Powers of the police in England and Wales

The powers of the police in England and Wales are defined largely by statute law, with the main sources of power being the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and the Police Act 1996. This article covers the powers of territorial police forces only but a constable in one of the UK's special police forces (most often a member of the British Transport Police) gains those powers while he/she is on loan to a territorial force or discovers an incident which is otherwise outside his/her statutory jurisdiction. In law, police powers are given to "constables" (both full-time and volunteer police officers). Some police powers are also available in more limited extent to Police Community Support Officers and Traffic Wardens (not to be confused with parking attendants) as such persons are also members of a police force.

There are several general powers constables have that normal members of the public do not, including :-

Mainly with respect to people behaving peaceably in public, the powers have various limits and generally require a clear reason for their exercise which must often be made known to a person threatened with arrest or who has been arrested (a person is generally required to be informed of what wrong has led to the arrest).

Powers to stop and search can be extended on a limited (by place and duration) basis by legislation such as s.60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 or ss.44-47 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

Once a person has been arrested his/her vehicle or residence can be searched without the need for a warrant to be obtained for the purpose of obtaining evidence connected to the offence causing the arrest.

The basic powers of constables derive from the Police Act 1996, which covers attestation (section 29), jurisdiction (section 30) and a number of other matters. The powers given to PCSOs are provided by the Police Reform Act 2002.

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