The Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (Application and Modification of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016) Order 2017

Explanatory note

Reproduced verbatim from the instrument as published on legislation.gov.uk (Crown Copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0). The note is prepared by the responsible government department and is not part of the instrument itself.

This Order applies a number of provisions of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016 (“the 2016 Act”) to cases where a member of staff of the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (“PIRC”) is exercising the powers and privileges of a constable in pursuit of a criminal investigation under section 33A(b)(i) of the Police, Public Order and Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2006. The provisions of the 2016 Act applied (“the relevant provisions”) are set out in article 2(1). The relevant provisions set out a framework for arrest and custody in relation to criminal investigations carried out by constables, and the application of those provisions to PIRC investigators ensures that the same rules apply where those investigators take suspects into custody as where constables of the Police Service of Scotland take suspects into custody. This general application is given effect by article 2(1).

The Order also modifies certain of the relevant provisions in their application to PIRC staff as set out in articles 2(2), 3 and 4. These modifications mainly ensure that where 2016 Act functions rely on the rank structure of the Police Service of Scotland, the different hierarchical structure of PIRC is taken into account when PIRC investigators are exercising those functions.

Of the relevant provisions applied by this Order, section 42 of the 2016 Act is not in force. The modification of that provision by this Order will accordingly have no effect until that provision is in force.