Police Reform Act 2002

18 Inspections of police premises on behalf of the Commission

(1) Where—

(a) the Commission requires—

(i) a police authority maintaining any police force, or

(ii) the chief officer of police of any such force,

to allow a person nominated for the purpose by the Commission to have access to any premises occupied for the purposes of that force and to documents and other things on those premises, and

(b) the requirement is imposed for any of the purposes mentioned in subsection (2),

it shall be the duty of the authority or, as the case may be, of the chief officer to secure that the required access is allowed to the nominated person.

(2) Those purposes are—

(a) the purposes of any examination by the Commission of the efficiency and effectiveness of the arrangements made by the force in question for handling complaints or dealing with recordable conduct matters;

(b) the purposes of any investigation by the Commission under this Part or of any investigation carried out under its supervision or management.

(3) A requirement imposed under this section for the purposes mentioned in subsection (2)(a) must be notified to the authority or chief officer at least 48 hours before the time at which access is required.

(4) Where—

(a) a requirement imposed under this section for the purposes mentioned in subsection (2)(a) requires access to any premises, document or thing to be allowed to any person, but

(b) there are reasonable grounds for not allowing that person to have the required access at the time at which he seeks to have it,

the obligation to secure that the required access is allowed shall have effect as an obligation to secure that the access is allowed to that person at the earliest practicable time after there cease to be any such grounds as that person may specify.

(5) The provisions of this section are in addition to, and without prejudice to—

(a) the rights of entry, search and seizure that are or may be conferred on—

(i) a person designated for the purposes of paragraph 19 of Schedule 3, or

(ii) any person who otherwise acts on behalf of the Commission,

in his capacity as a constable or as a person with the powers and privileges of a constable; or

(b) the obligations of police authorities and chief officers under sections 15 and 17.