{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/police-efficiency-scotland-regulations-1996/regulation-2",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/police-efficiency-scotland-regulations-1996/regulation-2.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/1996/1643",
  "legislation_title": "The Police (Efficiency) (Scotland) Regulations 1996",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/police-efficiency-scotland-regulations-1996",
  "path": "regulation/2",
  "kind": "regulation",
  "number": "2",
  "heading": "Interpretation",
  "text": "(1) Unless the context otherwise requires, in these Regulations—\n“the assistant chief constable” means a constable of that rank who is required by the chief constable to exercise any function of the assistant chief constable specified in these Regulations in relation to any constable in respect of whom proceedings under these Regulations are, or are proposed to be, taken and shall include a constable acting in place of that assistant chief constable;\n“the constable” means a constable to whom these Regulations apply and in respect of whom proceedings under these Regulations are taken;\n“countersigning officer” means an officer having supervisory responsibility and who is senior in rank to the constable in respect of whom proceedings under these Regulations are, or are proposed to be, taken;\n“first interview” means an interview arranged in terms of regulation 5;\n“inefficiency hearing” means a hearing arranged in terms of regulation 13;\n“interviewing officer” means the constable who conducts an interview arranged in terms of regulation 5;\n“personnel officer” means an officer employed under section 9 of the Police (Scotland) Act 1967 or a constable who, in either case, has responsibility for personnel matters relating to constables;\n“police force” means a police force maintained under section 1 of the Police (Scotland) Act 1967;\n“reporting officer” means the constable of a rank not lower than that of sergeant who has the immediate supervisory responsibility for a constable in respect of whom proceedings under these Regulations are taken;\n“second interview” means an interview arranged in terms of regulation 9;\n“senior officer” means—\n(a) the officer who is for the time being—\n(i) the supervising officer of the person who is, in relation to the constable in respect of whom proceedings under these Regulations are taken, the countersigning officer; or\n(ii) the commander of the division to which that constable is assigned; or\n(b) where the supervising officer mentioned in paragraph (a)(i) of this definition is of the same rank as the commander of the division to which the constable is assigned, that commander.\n(2) In these Regulations, any reference to a numbered regulation is a reference to the regulation bearing that number in these Regulations, and any reference to a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph bearing that number in the regulation in which the reference appears.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f1",
      "text": "Section 9 was substituted by the Police and Magistrates' Courts Act 1994 (c. 29), section 49."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f2",
      "text": "Section 1(1) was substituted by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c. 65), section 146(2) and amended by the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 (c. 39), Schedule 13, paragraph 71(2)."
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1996/1643/regulation/2",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T12:40:39.628199+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."
}