{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/police-and-fire-reform-scotland-act-2012/section-90",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/police-and-fire-reform-scotland-act-2012/section-90.json",
  "legislation": "asp/2012/8",
  "legislation_title": "Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/police-and-fire-reform-scotland-act-2012",
  "path": "section/90",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "90",
  "heading": "Assaulting or impeding police",
  "text": "(1) It is an offence for a person to assault—\n(a) a person (“A”) acting in a capacity mentioned in subsection (3), or\n(b) a person assisting A while A is acting in such capacity.\n(2) It is an offence for a person to resist, obstruct or hinder—\n(a) a person (“A”) acting in a capacity mentioned in subsection (3), or\n(b) a person assisting A while A is acting in such capacity.\n(3) The capacities are—\n(a) that of a constable,\n(b) that of a member of police staff,\n(c) that of a member of a relevant police force when such member is executing a warrant or is otherwise acting in Scotland by virtue of any enactment conferring powers on the member in Scotland,\n(d) that of a person who—\n(i) is a member of an international joint investigation team that is led by a person acting in a capacity mentioned in paragraph (a) or (c), and\n(ii) is carrying out functions as a member of that team.\n(4) A person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (1) or (2) is liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 12 months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both.\n(5) A complaint may include a charge that is framed so as to comprise (in a combined form) the specification of both an offence under subsection (1) and an offence under subsection (2).\n(6) Where a charge in a complaint is so framed the charge is to be regarded as being a single yet cumulative charge.\n(7) In this section and section 91, a reference to a member of a relevant police force is a reference to a member of—\n(a) a police force maintained under section 2 of the Police Act 1996 (c.16),\n(b) the metropolitan police force,\n(c) the City of London police force, or\n(d) the Police Service of Northern Ireland.",
  "extent": "S",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "C",
      "label": "C1",
      "text": "S. 90 applied (1.4.2013) by The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 (Consequential Provisions and Modifications) Order 2013 (S.I. 2013/602), arts. 1(2), 10(1)"
    },
    {
      "type": "C",
      "label": "C2",
      "text": "S. 90 modified (31.7.2017) by The Criminal Justice (European Investigation Order) Regulations 2017 (S.I. 2017/730), regs. 1(1), 34(7)(b) (with regs. 3, 34(1))"
    },
    {
      "type": "I",
      "label": "I1",
      "text": "S. 90 in force at 1.4.2013 by S.S.I. 2013/51, art. 2"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2012/8/section/90",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T20:14:45.019055+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}