Posted By halesowen Baggie
I seem to remember the law of trespass is a civil law? How can trespassers be prosecuted?

If we have a person at our workplace who should not be here what authority do the police have to come and tell that person to leave our premises.

worse still

You get back home from work and somebody is sitting in your chair watching the goggle box (he is not stealing anything). What laws do would the police use to get that person out of your slippers?

Posted By Andy Farrall
Hi,
If memory serves (I used to train security officers) a person becomes a trespasser if he is on private premises without lawful authority, is told to leave by the owner (or the owner's agent), and then refuses to go.

Technically you have the right to use minimal reasonable force to eject the person (but I DON'T recommend you try!) and the appropriate action is to call the police and ask them to eject the person. If they refuse to go they are liable to arrest - not for trespass but for behaviour likely to cause a breach of the peace etc.

There is a power of arrest for aggrevated trespass (caused by a trespasser attempting to disrupt operations, e.g. animal rights) but that power is vested only in a police officer - not in the private individual.

Hope this helps.

Andy