1. My question is, if one is caught in a brothel/massage parlour in a police raid, what is the best strategy to adopt?
Your chances of being caught in a brothel raid are extremely slim. As others have said, don’t be gobby with the police. They don’t like it. There’s a time and place for it. Being caught in a brothel wearing just a condom, probably isn’t the right time. Chances are that you’ll just be asked to get dressed and leave. Best to do that without any fuss. Don’t insist on a refund. Watch when you leave, in case the media are outside taking photos. If you’ve parked your car outside consider whether it’s actually a good idea to walk over to it. It may be best to leave it and come back later.
2. Do I have the right not to reveal my name?
The police may or may not take punters names. There are very few circumstances where it’s a criminal offence not to give your name etc. to the police. Being caught in a brothel raid isn’t one of them. There may be consequences though.
3. What would happen if I decided not to reveal my name?
If the police are told at the pre-raid briefing back at the station to make sure that they take names then they’re going to be very reluctant to let you go without doing so. That’s when they use the “Ways and Means Act”. They could start talking about coerced foreign girls. That may be of concern if you’re with a Romanian girl etc. They could say that you match the description of the brothel-owner and they need to eliminate you from their enquiries. There isn’t actually a Ways and Means Act. It just means that if the police want to do something very often they’ll find a way of doing it.
Personally I would give my details, because I doubt that anything would come of it. It’s not illegal to visit a brothel. It’s very easy for the CPS to prove that premises are a brothel. They don’t need punters as witnesses, and besides punters make very poor witnesses in brothel-keeping cases. Your details will get written down in the pocket-book, and that’ll probably be the end of it.
Former Labour MP Joe Ashton was caught up in a brothel raid in 1998 with a 21 year old Thai girl in Northampton. He refused to give his name, much to the frustration of the police. Eventually they let him go, but rather sneakily followed him to his car and got his registration number. These days I think they’d just threaten to arrest for suspicion of paying a girl subjected to force etc.
If you do give a false name (which I wouldn’t recommend) then you could be facing the more serious offence of obstructing a police officer in the execution of his duty.
4. If I decide not to reveal my name, do the police have the right to search me and find out my details from my wallet?
Generally, no. Not unless you’re arrested.
5. I had initally been concerned about being raided in a brothel without realising that it was a brothel, but now understand that this is not illegal for a punter - am I correct in thinking this?
Yes. That’s correct. It’s not illegal to visit a brothel or pay for sex. It’s illegal to pay or promise to pay for the sexual services of a prostitute subjected to force (ie. force, threats, coercion or deception). I’ve yet to come across a single reported case of anyone actually having been convicted in the Magistrates court since the law came into force 4 years ago.
6. Should I accept a caution, or take a chance that I will not be prosecuted?
Personally. I would never accept a caution for this offence. The CPS will be very reluctant to prosecute. The offence was clearly designed to deter punters and not to be used to prosecute them. In the unlikely event that it ever got that far, you’d be well advised though to seek specialist legal advice and not rely on what you read in a punting forum.