# Police Reform Act 2002, Paragraph 5

Extent: E+W

(1) It shall be the duty of the Director General in the case of every complaint referred to the Director General by a local policing body or chief officer, to determine whether or not it is necessary for the complaint to be investigated.
(1A) The Secretary of State may by regulations provide that the Director General must determine that it is necessary for complaints referred to the Director General that relate to the conduct of a chief officer or the Deputy Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis to be investigated.
(1B) Regulations under sub-paragraph (1A) may provide that the duty on the Director General applies only in relation to complaints relating to the conduct of a chief officer or the Deputy Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that are of a description specified in the regulations.
(1C) Regulations under sub-paragraph (1A) may also provide that, where the Director General is required by the regulations to determine that it is necessary for a complaint to be investigated, paragraph 15 is to apply in relation to the complaint as if sub-paragraphs (4)(a), (4A) and (5A)(b) were omitted.
(2) Where the Director General determines under this paragraph that it is not necessary for a complaint to be investigated —
(a) in a case where the complaint is already being investigated by the appropriate authority on its own behalf (and notwithstanding the Director General's determination), the Director General must refer the complaint back to the appropriate authority for the investigation to be completed, and
(b) in any other case, the Director General may, if the Director General thinks fit, refer the complaint back to the appropriate authority to be dealt with by that authority in accordance with paragraph 6.
(3) Where the Director General refers a complaint back under sub-paragraph (2), the Director General shall give a notification of the making of the reference back—
(a) to the complainant, and
(b) except in a case where it appears to the Director General that to do so might prejudice an investigation of the complaint (whether an existing investigation or a possible future one), to the person complained against (if any).

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2002/30/schedule/3/paragraph/5 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/police-reform-act-2002/schedule-3/paragraph-5
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.