Police Reform Act 2002 (uk)

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The Act also reflected the general tendency of left-wing government to centralise power. Prime Minister at the time of the Act Tony Blair had expressed this concern specifically in the context of policing, suggesting that to allow municipal governments to establish their own police forces would give rise to a risk of ‘Balkanisation’ (the geopolitical situation in which a region fragments into uncooperative or even hostile smaller regions). This attitude is likely to have motivated the increase in Home Office control over police strategy and management. Section 46 of the Police Reform Act 2002 creates offences relating specifically to designated persons (including PCSOs), namely: PCSOs retain the powers of arrest of a citizen under both common law and Section 24A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. They also have the power to use reasonable force in defence of themselves or another. To prevent confusion, it is helpful for PCSOs to have consistent powers throughout a force area but there is nothing to prevent PCSOs in different parts of a force area from being designated with different powers, depending on local need.

Vehicles should be issued with a warning first, unless this is impracticable. [5] An example of it being impractical would be the offenders leaving the vehicle/making off or the vehicle being unregistered and unable to be traced - therefore a warning unable to be placed. If an officer also reasonably believes a warning has been given within the past 12 months - whether or not recorded on the Police National Computer or similar system, they can seize the vehicle immediately. Research carried out by the neighbourhood policing programme indicates that most powers issued are seldom used, and this is particularly the case when large numbers are designated. Designation of specific powers The issuing of incapacitant spray, handcuffs and batons can be considered as options for PCSOs but it is not expected that forces are required to do so as a matter of course.The Policing and Crime Act 2017 and the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 created additional powers. Chief officers should decide which they will grant to PCSOs in their force areas based on community need. For example, granting the power to deal with an offence under Section 5(1) or 8(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 involving a contravention of a prohibition or restriction that relates to stopping, waiting or parking at or near a school entrance may be wholly appropriate given local public feeling and what is a regular community problem in many forces. Community safety accreditation schemes However, this may cause confusion among the public and absolute clarity is needed so that those supervising and leading PCSOs understand any anomalies across geographical boundaries. Community support officers are civilians employed and trained by local police forces but to a different standard than police officers. Unlike police constables, community support officers do not have a duty to act: they make a discretionary decision in each situation. They only have powers when they are on duty and in uniform, and their powers are limited to their force's boundaries.

Requires police authorities to produce a three-year strategy that is consistent with central government's strategic priorities. The bill's proposals on police working conditions coincided with a separate shake-up of the police pay structure – including the Home Office's decision to pursue a reduction in overtime – and sparked widespread anger among front-line police. The reforms were overwhelmingly rejected by members of the Police Federation of England and Wales: 91% of the federation's 84,000 members voted against the changes. Section 3 of the Criminal Law Act 1967, Section 117 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1884 and common law (breach of the peace and self-defence) provide legislation around reasonable force. Incapacitant spray is a prohibited weapon under Section 5(1)(b) of the Firearms Act 1968. Section 54(3) of the Act states that a person is exempt from Section 5(1)(b) if they are: A PCSO is exempt from firearms legislation, under Section 5(1)(b) of the Firearms Act 1968, by virtue of subsection (b). It is lawful for a PCSO to possess CS spray under the direction and control of a chief officer.PCSOs are not under a duty to act in any given situation, unlike the duty falling to police officers. Although PCSOs do have a duty under paragraph 2(4A) of Schedule 4 of the Police Reform Act 2002 (when designated) to remain with a police officer when transferring control of a detained person to his or her custody until the police officer has the person under control. The term community support officer is widely used to describe a variety of staff from differing agencies fulfilling a community safety function. The term police community support officer (PCSO) should be used to describe staff in all forces who are designated by chief officers under Section 38 of the Police Reform Act 2002. Section 59 of the Act is a common tool now used by police constables and police community support officers (PCSOs) to seize vehicles being used in an anti-social manner. Vehicles can be seized if the police officer / PCSO reasonably believes that a mechanically propelled vehicle is being used in a manner: [5] Good practice indicates that powers should be set force-wide and, where collaborative opportunities with surrounding forces are extant or being considered, there should be commonality.

contravening section 34 (prohibition of off-road driving/driving other than a road) of the Road Traffic Act 1988. It is likely that chief officers will wish to restrict the powers designated to those necessary to meet the envisaged deployment of PCSOs. This will help to minimise training requirements and ensure that PCSOs are focused on their core role of engagement. After Conservative and Liberal Democrat peers voted down elements of the bill that allowed the home secretary the power to directly intervene by taking operation control of individual force's activities, the home secretary, David Blunkett, was forced to introduce some last-minute amendments. These included involving the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Association of Police Authorities in decisions on when to intervene at failing police forces.The sociological and political context was one of increased strain on police resources and widespread problems with the police response to problems at a local level. It was widely felt that police time was being consumed by minor matters which could be adequately dealt with at a lower level. It also came in the context of the general policies of the Labour government which emphasised the importance of criminal justice as an opportunity for reform of behaviour as opposed to punishment. It followed from this rationale that the involvement of the police was undesirable unless absolutely necessary, and that where alternatives (such as the newly-introduced community support officers) could be used it was preferable to do so. The Policing and Crime Act 2017 amended Section 38 of the Police Reform Act 2002, which enables chief officers of police to designate any person who is employed by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner and is under the direction and control of that chief officer as a police community support officer. The duties of PCSOs are discussed elsewhere in this handbook, but it is important that their role in individual forces is determined before the powers that are to be designated are chosen. Overall, the powers of PCSOs need to be set in context. PCSOs, like police officers, will spend much of their time undertaking street duties without recourse to their powers. The Bill was intended to allow the police to use its resources more effectively in the face of increased demand. However, many of the reforms were controversial, in particular the increased powers of the Home Secretary. Critics, foremost amongst them the opposition Conservative party, suggested that the powers afforded to the Home Secretary under the Act compromised the autonomy of the police force, giving rise to a risk that they could be manipulated for political ends. There were also objections from the police forces themselves, who felt that they were better placed than central government to manage their own strategies and priorities in view of their extensive local knowledge and relationships within the community.