21.—(1) Where a member of a police force has previously served in a police force for an area comprised in whole or in part in the area for which his present force is maintained and he ceased to be a member of his present force by reason only of one or more such statutory transfers as are mentioned in paragraph (2) then, subject to paragraph (3), he shall not be assigned to duties which, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, make it necessary for him to move his home to a place which is outside the area for which his former force was maintained.
(2) In paragraph (1) the reference to a statutory transfer is a reference to a statutory transfer being—
(a)prior to 1st April 1995, a transfer in accordance with the provisions of an amalgamation scheme under the Police Act 1964;
(b)on or after 1st April 1995, a transfer in accordance with an order made under section 21 or 21A of the Police Act 1964 or section 32 of the Act;
(c)a transfer taking effect on 1st April 1974,
except that where the former force was the police force for a borough the said reference is to any statutory transfer.
(3) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a person by reason of his previous service in a particular police force if—
(a)since he became a member of that police force he has been a chief officer;
(b)after he was statutorily transferred from that police force he has given written notice to the chief officer of the police force of which he was at the time a member that the protection accorded by paragraph (1) should cease to apply to him, or
(c)that force was a county or combined police force and after he was statutorily transferred therefrom but before 1st February 1968 he was assigned to such duties as are mentioned in paragraph (1),
without prejudice, however, to the application of paragraph (1) to him by reason of service in another police force after his statutory transfer from the force first mentioned in this paragraph and before his statutory transfer to his present force.
(4) Paragraph (1) shall apply in the case of a member of a police force who ceased to be such and became a serviceman, a reversionary member of a home police force or a central police officer—
(a)where on ceasing to be such, he resumed service in or, as the case may be, exercised his right of reversion to, his former force, as if he had not ceased to be a member of that force, or
(b)where on ceasing to be such, he resumed service in or, as the case may be, exercised his right of reversion to some other force to which members of his former force had been transferred as mentioned in paragraph (2), as if he had been so transferred from his former force to that other force.
(5) In this regulation, “present force” and “former force” mean, respectively, the force first mentioned and that secondly mentioned in paragraph (1).