Police Reform Act 2002

10 General functions of the Commission

(1) The functions of the Commission shall be—

(a) to secure the maintenance by the Commission itself, and by police authorities and chief officers, of suitable arrangements with respect to the matters mentioned in subsection (2);

(b) to keep under review all arrangements maintained with respect to those matters;

(c) to secure that arrangements maintained with respect to those matters comply with the requirements of the following provisions of this Part, are efficient and effective and contain and manifest an appropriate degree of independence;

(d) to secure that public confidence is established and maintained in the existence of suitable arrangements with respect to those matters and with the operation of the arrangements that are in fact maintained with respect to those matters;

(e) to make such recommendations, and to give such advice, for the modification of the arrangements maintained with respect to those matters, and also of police practice in relation to other matters, as appear, from the carrying out by the Commission of its other functions, to be necessary or desirable; and

(f) to such extent as it may be required to do so by regulations made by the Secretary of State, to carry out functions in relation to the National Criminal Intelligence Service, the National Crime Squad and bodies of constables maintained otherwise than by police authorities which broadly correspond to those conferred on the Commission in relation to police forces by the preceding paragraphs of this subsection.

(2) Those matters are—

(a) the handling of complaints made about the conduct of persons serving with the police;

(b) the recording of matters from which it appears that there may have been conduct by such persons which constitutes or involves the commission of a criminal offence or behaviour justifying disciplinary proceedings;

(c) the manner in which any such complaints or any such matters as are mentioned in paragraph (b) are investigated or otherwise handled and dealt with.

(3) The Commission shall also have the functions which are conferred on it by—

(a) any regulations under section 39 or 83 of the 1997 Act (complaints etc. against members of NCIS and NCS);

(b) any agreement or order under section 26 of this Act (other bodies of constables);

(c) any regulations under section 39 of this Act (police powers for contracted-out staff); or

(d) any regulations or arrangements relating to disciplinary or similar proceedings against persons serving with the police, or against members of the National Criminal Intelligence Service, the National Crime Squad or any body of constables maintained otherwise than by a police authority.

(4) It shall be the duty of the Commission—

(a) to exercise the powers and perform the duties conferred on it by the following provisions of this Part in the manner that it considers best calculated for the purpose of securing the proper carrying out of its functions under subsections (1) and (3); and

(b) to secure that arrangements exist which are conducive to, and facilitate, the reporting of misconduct by persons in relation to whose conduct the Commission has functions.

(5) It shall also be the duty of the Commission—

(a) to enter into arrangements with the chief inspector of constabulary for the purpose of securing co-operation, in the carrying out of their respective functions, between the Commission and the inspectors of constabulary; and

(b) to provide those inspectors with all such assistance and co-operation as may be required by those arrangements, or as otherwise appears to the Commission to be appropriate, for facilitating the carrying out by those inspectors of their functions.

(6) Subject to the other provisions of this Part, the Commission may do anything which appears to it to be calculated to facilitate, or is incidental or conducive to, the carrying out of its functions.

(7) The Commission may, in connection with the making of any recommendation or the giving of any advice to any person for the purpose of carrying out—

(a) its function under subsection (1)(e), or

(b) any corresponding function conferred on it by virtue of subsection (1)(f),

impose any such charge on that person for anything done by the Commission for the purposes of, or in connection with, the carrying out of that function as it thinks fit.

(8) Nothing in this Part shall confer any function on the Commission in relation to so much of any complaint or conduct matter as relates to the direction and control of a police force by—

(a) the chief officer of police of that force; or

(b) a person for the time being carrying out the functions of the chief officer of police of that force.