Police (Discipline) Regulations 1985
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1985/518 |
| Year | 1985 |
1985 No. 518
POLICE
The Police (Discipline) Regulations 198528thMarch 1985
2ndApril 1985
29thApril 1985
ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS
1. Citation and commencement.
2. Revocations and transitional provisions.
3. Regulations not to apply in the case of a senior officer.
4. Interpretation.
5. Disciplinary offences.
6. Investigation procedure.
7. Personal explanation.
8. Formulation of charges.
9. Withdrawal of charges.
10. Documents to be supplied to accused.
11. Questions in the discipline form to be answered by accused.
12. Election to be legally represented.
13. Hearing.
14. Remission of cases.
15. Delegation of functions under Regulation 8.
16. Delegation of functions under Regulation 13.
17. Disciplinary tribunal cases.
18. Procedure at hearing.
19. Statements in lieu of oral evidence.
20. Adjournment of hearing.
21. Procedure in absence of accused.
22. Attendance of complainant at hearing.
23. Finding.
24. Punishment.
25. Limitations on punishments.
26. Internal appeals.
27. Suspension.
28. Effect of successful appeal against criminal conviction.
29. Discipline book.
SCHEDULE 1: Discipline code
SCHEDULE 2: Discipline form
SCHEDULE 3: Disciplinary hearings and appeals in the Metropolitan
Police Force
In exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 33 of the Police Act 1964(a) and sections 94(5), 101 and 102 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984(b), and after furnishing a draft thereof to the Police Advisory Board for England and Wales and taking into consideration the representations made by the said Board in accordance with section 46(3) of the said Act of 1964, I hereby make the following Regulations:—
Citation and commencement
1. These Regulations may be cited as the Police (Discipline) Regulations 1985 and shall come into operation on 29th April 1985.
Revocations and transitional provisions
2.— (1) Subject to the following provisions of this Regulation, the Police (Discipline) Regulations 1977(c) (hereinafter called "the Regulations of 1977") are hereby revoked.
(2) In relation to a charge preferred before 29th April 1985 against a member of a police force—
(a) nothing in these Regulations shall apply, and
(b) the former discipline provisions shall, so far as applicable, continue to have effect,
except that, in relation to an internal appeal by a member of the metropolitan police force where the notice of appeal is received by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis on or after 29th April 1985, these Regulations shall apply notwithstanding that the charge to which the appeal relates was preferred before that date.
(3) In the case of a member of a police force—
(a) in whose case anything has been done before 29th April 1985 for the purpose of any provision of the Regulations of 1977; but
(b) who has not been charged with an offence, before that date, under those Regulations,
anything done, before 29th April 1985, for the purpose of any provision of the Regulations of 1977 shall have effect, on and after that date, as if it had been done for the corresponding provision of these Regulations and in particular, where a member is immediately before 29th April 1985 suspended under the Regulations of 1977 he shall be treated on and after that date as if he had been suspended under these Regulations.
(4) Without prejudice to paragraph (2), where a member of a police force has been charged with an offence, before 29th April 1985, under the Regulations of 1977, in connection with the charge and offence in question the provisions of those Regulations relating to suspension from membership of the
(a) 1964 c. 48.
(b) 1984 c. 60.
(c) S.I. 1977/580; there are no amending instruments.
force and the office of constable and to punishment shall continue to have effect.
Regulations not to apply in the case of a senior officer
3. These Regulations shall not apply in relation to an offence committed, or alleged to have been committed, by a chief constable or other senior officer within the meaning of the Police (Discipline) (Senior Officers) Regulations 1985(a).
Interpretation
4.— (1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them, that is to say:—
"Act of 1984" means the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984;
"Authority" means the Police Complaints Authority established under section 83(1) of the Act of 1984;
"chief officer" shall be construed as including a reference to a person discharging the functions of a chief officer;
"complaints matter" means, in a case where the report of an investigation into a complaint is sent to the Authority under section 90(9) of the Act of 1984, the matter or matters dealt with in the report;
"conclusion of the hearing" does not include the termination of a hearing on a case being remitted under Regulation 14 or paragraph 7 of Schedule 3;
"discipline code" means the code of offences contained in Schedule 1; except that in relation to conduct occurring before 29th April 1985 it means the code of offences contained in Schedule 2 to the Regulations of 1977;
"discipline form" means such a form as is mentioned in Regulation 8(3);
"the former discipline provisions" means the provisions relating to the determination of questions whether offences against discipline have been committed by members of police forces, and for the imposition of punishments in respect thereof, in force immediately before 29th April 1985.
