Secretary of State for the Home Department, R (on the application of) v Humberside Police Authority & Anor

Section 42(1A) of the Police Act 1996 permits the Secretary of State to require a chief constable’s suspension where he considers it necessary to maintain public confidence in the force. The relevant public is the public at large, not merely the population within the police authority’s area. The power is a national default power and attracts a broad discretionary judgment. The court reviews whether the statutory test was applied, rather than deciding whether suspension was substantively right or whether the underlying criticisms were justified.

The Secretary of State required the Humberside Police Authority to suspend its Chief Constable under section 42(1A) of the Police Act 1996, following the publication of the Bichard Inquiry Report. The Police Authority and the Chief Constable challenged the validity of that requirement.

The central issue was whether the statutory reference to maintaining public confidence in the force confined the Secretary of State’s consideration to public confidence within the authority’s local area, or extended to public confidence among the public at large. A further issue concerned the Police Authority’s duty after receiving the requirement.

1. The claim succeeded. The Secretary of State had validly exercised the power under section 42(1A) of the Police Act 1996. The Humberside Police Authority was consequently under a statutory duty under section 11(3)(a) to suspend the Chief Constable as soon as reasonably practicable after receiving the requirement.

2. The statutory reference to maintaining public confidence in the force means public confidence in the force among the public at large. It does not require consideration to be confined to public opinion within the area of the relevant police authority. Reading such a territorial limitation into the statute would add words which Parliament had not used and would create practical difficulties.

3. The Secretary of State’s power is a national default power. It is exercised by central government and may properly take account of national considerations, including the importance of public confidence in each police force. The effectiveness of one police authority may have consequences beyond its local area.

4. The court’s task was limited to determining whether the Secretary of State had applied the statutory test and validly reached the relevant conclusion. It was not for the court to decide whether suspension was substantively right or whether the criticisms in the Bichard Inquiry Report were correct. The report provided sufficient grounds for the statutory conclusion.

5. The Police Authority could not unilaterally terminate the suspension. The Secretary of State was to conduct the contemplated monthly reviews. The defendant was ordered to pay the Secretary of State’s costs. Leave to appeal was refused.