Police on site - Checklist
The law briefly
The police have a statutory right and obligation to carry out their duties. The right to arrest and detain has to be exercised within the law.
The person to be charged is entitled to legal advice and assistance. The individual may seek the presence of his legal adviser (when being questioned by the police) as a matter of priority.
The company may wish to avoid publicity and unnecessary rumours, should the matter be related to company business. Confidentiality clauses in employment contracts rarely contemplate such events as the police arriving on site, however. The legal enforceability of such clauses (attempting to prevent disclosure of any company business to the media, for example) is also doubtful. Although there may be an obligation not to do material harm to the business, the communication of events not involving information that is the property of the business, or information that is not confidential in a business sense, would seem not to be legitimately prevented by such a clause.
What to do
Check: to do
The managing director should usher the individual and police officers into a private room out of the vision of employees.
The managing director should then ascertain what the police want. It may be that they simply wish to serve relevant documents.
The issue of legal assistance should be canvassed - either the company secretary’s own lawyer, or another lawyer that the business uses, may be called upon to advise on the appropriate actions.
It may be advisable to call a brief all-staff meeting, if the matter concerns company business. If rumours are running, the management could assess the situation as one that would benefit by putting some rumours to rest - as long as this could be managed without generating more questions and rumours.
Be alert
If the matter concerns company business, it may be appropriate to ensure that the documentation and ‘authorities’ held by the police are not faulty and have been properly executed. The assistance of a lawyer (to assess this) is advisable.
If the individual is charged over a matter of company business and held in custody then a bail application should be made as a matter of urgency.
Consider the options
Cooperation with the police is required, but the legal rights of all parties should be considered.
A minimum of publicity and fuss is the usual aim of the management in circumstances like these, so removing the ‘event' from sight and conducting discussions in private is an important consideration.
Follow-up
If the basis for the event is a private matter (ie unrelated to any business activities), the company may be able to take a minimal role.
If, however, the issues involve the conduct of the business then a strategy to manage any prosecution/litigation has to be put in place as soon as possible. Advice could be sought to minimise the impact of bad publicity.
p:\word7\template\normal.dot