||
(5) Nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting the powers under the Prison Rules of a holding area officer who is a prison officer. | ||
(6) Where section 6 (1) applies, a member of the Garda Síochána who is of a higher rank than the holding area officer may authorise the transfer of the powers and functions of that holding area officer under this Part to another member of the Garda Síochána, and that other member shall assume those powers and functions. | ||
(7) Where section 6 (1) applies, and the prisoner placed intemporary custody is or has been placed in a Garda Síochána station, then notwithstanding that any other member of the Garda Síochána is also a holding area officer under this Part, the member in charge of that Garda Síochána station— | ||
(a) shall assume the powers and functions of a holding area officer under this Part, and | ||
(b) where he or she considers it necessary for the performance of any of his or her functions, and for such period or periods as he or she considers necessary, may authorise the transfer of any or all of the powers and functions assumed under paragraph (a) to another member of the Garda Síochána. | ||
(8) Where subsection (7)(b) applies, the transfer of the powers and functions concerned to a member of the Garda Síochána shall be construed as reserving to the member in charge the right to exercise those powers and to perform those functions concurrently with that member. |