Police Act 1996

30 Jurisdiction of constables

(1) A member of a police force shall have all the powers and privileges of a constable throughout England and Wales and the adjacent United Kingdom waters.

(2) A special constable shall have all the powers and privileges of a constable in the police area for which he is appointed and, where the boundary of that area includes the coast, in the adjacent United Kingdom waters.

(3) Without prejudice to subsection (2), a special constable appointed for a police area shall have all the powers and privileges of a constable—

(a) in the case of a special constable appointed for a police area other than the City of London police area, in any other police area which is contiguous to his own police area; and

(b) in the case of a special constable appointed for the City of London police area, in the metropolitan police district and in any police area which is contiguous to that district.

(4) A special constable who is for the time being required by virtue of section 23 or 24 to serve with another police force shall have all the powers and privileges of a constable in any area in which special constables appointed for the area for which that force is maintained have those powers and privileges under this section.

(5) In this section—

• “powers” includes powers under any enactment, whenever passed or made;

• “United Kingdom waters” means the sea and other waters within the seaward limits of the territorial sea;

and this section, so far as it relates to powers under any enactment, makes them exercisable throughout the United Kingdom waters whether or not the enactment applies to those waters apart from this provision.

(6) This section is without prejudice to—

(a) sections 98 and 99 below, and

(b) any other enactment conferring powers on constables for particular purposes.