Police Act 1996

96 Arrangements for obtaining the views of the community on policing

(1) Arrangements shall be made for each police area for obtaining—

(a) the views of people in that area about matters concerning the policing of the area, and

(b) their co-operation with the police in preventing crime in that area.

(2) Except as provided by subsections (3) to (6), arrangements for each police area shall be made by the police authority after consulting the chief constable as to the arrangements that would be appropriate.

(3) The Secretary of State shall issue guidance to the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis concerning arrangements for the metropolitan police district; and the Commissioner shall make arrangements under this section after taking account of that guidance.

(4) The Commissioner shall make separate arrangements—

(a) for each London borough;

(b) for each district which falls wholly within the metropolitan police district; and

(c) in the case of districts which fall partly within the metropolitan police district, for each part of such a district which falls within that police district.

(5) The Commissioner shall—

(a) consult the council of each London borough as to the arrangements that would be appropriate for the borough,

(b) consult the council of each district mentioned in subsection (4)(b) as to the arrangements that would be appropriate for the district, and

(c) consult the council of each district mentioned in subsection (4)(c) as to the arrangements that would be appropriate for the part of the district which falls within the metropolitan police district.

(6) The Common Council of the City of London shall issue guidance to the Commissioner of Police for the City of London concerning arrangements for the City of London police area; and the Commissioner shall make arrangements under this section after taking account of that guidance.

(7) A body or person whose duty it is to make arrangements under this section shall review the arrangements so made from time to time.

(8) If it appears to the Secretary of State that arrangements for a police area are not adequate for the purposes set out in subsection (1), he may require the body or person whose duty it is to make arrangements for that area to submit a report to him concerning the arrangements.

(9) After considering a report submitted under subsection (8), the Secretary of State may require the body or person who submitted it to review the arrangements and submit a further report to him concerning them.

(10) A body or person whose duty it is to make arrangements shall be under the same duties to consult when reviewing arrangements as when making them.