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Can the Guards search through your phone?

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  • 19-12-2007 12:32am
    #1
    starlight07
    Closed Accounts Posts: 109 ✭✭


    My friend was arrested for minor drunk and disorderly charges, whilst in the station cell the guards went through their phones and have mentioned some details that were in text messages. Is this permitted by guards without a warrent?


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    #2
    GerryRyan
    Closed Accounts Posts: 966 ✭✭✭GerryRyan


    starlight07 wrote: »
    My friend was arrested for minor drunk and disorderly charges, whilst in the station cell the guards went through their phones and have mentioned some details that were in text messages. Is this permitted by guards without a warrent?

    Oh God no!! Even with a warrant (for a phone search?) I don't see how it would be allowed. Definite invasion of privacy.

    Where was this OP?
    Garda Super, Ombudsman and/or Solicitor is the option there.

    Were they given a reason for it even?


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    #3
    Turner
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 3,931 Mod ✭✭✭✭Turner


    Not too sure on this one.

    I presume they are allowed. IF they suspect evidence relating to the offence for which you are arrested in contained in the phone.

    Sure they can seize and examine anything as evidence if they can connect it to an offence.

    Aswell when you are processed in a garda station you and all your belongings are searched and taken off you.


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    #4
    hullaballoo
    Administrators, Entertainment Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 18,712 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭hullaballoo


    Presumably this would be governed by the same policy as the seizure of laptops and other electronic devices. I'm sure there's some sort of provision in our vastly invasive criminal law corpus that allows the Gardaí to read your texts: an honour most married couples don't even share.


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    #5
    timmywex
    Registered Users Posts: 2,626 ✭✭✭timmywex


    sure they can read all your messages because they are stored for 7 years and all your call details also,as others have said, i would imagine if there is evidence they can search for it, likewise, they can take a computer and have it searched if say they believed there was child pornography on it


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    #6
    Beano
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,357 ✭✭✭Beano


    I am open to correction on this but i have seen posts on the mobile phone forum that said that mobile phone companies do not store store the contents of text messages only the message details such as sender, receiver, date, time etc.


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    #7
    celt2005
    Registered Users Posts: 317 ✭✭celt2005


    Beanos Correct,


    Only logged details , time , numbers etc ...


    They can search your phone (Nosey Pr*cks) but information maybe inadmissable in court , depending on offence.


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    #8
    Our man in Havana
    Closed Accounts Posts: 29,476 ✭✭✭✭Our man in Havana


    For something simple like drunk and disorderly what evidence of the offence would be on a phone?


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    #9
    johnnyskeleton
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Politics Moderators Posts: 14,469 Mod ✭✭✭✭johnnyskeleton


    Beano wrote: »
    I am open to correction on this but i have seen posts on the mobile phone forum that said that mobile phone companies do not store store the contents of text messages only the message details such as sender, receiver, date, time etc.

    As far as I'm aware they do have records of the contents of each and every text message sent.

    See Seamus' post here.

    Also, I believe that the phone companies often produce records of the text messages. How they do this I don't know, but it seems that they can dig it up somehow.

    ______________________

    When they arrest someone, the gardai are entitled to seize any item that may be relevant to the offence. After this they usually have a bit of a poke around, looking for the odd bit of evidence. It's hard to see what relevance text messages would be to the offence of intoxication in a public place, although they might use the text messages to form the reasonable belief that the person was in possession of, for example, drugs or guns.


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    #10
    timmywex
    Registered Users Posts: 2,626 ✭✭✭timmywex


    they do keep the contents also, i am nearly deadly sure, i have seen the printouts of the message with the details myself, this was some of the main evidence in the joe o'reilly case also i believe


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    #11
    Sully
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators, Regional South East Moderators Posts: 24,056 Mod ✭✭✭✭Sully


    timmywex wrote: »
    they do keep the contents also, i am nearly deadly sure, i have seen the printouts of the message with the details myself, this was some of the main evidence in the joe o'reilly case also i believe

    Thought those were emails, and phone records (as in where he was at a particular time)?


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    #12
    m3boy
    Closed Accounts Posts: 35 ✭m3boy


    Sully wrote: »
    Thought those were emails, and phone records (as in where he was at a particular time)?

    no i dont think yey have a right at all, its invasion of privicay unrelated to the offense if it was just drunkin behavior by the the way please check your mail inbox, i have sent you informationjregaeding one of your other posts


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    #13
    Trojan911
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,194 ✭✭✭Trojan911


    Bond-007 wrote: »
    For something simple like drunk and disorderly what evidence of the offence would be on a phone?

    I have to agree here. Should an allegation of say rape/threats etc were made via the phone then the phone would be seized and the phone service provider would be contacted to provide any links to back the allegation.

    But for Drunkeness where the phone was not even taken out, it's a no, no in my opinion. They would have no reason to look through it (unless they were looking through it because a person may have drug related convictions etc).


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    #14
    timmywex
    Registered Users Posts: 2,626 ✭✭✭timmywex


    Sully wrote: »
    Thought those were emails, and phone records (as in where he was at a particular time)?

    oh it could have been, i just remembered a message he had sent with two x's on the end and supposed it to be a text message, i could be wrong (just ended up blanking out that trial)


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    #15
    Sully
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators, Regional South East Moderators Posts: 24,056 Mod ✭✭✭✭Sully


    m3boy wrote: »
    by the the way please check your mail inbox, i have sent you informationjregaeding one of your other posts

    Was that meant for me?


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    #16
    cold_filter
    Registered Users Posts: 744 ✭✭✭cold_filter


    timmywex wrote: »
    they do keep the contents also, i am nearly deadly sure, i have seen the printouts of the message with the details myself, this was some of the main evidence in the joe o'reilly case also i believe

    Your standard SMS system will not record the content of messages. Though I'm currently working abroad implementing a system that does record the content.
    Obviously the main reason why is the cost of actually storing all those SMS.

    Also as far as I am aware none of the irish operators have this system set up 99% certain.


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    #17
    Fey!
    Registered Users Posts: 4,184 ✭✭✭Fey!


    Could it be possible that the gardai went through the phone initially looking for a name like "HOME", "MAM", or "DAD"? After all, if the guy was drunk enough to be arrested for it, they may have tried contacting someone to let them know he was OK (it being the season of goodwill and all).

    And if a phone was in a pocket, would them going through the phone simply be an extension of them checking the contents of his pockets?


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    #18
    trellheim
    Registered Users Posts: 5,860 ✭✭✭trellheim


    they're entitled to record the contents of your wallet ... why not your phone ?


    You happily send 02/Vodafone and Meteor all your texts ... and they're private companies.

    Anyway s62/63/64 of the CJ Act 2005 say what the companies should hang on to at a minimum ... or am I out of date ?


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    #19
    m3boy
    Closed Accounts Posts: 35 ✭m3boy


    Sully wrote: »
    Was that meant for me?
    yes it was ment for you , y? have i got things mied up ?


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