The Police Act 1996 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that consolidated major parts of earlier police legislation for England and Wales. It deals with the organisation of police forces, police areas, police authorities and governance structures, central supervision, police representative bodies, pensions, complaints and discipline provisions, and several police-related offences.
The Act should not be confused with the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE). Many everyday police powers, including arrest, search, entry, seizure, detention, and questioning powers, are found in PACE and other statutes, not in the Police Act 1996.
Background
The 1996 Act was mainly a consolidation Act. It brought together provisions from older legislation rather than creating a completely new policing code. It remains important because many police governance and offence provisions are still cited through it.
Later legislation has amended the policing framework substantially. Police and crime commissioners, the Independent Office for Police Conduct, counter-terrorism powers, protest powers, and many search and arrest powers are dealt with through other Acts and later amendments.
Police Organisation
The Act sets out the structure of police areas and police forces in England and Wales. It provides for police forces to be maintained for police areas and deals with chief officers and the broad framework of local policing administration.
Modern police governance has changed since 1996, especially through the introduction of police and crime commissioners. Even so, the Act remains one of the central statutes in the structure of policing law.
Central Supervision
The Act contains provisions about the role of the Home Secretary in relation to police forces. These provisions sit alongside later inspection, accountability, and governance arrangements.
In practice, modern police accountability involves a combination of local governance, His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, the Independent Office for Police Conduct, courts, Parliament, and internal police discipline systems.
Section 89 Offences
Section 89 contains two commonly used offences:
- Assaulting a constable in the execution of duty.
- Resisting or wilfully obstructing a constable, or a person assisting a constable, in the execution of duty.
These offences are summary offences. More serious violence against police or other emergency workers may be charged under other legislation, including the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018, Offences Against the Person Act 1861, or other criminal law.
Section 90 Impersonation
Section 90 makes it an offence to impersonate a member of a police force or special constable, or to make a statement or do an act calculated falsely to suggest that a person is such a member or constable. It also covers certain unlawful possession of police articles.
The purpose is to protect public trust in police authority and prevent people from abusing the appearance of official power.
What the Act Does Not Do
The Act is often misdescribed as the source of general police stop and search, arrest, entry, seizure, and detention powers. Those powers are mainly found elsewhere.
Examples include:
- Stop and search under section 1 of PACE.
- Arrest without warrant under section 24 of PACE.
- Citizen's arrest under section 24A of PACE.
- Entry to arrest or save life and limb under section 17 of PACE.
- Seizure powers under section 19 of PACE.
- Section 60 stop and search authorisations under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.
Practical Examples
Obstruction
A person deliberately blocks an officer who is carrying out a lawful arrest. Section 89 may be relevant if the officer is acting in the execution of duty.
Impersonation
A person wears convincing police-style identification and tells members of the public that they are a police officer. Section 90 may be considered if the evidence supports impersonation.
Search Power Mistake
An officer searches a person under PACE. The legality of that search depends on the PACE power, not on the Police Act 1996 merely because the officer is a constable.
See Also
- Obstruction of a Constable
- Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984
- Assault with Intent to Resist Arrest
- Misconduct in Public Office
References
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