Police Act 1964

Part IVE+W+S Miscellaneous and General

Remedies and complaints against policeE+W

48 Liability for wrongful acts of constables.E+W

(1)The chief officer of police for any police area shall be liable in respect of torts committed by constables under his direction and control in the performance or purported performance of their functions in like manner as a master is liable in respect of torts committed by his servants in the course of their employment, and accordingly shall in respect of any such tort be treated for all purposes as a joint tortfeasor.

(2)There shall be paid out of the police fund—

(a)any damages or costs awarded against the chief officer of police in any proceedings brought against him by virtue of this section and any costs incurred by him in any such proceedings so far as not recovered by him in the proceedings; and

(b)any sum required in connection with the settlement of any claim made against the chief officer of police by virtue of this section, if the settlement is approved by the police authority.

(3)Any proceedings in respect of a claim made by virtue of this section shall be brought against the chief officer of police for the time being or, in the case of a vacancy in that office, against the person for the time being performing the functions of the chief officer of police; and references in the foregoing provisions of this section to the chief officer of police shall be construed accordingly.

(4)A police authority may, in such cases and to such extent as they think fit, pay any damages or costs awarded against a member of the police force maintained by them, or any constable for the time being required to serve with that force by virtue of section 14 of this Act, or any special constable appointed for their area, in proceedings for a tort committed by him, any costs incurred and not recovered by him in any such proceedings, and any sum required in connection with the settlement of any claim that has or might have given rise to such proceedings; and any sum required for making a payment under this subsection shall be paid out of the police fund.

49 - 50 F1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .E+W

OffencesE+W

51 Assaults on constables.E+W

(1)Any person who assaults a constable in the execution of his duty, or a person assisting a constable in the execution of his duty, shall be guilty of an offence and liable—

[F2on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding [F3level 5 on the standard scale] or to both].

(2)Subsection (2) of [F4section 17 of the M1Firearms Act 1968] (additional penalty for possession of firearms when committing certain offences) shall apply to offences under subsection (1) of this section.

(3)Any person who resists or wilfully obstructs a constable in the execution of his duty, or a person assisting a constable in the execution of his duty, shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month or to a fine not exceeding [F5level 3 on the standard scale], or to both.

52 Impersonation, &c.E+W

(1)Any person who with intent to deceive impersonates a member of a police force or special constable, or makes any statement or does any act calculated falsely to suggest that he is such a member or constable, shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding [F6level 5 on the standard scale], or to both.

(2)Any person who, not being a constable, wears any article of police uniform in circumstances where it gives him an appearance so nearly resembling that of a member of a police force as to be calculated to deceive shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding [F7level 3 on the standard scale].

(3)Any person who, not being a member of a police force or special constable, has in his possession any article of police uniform shall, unless he proves that he obtained possession of that article lawfully and has possession of it for a lawful purpose, be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding [F8level 1 on the standard scale].

(4)In this section “article of police uniform” means any article of uniform or any distinctive badge or mark or document of identification usually issued to members of police forces or special constables, or anything having the appearance of such an article, badge, mark or document; and “special constable” means a special constable appointed for a police area.

53 Causing disaffection.E+W

(1)Any person who 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, shall be guilty of an offence and liable—

(a)on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding £100, or to both;

(b)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine or to both.

(2)This section applies to special constables appointed for a police area as it applies to members of a police force.

MiscellaneousE+W

54 Criminal statistics.E+W

(1)The chief officer of police of every police force shall, at such times and in such form as the Secretary of State may direct, transmit to the Secretary of State such particulars with respect to offences, offenders, criminal proceedings and the state of crime in the area for which the force is maintained as the Secretary of State may require.

(2)The Secretary of State shall cause a consolidated and classified abstract of the information transmitted to him under this section to be prepared and laid before Parliament.

55 Abolition of fees.E+W

Section 23 of the M8Police Act 1890 (fees payable to constables), and any other enactment or rule of law whereby constables are authorised or required to take a fee for any act done in the course of their duty as such, shall cease to have effect.

56 Metropolitan and City of London police funds.E+W

There shall be paid out of the metropolitan police fund and the City of London police fund respectively (subject, in the case of the metropolitan police fund, to the approval of the Secretary of State) any expenditure incurred under this Act in respect of—

(a)any special constables appoinred for the metropolitan police district or the City of London; and

(b)any police cadets appointed in relation to the metropolitan police force or the City of London police force.

[F1257 Police expenses of counties falling partly within the metropolitan police district.E+W

(1)Any police expenses payable out of the county fund of any county falling partly within the metropolitan police district shall be chargeable only on so much of the county as does not fall within that district, without prejudice, however, to section 67 of the M9London Government Act 1963 (power of rating authority to aggregate like expenses chargeable on different parts of rating area.)

(2)In this section “police expenses” means expenses for police purposes (including contributions to the police fund of a combined police authority) or expenses which are for any purpose treated as incurred for police purposes or are under any enactment payable out of the police fund.]

58 Chief constables affected by amalgamations or local government reorganisations.E+W

(1)If the chief constable of a police force which ceases to exist in consequence of an order under Part I of this Act or [F13Part IV of the M10Local Government Act 1972] is not appointed chief constable or other member of the successor force as from the date of transfer, he shall on that date become a member of that force (or, if there is more than one successor force, of such of them as may be provided by or under the order) by virtue of this section.

(2)While a person is a member of a police force by virtue only of this section he shall hold the rank of [F14deputy]chief constable but shall be treated for the purposes of his pay, pension and other conditions of service as if he had continued to be chief constable of the force which ceased to exist, subject however to section 5(1) of this Act.

(3)A chief constable who becomes a member of a police force by virtue of this section shall, subject to regulations under Part II of this Act, cease to be a member thereof at the expiration of three months unless he has then accepted and taken up an appointment in that force.

