The National Crime Squad (Dispensation from Requirement to Investigate Complaints) Regulations 2003

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the National Crime Squad (Dispensation from Requirement to Investigate Complaints) Regulations 2003 and shall come into force on 15th November 2003.

Interpretation

2.  In these Regulations—

“the 1996 Act” means the Police Act 1996;

“the appropriate authority” means in relation to a member of the National Crime Squad—

(a)

if he is an officer holding a rank above that of superintendent, the Service Authority for the National Crime Squad, and

(b)

in any other case, the Director General of that Squad;

“the Authority” means the Police Complaints Authority;

“complaint” means a complaint made on or after 15th November 2003 to which Chapter 1 of Part 4 of the 1996 Act(1) applies; and “copy of a complaint”, in the case of a complaint made orally, shall include a copy of the record of a complaint; and

“complainant” means the member of the public by or on whose behalf a complaint is submitted.

Dispensation from requirement to investigate complaints

3.—(1) The appropriate authority may request the Authority to dispense with the requirements of Chapter 1 of Part 4 of the 1996 Act (to the extent that they have not already been satisfied) as respects a complaint where it is of the opinion that paragraph (2) or (3) applies and that it is appropriate to do so.

(2) A complaint is an anonymous or a repetitious one within the meaning of paragraph 2 or 3 of the Schedule to these Regulations, or that a complaint is vexatious, oppressive or otherwise an abuse of the procedures for dealing with complaints, or that it is not reasonably practicable to complete the investigation of a complaint, within the meaning of paragraph 4 thereof.

(3) More than 12 months have elapsed between the incident, or the latest incident, giving rise to the complaint and the making of the complaint and either that no good reason for the delay has been shown or that injustice would be likely to be caused by the delay.

4.—(1) Any request made pursuant to regulation 3(1) shall be made in writing and shall be accompanied by—

(a) a copy of the complaint;

(b) a memorandum from the appropriate authority explaining the reasons for making the request;

(c) where the appropriate authority is of the opinion that a complaint is a repetitious complaint and, as respects the previous complaint, the person then the complainant gave such notification as is mentioned in regulation 11 of the Police (Complaints) (General) Regulations 1985(2), a copy of that notification unless it has previously been sent to the Authority; and

(d) where the appropriate authority is of the opinion that a complaint is a repetitious complaint and the previous complaint has been informally resolved in accordance with the provisions of section 83 of the Police Act 1997, a copy of the record of the outcome of the informal resolution procedure made under regulation 3 of the Police (Complaints) (Informal Resolution) Regulations 1985(3).

(2) If, after considering a request under this regulation, the Authority consider it appropriate, they may dispense with the requirements of Chapter 1 of Part 4 of the 1996 Act (to the extent that they have not already been satisfied) but they shall not reject such a request except after consultation with the appropriate authority.

(3) The Authority shall, as soon as may be practicable, notify the appropriate authority, in writing, of their decision on such a request and, where they dispense with the requirements of Chapter 1 of Part 4 of the 1996 Act (to the extent that they have not already been satisfied), shall inform the complainant of their action unless the complainant is an anonymous one or it otherwise appears to them to be not reasonably practicable so to inform him within a period which is reasonable in all the circumstances of the case.

Caroline Flint

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State

Home Office

14th October 2003