(1)No member of a police force shall by word, message, writing or in any other manner, endeavour to persuade any person to give, or dissuade any person from giving, his vote, whether as an elector or as proxy—
(a)at any parliamentary election for a constituency, or
(b)at any local government election for any electoral area,
wholly or partly within the police area.
(2)A person acting in contravention of subsection (1) above shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale, or, in Northern Ireland, to a fine not exceeding £100, but nothing in that subsection shall subject a member of a police force to any penalty for anything done in the discharge of his duty as a member of the force.
(3)In this section references to a member of a police force and to a police area are to be taken in relation to Northern Ireland as references to a member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and to Northern Ireland.