- Latest available (Revised)
- Point in Time (30/03/2001)
- Original (As enacted)
No versions valid at: 30/03/2001
Point in time view as at 30/03/2001. This version of this cross heading contains provisions that are not valid for this point in time.
There are currently no known outstanding effects for the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000, Cross Heading: General functions.
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. At the current time any known changes or effects made by subsequent legislation have been applied to the text of the legislation you are viewing by the editorial team. Please see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ for details regarding the timescales for which new effects are identified and recorded on this site.
Valid from 04/11/2001
(1)It shall be the general duty of police officers—
(a)to protect life and property;
(b)to preserve order;
(c)to prevent the commission of offences;
(d)where an offence has been committed, to take measures to bring the offender to justice.
(2)A police officer shall have all the powers and privileges of a constable throughout Northern Ireland and the adjacent United Kingdom waters.
(3)In subsection (2)—
(a)the reference to the powers and privileges of a constable is a reference to all the powers and privileges for the time being exercisable by a constable whether at common law or under any statutory provision,
(b)“United Kingdom waters” means the sea and other waters within the seaward limits of the territorial sea,
and that subsection, so far as it relates to the powers under any statutory provision, makes them exercisable throughout the adjacent United Kingdom waters whether or not the statutory provision applies to those waters apart from that subsection.
(4)In carrying out their functions, police officers shall be guided by the code of ethics under section 52.
(5)Police officers shall, so far as practicable, carry out their functions in co-operation with, and with the aim of securing the support of, the local community.
(1)The police shall be under the direction and control of the Chief Constable.
(2)In discharging his functions, the Chief Constable shall have regard to—
(a)the policing plan; and
(b)any code of practice under section 27.
(1)There shall be a deputy Chief Constable who may exercise all the functions of the Chief Constable—
(a)during any absence, incapacity or suspension from duty of the Chief Constable; or
(b)during any vacancy in the office of Chief Constable.
(2)The deputy Chief Constable shall not have power to act by virtue of subsection (1) for a continuous period exceeding 3 months except with the consent of the Secretary of State.
(3)Subsection (1) is in addition to, and not in substitution for, any other statutory provision which makes provision for the exercise by any other person of functions of the Chief Constable.
(1)The Board shall, subject to the approval of the Secretary of State, appoint the Chief Constable.
(2)The Board shall, subject to the approval of the Secretary of State and after consultation with the Chief Constable, appoint the other senior officers.
(3)The Board—
(a)may, with the approval of the Secretary of State, call upon any senior officer to retire in the interests of efficiency or effectiveness; and
(b)shall, if required by the Secretary of State, call upon the Chief Constable so to retire.
(4)Before granting his approval under subsection (3)(a) or making any requirement under subsection (3)(b), the Secretary of State shall—
(a)give the officer concerned an opportunity to make, either personally or otherwise, representations to him; and
(b)where any such representations are made—
(i)appoint a person or persons to hold an inquiry and to report to him; and
(ii)consider any report so made.
(5)A copy of any report made under subsection (4) shall be made available to the officer concerned.
(6)The person appointed under subsection (4)(b) (or where two or more persons are so appointed, at least one of those persons) shall be a person who is not a police officer or a person employed in the civil service.
(7)The costs incurred in respect of an inquiry under this section shall be defrayed by the Secretary of State.
(8)A senior officer who is called upon to retire under this section shall retire—
(a)in the case of the Chief Constable, on such date as the Secretary of State may specify; and
(b)in the case of any other senior officer, on such date as the Board may specify,
or (in either case) on such earlier date as may be agreed between the officer and the Board.
(9)This section has effect subject to any regulations made under section 25 of the 1998 Act.
(1)This section applies to the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
(2)Subject to subsection (3), appointments and promotions to any rank other than that of a senior officer shall be made, in accordance with regulations under section 25 of the 1998 Act, by the Chief Constable.
(3)A person shall not be appointed to the rank of constable unless he has—
(a)completed such period of service as a trainee (a “police trainee”) as may be prescribed by regulations under section 41(3); and
(b)complied with such other conditions relating to training as may be so prescribed.
(1)This section applies to the Police Service of Northern Ireland Reserve.
(2)Subject to subsection (3), the Chief Constable shall, in accordance with regulations under section 26 of the 1998 Act, appoint its members.
(3)A person shall not be appointed as a reserve constable unless he has—
(a)completed such period of service as a trainee (a “police reserve trainee”) as may be prescribed by regulations under section 41(3); and
(b)complied with such other conditions relating to training as may be so prescribed.
(1)Every police officer shall, on appointment, be attested as a constable by making before a justice of the peace a declaration in the following form—
“I hereby do solemnly and sincerely and truly declare and affirm that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of constable, with fairness, integrity, diligence and impartiality, upholding fundamental human rights and according equal respect to all individuals and their traditions and beliefs; and that while I continue to hold the said office I will to the best of my skill and knowledge discharge all the duties thereof according to law.”
(2)The Chief Constable shall take such steps as he considers necessary—
(a)to bring the terms of the declaration to the attention of all police officers appointed before the coming into force of this section; and
(b)to ensure that they understand it and understand the need to carry out their duties in accordance with it.
(3)“Traditions and beliefs” does not include a tradition or belief so far as it is incompatible with the rule of law.
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
Point in Time: This becomes available after navigating to view revised legislation as it stood at a certain point in time via Advanced Features > Show Timeline of Changes or via a point in time advanced search.
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Text created by the government department responsible for the subject matter of the Act to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes were introduced in 1999 and accompany all Public Acts except Appropriation, Consolidated Fund, Finance and Consolidation Acts.
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including: