The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 (Commencement No. 3 and Transitional Provisions) Order 2011

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

Article 2 of this Order brings the following provisions of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 (“the 2011 Act”) into force (in part) on 15th December 2011: section 11, section 17 and section 82.

Article 3 and Schedule 1 bring numerous further provisions of Part 1 of the Act into force on 16th January 2012. These provisions include those with the effect of replacing the Metropolitan Police Authority with the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime as the body responsible for securing the maintenance of the metropolitan police force and holding the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis to account.

Articles 4 to 8 make transitional and transitory provision in respect of various matters arising from the abolition of the Metropolitan Police Authority and the creation of the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime.

The provisions of the 2011 Act brought into force on 16th January 2012 also include those making changes to the functions of the Secretary of State in relation to policing (sections 81 and 82), to the functions of Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Constabulary (sections 83 to 87), and to the arrangements for the making of police collaboration agreements (sections 89 and 90 and Schedules 12 and 13). Article 9 makes various savings in relaiton to the functions of the Secretary of State.

This Order does not bring into force section 1 of the 2011 Act, which provides for the replacement of police authorities for police areas outside London with police and crime commissioners (section 50(2) of the 2011 Act provides for the first ordinary election of police and crime commissioners will be held on 15 November 2012). Accordingly, article 10 and Schedule 2 make extensive transitional and transitory provision and savings in relation to those provisions of the 2011 Act that apply to the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime and to police and crime commissioners, with the purpose of preserving the powers and duties of police authorities until section 1 comes into force.