Section 15: General duties of police authorities, chief officers and inspectors
143.Subsections (1) and (2) place a general duty on police authorities and chief officers to keep themselves informed of the manner in which complaints or other conduct matters are dealt with under this Part in the forces for which they have responsibility. These subsections also place a general duty on inspectors of constabulary to keep themselves informed of the manner in which complaints or other conduct matters are dealt with under this Part in any police force in relation to which they are carrying out any of their functions. The purpose of this duty as respects a police authority or a chief officer is to enable them to exercise the necessary management control to ensure their functions and duties under this Part are discharged in an effective and efficient way. The purpose of this duty as respects an inspector of constabulary is to enable him to take account of these matters during his inspection of a police force.
144.A chief officer or Director General of the National Criminal Intelligence Service or the National Crime Squad will have a duty under subsection (3) to provide a member of his force for appointment to investigate a complaint or other conduct matter (under paragraphs 16, 17 and 18 of Schedule 3) when asked to do so by any other chief officer or a police authority and under subsection (5) to provide additional assistance and co-operation that may be required by that person in the carrying out of that investigation. Alternatively, under subsection (6), this additional assistance and co-operation may be required from a chief officer of a third force but only with the approval of the chief officer or Director General who provided the person to investigate the complaint or other conduct matter.
145.Subsection (4) places a duty on every chief officer, the Directors General of the National Criminal Intelligence Service and of the National Crime Squad, and every police authority to provide the Commission with all the assistance it requires for an investigation it carries out under paragraph 19 of Schedule 3; for example, specialist skills or manpower for a specific task.