"internal appeal" means such an appeal as is mentioned in Regulation 26, or, in the case of the metropolitan police force, paragraph 8 of Schedule 3.
"member subject to investigation" has the meaning assigned thereto by Regulation 6(1);
"offence" or "disciplinary offence" means an offence set out in the discipline code;
"officer", in relation to the metropolitan police force, includes both a member thereof and an assistant commissioner of police;
"officer conducting the hearing" has the meaning assigned thereto by Regulation 13;
"police force concerned" means, in relation to a person who may have committed, or has been accused of, an offence, the police force of which he is
(a) S.I. 1985/519.
a member; and, in relation to him, any reference to the chief officer concerned is a reference to the chief officer of that force;
"Police Regulations" means the Police Regulations 1979(a);
"Regulations of 1977" has the meaning assigned thereto by Regulation 2(1);
"representative" means, in relation to an accused person, the member of a police force or other person conducting his case or appeal in pursuance of Regulation 18(7), 26(5), or paragraph 8(2) of Schedule 3.
(2) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, any reference to a Regulation shall be construed as a reference to a Regulation contained in these Regulations, a reference to a Schedule shall be construed as a reference to a Schedule to these Regulations and a reference to a paragraph shall be construed as a reference to a paragraph in the same Regulation or, as the case may be, the same Schedule.
Disciplinary offences
5. A member of a police force commits an offence against discipline if he commits an offence set out in the discipline code.
Investigation procedure
6.— (1) Where a report, allegation or complaint is received from which it appears that an offence may have been committed by a member of a police force (hereinafter referred to as "the member subject to investigation"), the following provisions of this Regulation shall have effect for the purpose of investigating the matter.
(2) The provisions of paragraphs (3) and (4) shall have effect—
(a) in relation to a case arising otherwise than from a complaint to which Part IX of the Act of 1984 applies; and
(b) in relation to cases arising from such complaints where the requirements of the said Part IX are dispensed with by or under Regulations made thereunder.
(3) Unless the chief officer concerned decides that no disciplinary proceedings need be taken, the matter shall be referred to an investigating officer who shall cause it to be investigated.
(4) The investigating officer shall be—
(a) a member of the police force concerned, or, if the chief officer of some other force is requested and agrees to provide an investigating officer, a member of that other force;
(b) of at least the rank of chief inspector; and
(c) of at least the rank of the member subject to investigation.
(a) S.I. 1979/1470; the only relevant amending instrument is S.I. 1985/130.
(5) Neither—
(a) the chief officer of the police force concerned, nor
(b) any member of the police force concerned serving in the same subdivision or branch as the member subject to investigation,
shall be appointed as the investigating officer for the purposes of paragraph (3) or section 85 of the Act of 1984 (formal investigation of a complaint).
(6) The provisions of this Regulation are without prejudice to the powers of the Authority with regard to the approval of the investigating officer under section 89(4)(a) and (b) of the Act of 1984 in a case where the Authority are required or have determined to supervise the investigation of a complaint or other matter under that section.
Personal explanation
7. The investigating officer shall, as soon as is practicable (without prejudicing his or any other investigation of the matter), in writing inform the member subject to investigation of the report, allegation or complaint and give him a written notice—
(a) informing him that he is not obliged to say anything concerning the matter, but that he may, if he so desires, make a written or oral statement concerning the matter to the investigating officer or to the chief officer concerned, and
(b) warning him that if he makes such a statement it may be used in any subsequent disciplinary proceedings.
Formulation of charges
8.— (1) The decision whether or not the member subject to investigation should be charged with an offence shall (subject, as respects a complaints matter, to sections...
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