Police Act 1919
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1919 c. 46 |
Police Act, 1919.
(9 & 10 Geo. 5.) CHAPTER 46.
An Act to amend the Law relating to the Police in Great Britain.
[15th August 1919]
Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
1 Constitution of Police Federation.
(1) For the purpose of enabling the members of the police forces of England and Wales to consider and bring to the notice of the police authorities and the Secretary of State all the matters affecting their welfare and efficiency, other than questions of discipline and promotion affecting individuals, there shall be established in accordance with the Schedule to this Act an organisation to be called the Police Federation, which shall act through local and central representative bodies as provided in that schedule.
(2) The Police Federation and every branch thereof shall be entirely independent of and unassociated with any body or person outside the police service.
2 Prohibition against constables being members of trade unions.
(1) Subject as aforesaid, it shall not be lawful for a member of a police force to become, or after the expiration of one month from the passing of this Act to be, a member of any trade union, or of any association having for its objects, or one of its objects, to control or influence the pay, pensions, or conditions of service of any police force; and any member of a police force who contravenes this provision shall be disqualified for continuing to be a member of the force; and, if any member of a police force continues to act as such after becoming so disqualified, he shall forfeit all pension rights and be disqualified for being thereafter employed in any police force:
Provided that, where a man was a member of a trade union before becoming a constable, he may, with the consent of the chief officer of police, continue to be a member of that union during the time of his service in the police force.
(2) If any question arises whether any body is a trade union or an association to which this section applies, the question shall be determined by the Minister of Labour.
3 Penalty on persons causing disaffection, &c.
3. If any person causes, or attempts to cause, or does any act calculated to cause disaffection amongst the members of any police force, or induces, or attempts to induce, or does any act calculated to induce any member of a police force to withhold his services or to commit breaches of discipline, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and shall be liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment with or without hard labour, for a term not exceeding two years, or on summary conviction, to imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for a term not exceeding three months, or to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds, or to both such imprisonment and tine, and in either case, if a member of a police force, shall forfeit all pension rights and be disqualified for being a member of any police force: Provided that, where the person convicted of any such offence was a member of a police force and was not sentenced to imprisonment without the option of a line, the police authority may, if they think fit, pay to him the whole or any part of the rateable deductions which may have been made from his pay.
4 Power of Secretary of State to regulate pay, &c., of police forces.
(1) It shall be lawful for the Secretary of State to make regulations as to the government, mutual aid, pay, allowances, pensions, clothing, expenses and conditions of service of the members of all police forces within England and Wales, and every police authority shall comply with the regulations so made.
(2) A draft of any regulations proposed to be so made as aforesaid shall be submitted to a council, consisting of the joint central committee or a deputation from the joint central committee of the Police Federation and representatives of the chief officers of police and police authorities selected for the purpose by the Secretary of State, after consultation with the County Councils Association and the Association of Municipal Corporations, and before making the regulations the Secretary of State shall consider any representations made by such council.
5 Amendment of 4 & 5 Geo. 5. c. 34. s. 1. and c. 80. s. 1.
5. The subsection which, by virtue of section one of the Police Constables (Naval and Military Service) Act, 1914, is to be substituted for subsection (2) of section one of the Police Reservists (Allowances) Act, 1914, shall have effect and shall be deemed always to have had effect as if for the words ‘pensions and allowances equal to one half the amount payable out of naval or military funds’ there were substituted the words ‘pensions and allowances in addition to the amount payable out of naval, military, or air-force funds,’ and as if it authorised pensions and allowances granted thereunder to be reckoned on the rate of pay which the man would have been receiving at the date of his death or disablement had he then been a member of the police force.
6 Amendment of provisions as to police pensions.
6. At the end of paragraph eleven of the First Schedule to the Police Act, 1890, there shall be inserted the words ‘so, however, that the pension shall not be less than if the constable had continued in his former rank.’
7 Abolition of limits on police rates.
7. So much of section twenty-three of the Metropolitan Police Act, 1829, as amended by any subsequent enactment, as limits the annual sum to be provided for the purposes of the Metropolitan Police, and so much of section one hundred and ninety-seven of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, as limits the amount of the watch rate, and so much of any other Act, whether public, general, or local, as limits any rate which may be raised for the purposes of the police, shall cease to have effect.
8 Calculation of amount payable out of Exchequer contribution on account of police.
(1) The amounts payable or transferable by a county council under subsection (2) of section twenty-four of the Local Government Act, 1888 , on account of police in respect of the year ending the thirty-first day of March, nineteen hundred and twenty, or any subsequent year shall, instead of being calculated in manner provided in paragraphs (i ) and (j ) of that subsection, be the full amounts payable or transferable in accordance with the said paragraphs in respect of the year ending the thirty-first day of March nineteen hundred and fifteen.
(2) This section shall be construed as one with the Local Government Act, 1888, and shall apply to county borough councils in like manner as it applies to county councils.
9 Contributions out of police funds to provident funds.
9. It shall be lawful for the police authority of any police force, out of the police fund, to make contributions to any provident fund approved by the Secretary of State out of which provision is made for payments to members of the police force on their retirement, or, on their death, to their widows, dependants, or representatives.
10 Penalty on unauthorised use of police uniform.
10. If any person not being a member of a police force wears without the permission of the police authority the uniform of the police force, or any dress having the appearance or bearing any of the distinctive marks of that uniform, he shall on summary conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding ten pounds:
Provided that this section shall not prevent persons from wearing any uniform or dress in the course of a stage play or music hall...
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