Police Act 1996

32 Power to alter police areas by order.E+W

(1)The Secretary of State may by order make alterations in police areas in England and Wales other than the City of London police area.

(2)The alterations that may be made by an order under this section include alterations that result in a reduction or an increase in the number of police areas, but not alterations that result in the abolition of the metropolitan police district.

(3)The Secretary of State shall not exercise his power under this section to make alterations unless either—

(a)he has received a request to make the alterations from the [F1local policing body] for each of the areas F2... affected by them, or

(b)it appears to him to be expedient to make the alterations in the interests of efficiency or effectiveness.

(4)The Secretary of State shall exercise his power to make orders under this section in such a way as to ensure that [F3no police area falls partly in England and partly in Walesand that ] none of the following areas—

(a)a county in which there are no district councils,

(b)a district in any other county,

(c)a county borough in Wales, and

(d)a London borough,

is divided between two or more police areas.

F4(5). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .