Police Reform Act 2002

15 General duties of police authorities, chief officers and inspectors

(1) It shall be the duty of—

(a) every police authority maintaining a police force,

(b) the chief officer of police of every police force, and

(c) every inspector of constabulary carrying out any of his functions in relation to a police force,

to ensure that it or he is kept informed, in relation to that force, about all matters falling within subsection (2).

(2) Those matters are—

(a) matters with respect to which any provision of this Part has effect;

(b) anything which is done under or for the purposes of any such provision; and

(c) any obligations to act or refrain from acting that have arisen by or under this Part but have not yet been complied with, or have been contravened.

(3) Where—

(a) a police authority maintaining any police force requires the chief officer of that force or of any other force to provide a member of his force for appointment under paragraph 16, 17 or 18 of Schedule 3,

(b) the chief officer of police of any police force requires the chief officer of police of any other police force to provide a member of that other force for appointment under any of those paragraphs, or

(c) a police authority or chief officer requires the Director General of the National Criminal Intelligence Service or the Director General of the National Crime Squad to provide a member of that Service or Squad for appointment under any of those paragraphs,

it shall be the duty of the chief officer or Director General to whom the requirement is addressed to comply with it.

(4) It shall be the duty of—

(a) every police authority maintaining a police force,

(b) the chief officer of police of every police force,

(c) the Service Authority for the National Criminal Intelligence Service and the Service Authority for the National Crime Squad, and

(d) the Directors General of that Service and of that Squad,

to provide the Commission and every member of the Commission’s staff with all such assistance as the Commission or that member of staff may reasonably require for the purposes of, or in connection with, the carrying out of any investigation by the Commission under this Part.

(5) It shall be the duty of—

(a) every police authority maintaining a police force,

(b) the chief officer of every police force,

(c) the Service Authorities for the National Criminal Intelligence Service and of the National Crime Squad, and

(d) the Directors General of that Service and of that Squad,

to ensure that a person appointed under paragraph 16, 17 or 18 of Schedule 3 to carry out an investigation is given all such assistance and co-operation in the carrying out of that investigation as that person may reasonably require

(6) The duties imposed by subsections (4) and (5) on a police authority maintaining a police force and on the chief officer of such a force and on the Directors General of the National Criminal Intelligence Service and of the National Crime Squad have effect—

(a) irrespective of whether the investigation relates to the conduct of a person who is or has been a member of that force or of that Service or Squad; and

(b) irrespective of who has the person appointed to carry out the investigation under his direction and control;

but a chief officer of a third force may be required to give assistance and co-operation under subsection (5) only with the approval of the chief officer of the force to which the person who requires it belongs or, as the case may be, of the Director General of the Service or Squad to which that person belongs.

(7) In subsection (6) “third force”, in relation to an investigation, means a police force other than—

(a) the force to which the person carrying out the investigation belongs; or

(b) the force to which the person whose conduct is under investigation belonged at the time of the conduct;

and in this subsection references to a police force include references to the National Criminal Intelligence Service and the National Crime Squad.