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Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill


Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill
Part 1 — Police reform
Chapter 5 — Police forces in areas with elected local policing bodies

30

 

(a)   

suspend the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis from duty, or

(b)   

suspend the Deputy Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis from

duty.

(2)   

If the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime suspends the Commissioner, or

Deputy Commissioner, from duty, that Office must notify the Secretary of State

5

of the suspension.

(3)   

The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime may, subject to subsections (5) and

(6), and with the approval of the Secretary of State—

(a)   

call upon the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis to resign or

retire, or

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(b)   

call upon the Deputy Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis to

resign or retire.

(4)   

The Commissioner, or Deputy Commissioner, must resign or retire if called

upon to do so in accordance with subsection (3).

(5)   

Before calling upon the Commissioner, or Deputy Commissioner, to retire or

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resign, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime must—

(a)   

give the police officer a written explanation of the reasons why the

Office is proposing to call for the retirement or resignation;

(b)   

give the police officer the opportunity to make written representations

about the proposal to call for the police officer’s resignation or

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retirement; and

(c)   

consider any written representations made by the police officer.

(6)   

The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime must comply with subsection (5)

before seeking the approval of the Secretary of State to call upon the

Commissioner, or Deputy Commissioner, to retire or resign.

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(7)   

This section is subject to regulations under section 50 of the Police Act 1996.

(8)   

This section is without prejudice to—

(a)   

section 42(2);

(b)   

section 43(3); or

(c)   

regulations under the Police Pensions Act 1976.

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49      

Suspension and removal of other senior metropolitan police officers

(1)   

The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis may suspend a senior

metropolitan police officer from duty.

(2)   

If the Commissioner suspends a senior metropolitan police officer from duty,

the Commissioner must notify the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime of the

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suspension.

(3)   

The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis may, subject to subsection (5),

and after consulting the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, call upon a

senior metropolitan police officer to resign or retire.

(4)   

A senior metropolitan police officer must resign or retire if called upon to do

40

so in accordance with subsection (3).

(5)   

Before calling upon a senior metropolitan police officer to retire or resign, the

Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis must—

 
 

Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill
Part 1 — Police reform
Chapter 6 — Police and crime commissioners: elections and vacancies

31

 

(a)   

give the police officer a written explanation of the reasons why the

Commissioner is proposing to call for the retirement or resignation;

(b)   

give the police officer the opportunity to make written representations

about the proposal to call for the police officer’s resignation or

retirement; and

5

(c)   

consider any written representations made by the police officer.

(6)   

This section is subject to regulations under section 50 of the Police Act 1996.

(7)   

This section is without prejudice to regulations under the Police Pensions Act

1976.

(8)   

In this section “senior metropolitan police officer” means any of the

10

following—

(a)   

an Assistant Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis;

(b)   

a Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis;

(c)   

a Commander.

Chapter 6

15

Police and crime commissioners: elections and vacancies

Holding of elections

50      

Ordinary elections

(1)   

An election of police and crime commissioners for all police areas (an

“ordinary election”) is to be held—

20

(a)   

in 2012;

(b)   

in each subsequent fourth year.

(2)   

The poll at an ordinary election of police and crime commissioners in any year

is to be held—

(a)   

in England, on the day which is the ordinary day of election in that year

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of councillors for counties in England and districts (see sections 37 and

37A of the Representation of the People Act 1983), and

(b)   

in Wales, on the day which is the ordinary day of election in that year

of councillors for counties in Wales and county boroughs (see sections

37 and 37B of that Act).

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(3)   

The term of office of a person elected as a police and crime commissioner at an

ordinary election—

(a)   

begins with the seventh day after the day of the poll at the election, and

(b)   

ends with the sixth day after the day of the poll at the next ordinary

election of police and crime commissioners.

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(4)   

Subsection (3) is subject to any provision of or made under this or any other Act

relating to the appointment or election of police and crime commissioners or

their ceasing to hold office.

51      

Election to fill vacancy in office of commissioner

(1)   

This section applies where a vacancy occurs in the office of police and crime

40

commissioner for a police area.

 
 

Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill
Part 1 — Police reform
Chapter 6 — Police and crime commissioners: elections and vacancies

32

 

(2)   

An election must be held to fill the vacancy.

