Appendix 4 S.R. 2004/3: memorandum from
the Northern Ireland Office
Police Service of Northern Ireland Reserve (Part-Time)
Regulations 2004 (S.R. 2004/3)
1. The Committee considered the above instrument
at its meeting on 27 January 2004 and has requested the Department
to submit a memorandum on the following points:
(1) Regulation 6(1) prohibits the imposition of
restrictions on the private life of members other than those designed
to secure the proper exercise of the functions of a member, except
such as may temporarily be necessary or such as may be approved
by the Secretary of State. What sort of restrictions
is it envisaged will be imposed by virtue of the underlined words
and, given that they will be not be designed to secure the proper
exercise of the functions of a member, how is their inclusion
compatible with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human
Rights?
2. The underlined wording of the regulation is the
same as that used in regulation 6 of the Police Regulations 2003
(SI 2003/527) which apply to England and Wales and in regulation
6 of the Royal Ulster Constabulary Regulations 1996 (SI 1996/473).
3. An example of a restriction which may temporarily
be necessary would be one which would prevent a part-time officer
socialising in a particular location, such as named premises or
a specified geographical area because of the threat assessment
reached by the Chief Constable in respect of that particular location
at that particular time.
4. The Department believes that restrictions of this
nature would be justified under Article 8(2) of the European Convention
on Human Rights. We consider that a restriction relating to a
locality which should not be visited for security reasons would
be in the interests of protecting the safety of police officers,
in the interests of public safety and for the prevention of disorder
and crime. We think such a response could be considered proportionate
in response to the threat level, although this would of course
be a matter to be weighed carefully on the facts of the particular
case.
5. The Department plans later this year to undertake
a consolidation exercise of the Royal Ulster Constabulary Regulations
1996 (SI 1996/473) at which time the corresponding regulation
for regular officers will be examined. As this wording also appears
in the England and Wales regulations we intend to consult the
Home Office as part of the exercise.
(2) Given regulation 2(2), explain the purpose
of the words following "the determination" in relation
17(2).
6. The identical wording in relation to retrospective
action also occurs in two places in regulations 3(4) and 46(3)
of the Police Regulations 2003 which apply to England and Wales.
Regulation 2(2) is a general provision, which applies to both
pay and allowances. It is accepted that the second provision in
regulation 17(2) after the words "…determination"
is otiose and therefore the Department undertakes to remove the
closing words of regulation 17(2) (which only apply to pay) when
next amending the regulations.
2 February 2004
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