Historically the principle that police officers are ‘citizens in uniform’ has meant that the legal powers afforded to them have been broadly those available to members of the public.

The 1984 Police and Criminal Evidence Act codified many of the powers that police officers have over citizens, in terms of stop and search; entry, search and seizure; arrest; detention; questioning and treatment; documentary evidence in criminal proceedings; complaints and discipline; and other matters.

Police officers are independent officers of the Crown. Although accountable to senior officers and the range of bodies that govern the police service, officers exercise their discretion independently.

PACE gives police officers the power to stop and search a member of the public where they have ‘reasonable suspicion’. The 2010 Equality Act determines that police ought to operate in ways that challenge inequality.

Persons stopped, whether searched or not, should be provided with a record of the encounter that includes information about the circumstances that informed the officer’s decision, the identity of the officer, and the means by which they might complain about their experience.

Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act (1994) and the Terrorism Act (2000) permit the stop and searching of members of the public for much more general reasons. ‘Section 60’ enables officers to stop and search any individual present in places where it is anticipated that incidents of serious violence might take place. The use of these powers has decreased dramatically since 2008/09. The Terrorism Act 2000 enables officers to stop and search individuals at times and places were it is anticipated there might be terrorist activity.

PACE stipulates that officers can enter private premises, without being invited, if in possession of a warrant. Officers can enter without a warrant in order to effect an arrest, to recapture someone unlawfully at large, or to save life and limb. As with stop and search powers, they must have ‘reasonable grounds’ to support their decision.

Officers can arrest a person without a warrant if they are suspected of committing an ‘arrestable’ offence. If any person, police officer or civilian, believes such a crime is in the process of being committed, they can legally arrest the suspected perpetrator.

Custody officers are legally responsible for deciding if there is sufficient evidence to hold an individual once they have been arrested and for ensuring that the rights of those in custody are observed. 

Discussion of the formal legal powers of police officers needs to be broadened, partly to recognise that a range of other agencies – policing in more general terms – share some of these provisions, and because police power also derives from institutional frameworks and resources, and from the symbolic authority of the service. Additionally the police service is powerful in that it can shape the public and political discourse about contemporary issues.