Rights of british/american customs officers?

Question

If I were to take a laptop on a plane with me, are they likely, and are they allowed to force me to log on and check my files for nothing illegal before letting you get on the plane? I know this sounds stupid, but I'm curious. That's all. Curious.

Answer 1

Customs officer in the UK in fact have more powers than the police. One of the powers they have over the police is the fact that they do not need a warrant. (Darwin is wrong).

You don't have rights at Entry points, if they want to check your computer for illegal images or anything else then they will.

They do not need a reason to carry out a search (especially at Airports and other ports), have you ever seen a customs officer stop someone and say to them "if you wait in that room for about 12 hours im off to court to get a warrant to search you property"

Answer is NO they will just search you regardless or whether of not they believe you have illegal items on your possesion.

Customs officers are allowed to search anywhere without the need for a warrant, that includes your home, work, or on your person.

Basically what I am trying to say is that if a UK customs officer wants to look through laptop then he can and you can't stop him.

Look at it as the terms and condition of entering the country that you agree to you and possesions being searched.

Answer 2

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs...

Govt. officials could seize your laptop and iPod

Gannett News Service • August 1, 2008

WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security has released internal guidelines for searching, seizing and copying the contents of electronic devices carried by U.S. travelers.

Border officials may seize laptops, cell phones, and personal devices without a warrant or probable cause and keep them for an indefinite amount of time, according to the documents.

The guidelines, dated July 16, allow U.S. Customs and Border Protection to share copies of seized data with other agencies and keep written notes on the contents. Border officials are instructed to destroy any copies they make of data that don't cast suspicion on the traveler.

For years, U.S. citizens have been reporting searches and seizures of electronic items by customs agents during return trips, but the Department of Homeland Security would not release details on the practice until recently.

Department officials say the searches have helped them uncover child pornography, terrorist information and electronic contraband. But critics say the searches aren't effective enough to overcome privacy concerns.

"The policy only stops the dumb terrorists, because anyone can cross the border with a clean laptop," said Peter Swire, law professor at Ohio State University. "We shouldn't have intrusive searches that aren't even effective."

Determined criminals can read posts on the Internet about how to maintain a clean computer, Swire said. Others might choose to simply e-mail their sensitive data to themselves rather than pass through customs with it.

Many international corporations are now taking these same steps, as business travelers worry about having sensitive information seized indefinitely.

"Companies are starting to keep scrubbed travel computers because there really is no such thing as deleted information," said Susan Gurley, executive director for the Association of Corporate Travel Executives. "Personally, I don't travel with a laptop, for that reason."

The Department of Homeland Security has declined to release information on how often the practice occurs, but 7 percent of business travelers recently surveyed by Gurley's group reported their devices had been searched.

The Supreme Court has held that routine searches are permissible at the border and do not require probable cause. In April, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco accepted evidence from a laptop search in a child pornography case, arguing that electronic devices aren't different from other types of luggage.

The Electronic Freedom Foundation sued the Department of Homeland Security for information on the searches last year.

Senator Russ Feingold, D-Wis., publicly demanded information on the search practices last month. Shortly after disclosure of the documents, Feingold said he will introduce legislation to require border officials to have probable cause before searching electronic devices.

Others argue that restricting the searches has only made a difficult job harder for customs officials.

"You and I rely on the men and women standing at the border to get it right, and we need to give them the broad authority they need to do their jobs," James Carafano, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, testified last month before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, which Feingold chairs.

Privacy advocates disagree, saying constitutional law has failed to keep up with the problems new technologies present.

"The policy makes an exception for U.S. mail — Congress has always protected the privacy of mail," said Swire. "Why not apply the same principles to saved e-ails?"

Answer 3

Simple answer is no,not without a warrant.

There is still such a thing as invasion of privacy.