Police Act 1996

98 Cross-border aid of one police force by another.U.K.

(1)The chief officer of police of a police force in England or Wales may, on the application of the chief officer of a police force in Scotland or the chief constable of the [F1Police Service of Northern Ireland], provide constables or other assistance for the purpose of enabling the Scottish force or the [F1Police Service of Northern Ireland] to meet any special demand on its resources.

(2)The chief officer of a police force in Scotland may, on the application of the chief officer of police of a police force in England or Wales F2. . . the chief constable of the [F1Police Service of Northern Ireland][F3or the Director General of the National Crime Squad], provide constables or other assistance for the purpose of enabling the English or Welsh force or the [F1Police Service of Northern Ireland][F3or the National Crime Squad] to meet any special demand on its resources.

(3)The chief constable of the [F1Police Service of Northern Ireland] may, on the application of the chief officer of police of a police force in England or Wales or the chief officer of a police force in Scotland [F4or the Director General of the National Crime Squad], provide constables or other assistance for the purpose of enabling the English or Welsh force or the Scottish force [F4or the National Crime Squad] to meet any special demand on its resources.

[F5(3A)The Director General of the National Crime Squad may, on the application of the chief officer of a police force in Scotland or the Chief Constable of the [F1Police Service of Northern Ireland], provide constables or other assistance for the purpose of enabling the Scottish force or the [F1Police Service of Northern Ireland] to meet any special demand on its resources.]

(4)If it appears to the Secretary of State—

(a)to be expedient in the interests of public safety or order that a police force [F6or the National Crime Squad]should be reinforced or should receive other assistance for the purpose of enabling it to meet any special demand on its resources, and

(b)that satisfactory arrangements under subsection (1), (2) [F7, (3) or (3A)] cannot be made, or cannot be made in time,

he may direct the chief officer of police of any police force in England or Wales, the chief officer of any police force in Scotland or the chief constable of the [F1Police Service of Northern Ireland][F6or the Director General of the National Crime Squad], as the case may be, to provide such constables or other assistance for that purpose as may be specified in the direction.

(5)While a constable is provided under this section for the assistance of another police force [F8or the National Crime Squad]he shall, notwithstanding any enactment,—

(a)be under the direction and control of the chief officer of police of that other force (or, where that other force is a police force in Scotland or the [F1Police Service of Northern Ireland][F8or the National Crime Squad], of its chief officer or the chief constable of the [Police Service of Northern Ireland][F8or the Director General of the National Crime Squad]respectively); and

(b)have in any place the like powers and privileges as a member of that other force has in that place as a constable.

(6)The police authority maintaining a police force for which assistance is provided under this section shall pay to the police authority maintaining the force from which that assistance is provided such contribution as may be agreed upon between those authorities or, in the absence of any such agreement, as may be provided by any agreement subsisting at the time between all police authorities generally, or, in the absence of such general agreement, as may be determined by the Secretary of State.

[F9(6A)For the purposes of subsection (6), the Service Authority for the National Crime Squad shall be treated as a police authority and the National Crime Squad as the police force maintained by it.]

(7)In the application of this section to Scotland, any expression used in this section and in the M1Police (Scotland) Act 1967 shall have the same meaning in this section as in that Act.

[F10(8)“Constable”, in relation to Northern Ireland, means a police officer within the meaning of the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000.]