(1) It shall be the duty of every person subject to this Act who knows or has reasonable grounds for suspecting that any other person subject thereto is committing or has committed an offence under any provision of Part I of this Act, to take all reasonable steps within his power to cause that person to be brought to justice.
(2)Subject to Standing Orders of the commanding officer of any of Her Majesty’s ships or naval establishments, the following persons shall have power to arrest a person subject to this Act who is found committing or is alleged to have committed or is reasonably suspected of having committed any such offence as aforesaid, that is to say:—
(a)in the case of an officer, an officer subject to this Act who is his superior officer or, if the person to be arrested is engaged in a mutiny, quarrel or disturbance, any officer subject to this Act;
(b)in the case of a rating, an officer subject to this Act, a [F1warrant officer] chief petty officer, petty officer or leading rating subject to this Act who is of superior rate or senior to him in the same rate, and any rating exercising authority as a member of the regulating staff or as a member of the staff of the officer of the watch;
(c)in any case, a provost officer and any officer or person legally exercising authority under or on behalf of a provost officer:
Provided that an officer shall not be arrested by virtue of paragraph (c) of this subsection except on the order of another officer.
(3)Any power of arrest under this section may be exercised either personally or by ordering into arrest the person to be arrested or by giving orders for that person’s arrest.
Textual Amendments
F1Words inserted by Armed Forces Act 1971 (c. 33), Sch. 3 para. 5(1)
Textual Amendments applied to the whole legislation
F2Act repealed (prosp.) by Armed Forces Act 2006 (c. 52), ss. 378, 383, Sch. 17 and the repeal being partly in force, as to which see individual provisions