The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (Commencement No. 2) Order 1985

1.  This Order may be cited as the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (Commencement No. 2) Order 1985.

2.  In this Order—

“the 1964 Act” means the Police Act 1964;

“the 1976 Act” means the Police Act 1976;

“the 1984 Act” means the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984;

“the Authority” means the Police Complaints Authority established in pursuance of section 83(1) of the 1984 Act;

“the Board” means the Police Complaints Board established in pursuance of section 1 of the 1976 Act;

“chief officer” includes a person discharging the functions of a chief officer;

“the commencement date” has the meaning assigned thereto by Article 3 below;

“complaint” means a complaint about the conduct of a member of a police force;

“the former complaints provisions” means the provisions applicable to complaints against members of police forces in force immediately before the commencement date.

3.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2) below, the provisions of the 1984 Act specified in the Schedule to this Order shall come into force on 29th April 1985 (in this Order referred to as “the commencement date”).

(2) In relation to an appeal by a member of a police force to the Secretary of State under section 37 of the 1964 Act (discipline appeals), written notice of which was received by the Secretary of State before the commencement date, the said section 37, and Schedule 5 to the 1964 Act, shall continue to have effect as they had effect immediately before the commencement date.

(3) Appendix B to Schedule 2 to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (Commencement No. 1) Order 1984 (repeals taking effect from 1st March 1985) is hereby amended by the insertion following the words “Section 5(3)” of the words “and section 17(6)”.

4.—(1) This Article applies to any complaint falling to be dealt with before the commencement date under the former complaints provisions and not disposed of in accordance with those provisions by that date.

(2) Subject to the following provisions of this Order any such complaint shall, as from the commencement date, continue to be dealt with as if Part IX of the 1984 Act had been in force at the date on which it was made, and as if anything done or falling to be done in relation thereto before the commencement date under any of the former complaints provisions was done or fell to be done in relation thereto under the corresponding provision of the said Part IX and the Regulations made thereunder, and, in particular—

(a) where any such complaint was recorded under section 49(1) of the 1964 Act it shall be treated as having been recorded under section 85(1) of the 1984 Act;

(b) where, under the said section 49(1), a chief officer has caused any such complaint to be investigated and has appointed an officer for that purpose, the officer shall be treated as having been appointed to investigate the complaint formally under section 85(3) of the 1984 Act;

(c) a request made before the commencement date by a chief officer or a police authority to the chief officer of another force to provide an officer for the purpose of carrying out an investigation of any such complaint shall be treated as if it had been made by him to that other chief officer in relation to that complaint under section 85(7) of the 1984 Act or, in the case of a complaint against a senior officer, by the police authority under section 86(3) of that Act.

(d) where the report of an investigation of any such complaint has been submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions under section 49(3) of the 1964 Act, it shall be treated as having been submitted under section 90(4) of the 1984 Act;

(e) where a copy of a report of an investigation of any such complaint has been submitted to the Board with a copy of the complaint and a memorandum under section 2(1)(b) of the 1976 Act, the memorandum shall be treated as having been submitted to the Authority under section 90(7) of the 1984 Act; and

(f) where, under section 3(2) of the 1976 Act, a recommendation has been made or a direction given by the Board to a chief officer as to disciplinary charges to be preferred by him in relation to any such complaint, the recommendation or direction shall be treated as made or given to him by the Authority in relation to that complaint under subsection (1) or, as the case may be, subsection (3) of section 93 of the 1984 Act.

5.  Sections 87 to 89 of the 1984 Act (which provide for the supervision by the Authority of investigations into complaints and other matters) shall not have effect in relation to any complaint or other matter unless—

(a) notice thereof was first received by the appropriate authority on or after the commencement date, and

(b) the conduct to be investigated occurred, or is alleged to have occurred, on or after 29th April 1984.

6.  Where, immediately before the commencement date, there were in force under section 7(1) of the 1976 Act (arrangements between the Board and authorities maintaining bodies of constables other than police authorities) arrangements between the Board and any such authority as is referred to in that subsection, the arrangements shall, notwithstanding the repeal of that section, continue in force as if made in pursuance of an agreement under section 96 of the 1984 Act between the Authority and the authority in question, until—

(a) the end of 6 months from the commencement date, or

(b) a new agreement is made between the Authority and the authority in question under the said section 96,

whichever is the earlier.

Leon Brittan

One of Her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State

Home Office

17th April 1985