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Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2003

  • Explanatory Notes Table of contents

Please note:

All reference to 'Parts' and 'sections' are from the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2003. For other versions of these Explanatory Notes, see More Resources.

  1. Introduction

  2. Summary

  3. Overview

  4. Commentary

    1. Part 1: Policing

      Consultation by Secretary of State

      1. Section 1: Long-term policing objectives

      2. Section 2: Codes of practice

  5. The Northern Ireland Policing Board

    1. Section 3: Board’s policing objectives

    2. Section 4: Public meetings of the Board

    3. Section 5: Contracts relating to detention and escort services

    4. Section 6: Funding for pension purposes

    5. Section 7: Accounts and audit

    6. Section 8: Performance summaries

    7. Section 9: Performance summaries: supplementary

  6. Reports and Inquiries

    1. Section 10: Reports of Chief Constable

    2. Section 11: Inquiries by Board

    3. Section 12: Approval of proposals relating to inquiries by the Board

  7. The Police Ombudsman

    1. Section 13: Investigations into current police practices and policies

  8. District Policing Partnerships

    1. Section 14: Independent members: appointment

    2. Section 15: Independent members: declaration against terrorism

    3. Section 16: Independent members: disqualification

    4. Section 17: Disqualification following removal from office

    5. Section 18: Council’s powers

    6. Section 19 and Schedule 1: Belfast

  9. Police Functions and Service

    1. Section 20: Core policing principles

    2. Section 21: Chief Constable’s functions

    3. Section 22: Provision of information to Board

    4. Section 23: Appointment of constables with special policing skills

    5. Section 24: Fixed-term appointments

    6. Section 25: Members of PSNI engaged on other police service

    7. Section 26: Protected disclosures by police officers

  10. Information and Inquiries

    1. Section 27: Restriction on disclosure of information

    2. Section 28: Special committee of the Board

    3. Section 29: Disclosure of information and holding of inquiries

    4. Part 2: Police Powers

      Designation of Civilians

      1. Section 30: Police powers for designated police support staff

      2. Section 31: Police powers for designated contracted-out staff

      3. Schedule 2: Powers exercisable by designated persons

    5. Part 1: Investigating Officers

    6. Part 2: Detention officers

    7. Part 3:  Escort Officers

    8. Part 4: Interpretation

      1. Section 32 and Schedule 3: Police powers: amendments

      2. Section 33: Designations: supplementary

      3. Section 34: Complaints and misconduct

      4. Section 35: Liability for unlawful conduct

      5. Section 36: Notifiable memberships

      6. Section 37: Code of ethics

      7. Section 38: Assaults on, and obstruction of, designated persons

      8. Section 39: Impersonation etc. of designated persons

      9. Section 40: Designated persons: interpretation

  11. Searches and Samples

    1. Section 41: Intimate searches

    2. Section 42: Intimate samples

  12. Codes of Practice

    1. Section 43: Codes of practice

    2. Part 3: General

      1. Section 44: Orders and regulations

      2. Section 45 and Schedule 4: Repeals and revocations

      3. Section 46: Extent

      4. Section 47: Short title

  13. Commencement

  14. Hansard References

  • Explanatory Notes Table of contents

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Explanatory Notes

Text created by the government department responsible for the subject matter of the Act to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes were introduced in 1999 and accompany all Public Acts except Appropriation, Consolidated Fund, Finance and Consolidation Acts.

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