Police Reform Act 2002

92Police authorities to produce three-year strategy plans

(1)After section 6 of the 1996 Act there shall be inserted—

“6AThree-year strategy plans

(1)Every police authority maintaining a police force for a police area in England and Wales shall, before the beginning of every relevant three-year period, issue a plan (“a three-year strategy plan”) which sets out the authority’s medium and long term strategies for the policing of that area during that period.

(2)Before a three-year strategy plan for any period is issued by a police authority, a draft of a plan setting out medium and long term strategies for the policing of the authority’s area during that period must have been—

(a)prepared by the chief officer of police of the police force maintained by that authority; and

(b)submitted by him to the police authority for its consideration.

(3)In preparing the draft plan, the chief officer of police of a police force shall have regard to the views, obtained in accordance with arrangements under section 96, of people in the police area in question.

(4)A police authority which has issued a three-year strategy plan for any period may modify that plan at any time during that period.

(5)It shall be the duty, in issuing, preparing or modifying a three-year strategy plan or a draft of such a plan, of every police authority or chief officer of police to have regard to the National Policing Plan in force at that time.

(6)The Secretary of State —

(a)shall issue guidance to police authorities and chief officers of police as to the matters to be contained in any three-year strategy plan, and as to the form to be taken by any such plan; and

(b)may from time to time revise and modify that guidance;

and it shall be the duty of every police authority and chief officer of police to take account of any guidance under this subsection when issuing, preparing or modifying any such plan or any draft plan prepared for the purposes of subsection (2).

(7)Before issuing or revising any guidance under subsection (6) the Secretary of State shall consult with—

(a)persons whom he considers to represent the interests of police authorities;

(b)persons whom he considers to represent the interests of chief officers of police; and

(c)such other persons as he thinks fit.

(8)A police authority which is proposing to issue or modify any plan under this section shall submit that plan, or the modifications, to the Secretary of State.

(9)Where a police authority issues a three-year strategy plan or modifies such a plan, it shall—

(a)send a copy of the plan or the modified plan to the Secretary of State; and

(b)cause the plan or modified plan to be published;

and the copy of any modified plan sent to the Secretary of State and the publication of any modified plan must show the modifications, or be accompanied by or published with a document which sets them out or describes them.

(10)If the Secretary of State considers that there are grounds for thinking that—

(a)a police authority’s three-year strategy plan, or

(b)any proposals by a police authority for such a plan, or for the modification of such a plan,

may not be consistent with any National Policing Plan applicable to a financial year wholly or partly comprised in the period to which the strategy plan applies, he shall, before informing the police authority of his conclusions on whether or not it is in fact so inconsistent, consult with the persons mentioned in subsection (11).

(11)Those persons are—

(a)the police authority in question;

(b)the chief officer of police of the police force maintained by that authority;

(c)persons whom the Secretary of State considers to represent the interests of police authorities; and

(d)persons whom the Secretary of State considers to represent the interests of chief officers of police.

(12)Before a police authority—

(a)issues a three-year strategy plan that differs in any material respect from the draft submitted to it by the chief officer of police of the force maintained by that authority, or

(b)modifies its three-year strategy plan,

it shall consult with that chief officer.

(13)Any best value performance plan prepared by a police authority under section 6 of the Local Government Act 1999 (c. 27) for any financial year must be consistent with any three-year strategy plan which sets out the authority’s current strategies for policing its area during any period which includes the whole or any part of that financial year.

(14)The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision for—

(a)the procedure to be followed on the submission to him of any plan or modifications for the purposes of this section; and

(b)the periods which are to constitute relevant three-year periods for the purposes of this section;

and those regulations may provide for a period of less than three years to be the first period treated as a relevant three-year period for the purposes of this section.

(15)A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.”

(2)In section 8 of that Act (local policing plans), after subsection (2) there shall be inserted—

“(2A)The local policing plan for any financial year must be consistent with any three-year strategy plan under section 6A which sets out the authority’s current strategies for the policing of its area during any period which includes the whole or any part of that financial year.”

(3)In section 9(2) of that Act (annual report by police authorities to include assessment of extent to which local policing plan carried out), for the words from “the local policing plan” onwards there shall be substituted “, during that year proposals have been implemented, and things have been done, in accordance with the following plans—

(a)the three-year strategy plan issued under section 6A for the period that includes that year; and

(b)the local policing plan issued for that year under section 8.”