Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005

Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005

2005 CHAPTER 15

The Act

Commentary on Sections

Chapter 2: SOCA: Special powers of designated staff

Section 43: Designation of SOCA staff as persons having powers of constable etc.

137. When a person becomes a member of staff of SOCA, any powers that they held in their previous capacity as a constable, officer of Revenue and Customs or immigration officer will no longer be exercisable (see paragraph 138). Instead, the Director General of SOCA may confer some or all of these powers on a member of staff of SOCA according to the business needs of the organisation (subsection (1)). A designation under this section may be subject to limitations (subsection (2)). These may relate to the powers exercisable (for example, only some of the powers of a constable may be conferred on a particular member of staff) or to the duration of the designation (it may be time limited or last for as long as the person concerned remains a member of staff of SOCA). Powers may be conferred on a member of staff of SOCA irrespective of whether he has previously held such powers (subsection (4)(b)). It is open to the Director General to augment the powers previously held by a member of staff, for example a police officer joining SOCA on secondment may have the customs powers of a Revenue and Customs Officer conferred on him in addition to the powers of a constable (subsection (4)(a)). However, the Director General must ensure that a person has the capability, aptitude and adequate training appropriate to those powers before a designation is made (subsection (5)).

138. Subsection (6) provides that where a constable, Revenue and Customs officer or immigration officer becomes an employee of SOCA their previous office is to be treated as suspended. That suspension would end if, say, a member of staff of SOCA who had been a constable returned to work in a police force.