# Crime and Policing Act 2026, Section 97: Guidance about disclosure of information by police for purpose of preventing sex offending

Extent: E+W+S+N.I.

(1) The Secretary of State may from time to time—
(a) issue guidance to chief officers about the disclosure of police information for the purpose of preventing the commission of relevant sexual offences;
(b) revise any guidance issued under this section.
(2) A chief officer must have regard to any guidance issued under this section.
(3) Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply in relation to functions of the Chief Constable of the British Transport Police in relation to Scotland.
(4) Before issuing or revising guidance under this section, the Secretary of State must consult—
(a) the National Police Chiefs’ Council, and
(b) such other persons as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.
(5) Subsection (4) does not apply to revisions if the Secretary of State considers that they are not substantial.
(6) The Secretary of State must publish any guidance or revisions issued under this section.
(7) In this section—
“chief officer” means—
(a) the chief officer of police of a police force maintained by a local policing body,
(b) the Chief Constable of the British Transport Police Force, or
(c) the chief constable of the Ministry of Defence Police;
“police information” means, in relation to a chief officer, information held by the police force in question;
“relevant sexual offence” means an offence listed in Schedule 3 to the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
(8) In construing the reference in subsection (7) to an offence listed in Schedule 3 to the Sexual Offences Act 2003, disregard any condition subject to which an offence is so listed that relates to—
(a) the way in which the defendant is dealt with in respect of the offence or a relevant finding (as defined by section 132(9) of that Act), or
(b) the age of any person.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2026/20/section/97 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/crime-and-policing-act-2026/section-97
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.