(3)   

The police area returning officer must fix the date of the poll at the election.

(4)   

The date fixed must be not more than 35 days after the relevant event

(computed in accordance with section 75).

(5)   

For the purposes of subsection (4), “the relevant event” means—

5

(a)   

in a case where the High Court or the appropriate officer has declared

the office to be vacant, the making of that declaration;

(b)   

in any other case, the giving of notice of the vacancy to the appropriate

officer by two or more relevant electors.

(6)   

For this purpose “relevant elector” means a person who is registered in a

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register of local government electors in respect of an address within the police

area.

(7)   

If the vacancy occurs within the period of six months ending with the day of

the poll at the next ordinary election of police and crime commissioners—

(a)   

no election is to be held under subsection (2) in respect of the vacancy,

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and

(b)   

accordingly, the office is to be left unfilled until that ordinary election.

(8)   

The term of office of a person elected as a police and crime commissioner for a

police area at an election to fill a vacancy in the office—

(a)   

begins immediately the person is declared to be elected as police and

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crime commissioner for the area;

(b)   

ends at the time when it would have ended had the person been elected

at the most recent ordinary election of police and crime commissioners.

(9)   

In the case of a vacancy occurring in consequence of the failure of, or other

irregularity in relation to, an election, subsections (3) and (4) have effect subject

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to any provision made by an order under section 58.

52      

Persons entitled to vote

(1)   

A person is entitled to vote as an elector at an election of a police and crime

commissioner for a police area if on the date of the poll—

(a)   

the person would be entitled to vote as an elector at a local government

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election in an electoral area wholly or partly comprised in the police

area, and

(b)   

the address in respect of which the person is registered in the register

of local government electors for that electoral area is within the police

area.

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(2)   

A person is not entitled to vote as an elector more than once in the same police

area at any election of a police and crime commissioner.

53      

Public awareness about elections: role of Electoral Commission

The Electoral Commission must, in relation to—

(a)   

each ordinary election of police and crime commissioners under section

40

50,

(b)   

each election to fill a vacancy in the office of police and crime

commissioner for a police area under section 51,

 
 

Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill
Part 1 — Police reform
Chapter 6 — Police and crime commissioners: elections and vacancies

33

 

take such steps as it considers appropriate to raise public awareness about the

election and how to vote in it.

Conduct of elections

54      

Returning officers etc

(1)   

The returning officer for an election of a police and crime commissioner for a

5

police area (“the police area returning officer”) is to be a person who—

(a)   

is an acting returning officer by virtue of section 28(1) of the

Representation of the People Act 1983 (acting returning officer for

parliamentary election) for a constituency falling wholly or partly

within the police area, and

10

(b)   

is designated for the purposes of this subsection by order of the

Secretary of State.

(2)   

The Secretary of State may by regulations confer functions—

(a)   

on police area returning officers, and

(b)   

on local returning officers.

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(3)   

Regulations under subsection (2) may apply or incorporate, with or without

modifications or exceptions, any relevant provision.

(4)   

Each relevant local authority must place the services of its officers at the

disposal of any person on whom functions are conferred under subsection (2)

in relation to the police area for the purpose of assisting that person in the

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discharge of those functions.

(5)   

In this section—

“local authority” means—

(a)   

a district council,

(b)   

a county council in England for a county in which there are no

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district councils,

(c)   

the Council of the Isles of Scilly,

(d)   

a county council or county borough council in Wales;

“local election” means an election of members of a local authority;

“local returning officer” means a person who, by virtue of section 35 of the

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Representation of the People Act 1983, is a returning officer for any

local elections;

“relevant local authority”, in relation to a police area, means a local

authority whose area falls wholly or partly within the police area;

“relevant provision” means any provision (whenever passed or made) of,

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or made under, any of the following—

(a)   

the Representation of the People Acts,

(b)   

the Local Government Act 1972,

(c)   

the Local Government Act 2000,

(d)   

the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000,

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(e)   

the European Parliamentary Elections Act 2002,

(f)   

the Government of Wales Act 2006, and

(g)   

any other enactment relating to parliamentary elections,

European Parliamentary elections or local government

elections.

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Revised 1 December 2010