(4)The provision to be made by regulations under section 60(2) of the Local Government Act 1958 (as extended by Schedule 9 to this Act) with respect to the chief constable of a police force who, after becoming a member of another police force by virtue of this section, ceases to be a member of that force without having accepted and taken up an appointment therein shall, if he was the chief constable of a police force at the commencement of this Act, be not less favourable than any provision by way of a pension that would have been payable to or in respect of him by virtue of the [F15M11Police Pensions Act 1976] had the first-mentioned police force been combined with another force by an amalgamation scheme under the M12Police Act 1946 and he had neither been transferred to the combined force nor joined it within three months.

(5)Where the chief constable of a police force is engaged for a period of overseas service within the meaning of the M13Police (Overseas Service) Act 1945 or a period of central service within the meaning of section 43 of this Act, and before the end of that period that force ceases to exist as mentioned in subsection (1) of this section—

(a)that subsection shall apply to him as if he were still the chief constable of that force, but with the substitution for references to the date of transfer of references to the end of the said period; and

(b)paragraph 2 of Schedule 4 to this Act shall not apply to him.

(6)For the purposes of section 4(2) of this Act no account shall be taken of subsection (2) of this section.

(7)In this section “successor force”, in relation to a police force which ceases to exist in consequence of any order, means a force to which members of that police force are transferred by virtue of the order; and “date of transfer” means the date as from which those members are so transferred.

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SupplementalE+W+S

60 Orders, rules and regulations.E+W

(1)Any power of the Secretary of State to make orders, rules or regulations under this Act (other than orders on appeals under section 37) shall be exercisable by statutory instrument.

(2)Any power of the Secretary of State to make orders under this Act (other than such orders as aforesaid) includes power to amend or revoke an order by a subsequent order.

61 Expenses.E+W

There shall be defrayed out of moneys provided by Parliament any expenses of the Secretary of State under this Act, and any increase attributable to this Act in the sums payable out of moneys so provided under any other enactment.

[F1762 Meaning of “chief officer of police” etc.E+W

Except where the context otherwise requires, in this Act—

• “chief officer of police” means—

  (a)

  in relation to a police force maintained under section 2 of this Act, the chief constable,

  (b)

  in relation to the metropolitan police force, the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, and

  (c)

  in relation to the City of London police, the Commissioner of the City of London Police;

• “City of London police area” means the City of London as defined for the purposes of the Acts relating to the City of London police;

• “ metropolitan police district” means that district as defined in section 76 of the M14London Government Act 1963;

• “police area” (or “police district”) means a police area provided for by section 1 of this Act;

• “police authority” means—

  (a)

  in relation to a police area listed in Schedule 1A to this Act, the authority established under section 3 of this Act,

  (b)

  in relation to the metropolitan police district, the Secretary of State, and

  (c)

  in relation to the City of London police area, the Common Council;

• “police force” means a force maintained by a police authority;

• “police fund” means—

  (a)

  in relation to a force maintained under section 2, the fund kept by that force’s police authority under section 8 of this Act,

  (b)

  in relation to the metropolitan police, the metropolitan police fund, and

  (c)

  in relation to the City of London Police, the fund out of which the expenses of the City police are paid.]

63 Minor and consequential amendments. E+W+S

The enactments specified in Schedule 9 to this Act shall have effect subject to the amendments specified in the second column of that Schedule, being minor amendments and amendments consequential on the foregoing provisions of this Act.

64 Interpretation, repeals and transitional provisions.E+W+S

(1)In this Act the expression “police purposes”, in relation to a police area, includes the purposes of special constables appointed for that area, of police cadets undergoing training with a view to becoming members of the police force maintained for that area and of civilians employed for the purpose of that force or of any such special constables or cadets.

(2)References in this Act to any enactment shall be construed as references to that enactment as amended, and as including references thereto as extended or applied, by any subsequent enactment.

(3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F18

(4)The Secretary of State may by order repeal or amend any provision in any local Act, including an Act confirming a provisional order, or in any instrument in the nature of a local enactment under any Act, where it appears to him that that provision is inconsistent with, or has become unnecessary or requires modification in consequence of, any provision of this Act [F19(including any provision of the M15Police (Scotland) Act 1967 which re-enacts any provision of this Act repealed by that Act)] or corresponds to any provision repealed by this Act; and any statutory instrument made under this subsection shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

(5)The transitional provisions contained in Schedule 11 to this Act shall have effect for the purposes of this Act.

(6)Without prejudice to subsection (5) above, where any provision is made by this Act corresponding to any enactment repealed by this section, any regulation, order, rule or appointment made, and any other thing done, under that enactment shall have effect as if it were made or done under that provision.

65 Short title, commencement and extent. E+W+S

(1)This Act may be cited as the Police Act 1964.

(2)This Act shall come into force on such date as the Secretary of State may by order appoint.

(3)Different dates may be appointed by order under this section for different purposes of this Act; and any reference in any provision of this Act to the commencement of this Act shall, unless otherwise provided by any such order, be construed as a reference to the date on which that provision comes into operation.

(4)An order under subsection (2) of this section may make such transitional provision as appears to the Secretary of State to be necessary or expedient in connection with the provisions thereby brought into force, including such adaptations of those provisions or of any provisions of this Act then in force as appear to the Secretary of State necessary or expedient for the purpose or in consequence of the operation of any provision of this Act before the coming into force of any other provision of this Act or of the M16London Government Act 1963.

(5)The following provisions of this Act extend to Scotland, namely, Part III; . . . F20; section 63 and Schedule 9, so far as they relate to enactments extending to Scotland; section 64 and Part II of Schedule 10; and this section.

(6)This Act does not extend to Northern Ireland.