Rights and LimitsPhones and devicesPolice asking a victim or witness for their phone
Police asking a victim or witness for their phone
What you must do, and what you can refuse
Every claim below links to the law it comes from, with the wording quoted so you can check it yourself.
You can refuse
No penalty for saying no.
Refuse to hand over your phone or agree to data extraction, even as a complainant or witness.
The written notice you must be given before being asked has to state, in terms, that you may refuse.
Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, s.39(3)
“An authorised person must have given P notice in writing— stating that P may refuse to provide the device or agree to the extraction of information from it, and— stating that the investigation or enquiry for the purposes of which the information is sought will not be brought to an end merely because P refuses to provide the device or agree to the extraction of information from it.”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25
Expect the investigation to continue rather than end simply because you said no.
This is a specific, required part of the written notice you must be given before you are asked to agree.
Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, s.39(3)
“An authorised person must have given P notice in writing— stating that P may refuse to provide the device or agree to the extraction of information from it, and— stating that the investigation or enquiry for the purposes of which the information is sought will not be brought to an end merely because P refuses to provide the device or agree to the extraction of information from it.”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25
Have any agreement you give treated as valid only if the officer has not placed undue pressure on you to give it.
Consent obtained under undue pressure does not count as voluntary provision or agreement under the Act.
Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, s.39(1) and (2)
“is to be treated for the purposes of section 37 or 38 as having— voluntarily provided an electronic device to an authorised person, and— agreed to the extraction of information from the device by an authorised person, only if the requirements of this section have been met.— An authorised person must not have placed undue pressure on P to provide the device or agree to the extraction of information from it.”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25
This is not only about suspects
Most coverage of police digital powers focuses on suspects. This one is different, and it is badly under-explained: ss.37–39 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 govern extracting information from the electronic device of any user who agrees to it — which in practice most often means a complainant handing over a phone in a sexual offence, domestic abuse, or harassment investigation, or a witness asked to help an inquiry.
The power exists to prevent, detect, investigate or prosecute crime, to help find a missing person, or to protect a child or at-risk adult from harm — not just to build a case against the person handing the phone over.
It has to be genuinely voluntary
The Act does not just say “with consent” and leave it there. It sets out what has to actually happen before your agreement counts as voluntary at all: the officer must not have placed undue pressure on you to hand the device over or agree to extraction.
You must also have been given written notice explaining what information is sought, why, and how it will be dealt with — and told, in that same notice, that you may refuse, and that refusing will not bring the investigation to an end.
Refusing does not end the case
This is the part complainants and witnesses are rarely told clearly enough to act on: the notice you are given is legally required to state that the investigation will not be brought to an end merely because you refuse to hand over your phone or agree to extraction. If an officer suggests otherwise — that the case will collapse or that they cannot proceed without your device — that goes beyond what the Act actually requires of you.
None of this stops the police pursuing other lawful ways of getting relevant material if you decline. It simply means your decision about your own phone is meant to be a real choice, not a precondition dressed up as one.
Last reviewed 2026-08-25. Next review due 2027-02-25. No solicitor has reviewed this page — see [email protected] if you think something here is wrong.