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The Association of Chief Police Officers of England, Wales and Northern Ireland (ACPO) was a
not-for-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
private limited company that for many years led the development of policing practices in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
, and
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
.
Established in 1948,
ACPO provided a forum for chief police officers to share ideas and coordinate their strategic operational responses, and advised government in matters such as
terrorist attacks
The following is a list of terrorist incidents that have not been carried out by a state or its forces (see state terrorism and state-sponsored terrorism). Assassinations are listed at List of assassinated people.
Definitions of terrori ...
and civil emergencies. ACPO coordinated national police operations, major investigations, cross-border policing, and joint law enforcement. ACPO designated Senior Investigative Officers for major investigations and appointed officers to head ACPO units specialising in various areas of policing and crime reduction.
The last ACPO president, from April 2009 until its dissolution, was
Sir Hugh Orde
Sir Hugh Stephen Roden Orde, (born 27 August 1958) is a retired British police officer who was the president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, representing the 44 police forces of England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Between 2002 a ...
, who was previously the chief constable of the
Police Service of Northern Ireland
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ga, Seirbhís Póilíneachta Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ')
is the police, police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabu ...
.
ACPO was funded by
Home Office grants, profits from commercial activities and contributions from the 44 police authorities in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Following the Parker Review into ACPO, it was replaced in 2015 by a new body, the
National Police Chiefs' Council
The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) is a national coordination body for law enforcement in the United Kingdom and the representative body for British police chief officers. Established on 1 April 2015, it replaced the former Association ...
, set up under a police collaboration agreement under Section 22A of the
Police Act 1996
The Police Act 1996c 16 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which defined the current police areas in England and Wales, constituted police authorities for those areas, and set out the relationship between the Home Secretary and t ...
.
Background
UK policing sprang from local communities in the 1800s. Since the origins of policing, chief officers have regularly associated to discuss and share policing issues. Although ACPO as now recognised was formed in 1948, records of prior bodies go back to the early 1900s. The UK retains a decentralised model of policing based around the settlement which emerged from the Royal Commission on the work of the Police in 1962.
ACPO continued to provide a forum for chief officers across 44 local police forces and 13 national areas across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and provided local forces with agreed national policies and guidelines. Originally more of a gentleman's club, it soon evolved into an effective body for representing senior ranks in the police service.
ACPO failed to convince its sponsors to contribute to its survival and in May 2011 the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
reported that ACPO would run out of money in February 2012 without extra funding. ACPO was half-funded by the Home Office and half by 44
police authorities. A third of police authorities refused to pay in 2010 and another third were undecided. The
Association of Police Authorities
Association may refer to:
*Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal
*Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry
*Voluntary associatio ...
said the withdrawal of funding by police authorities was "partly due to a squeeze on their income". ACPO was due to wind up formally in April 2015.
Constitutional status
Over time, demands for coordination across the police service increased as society changed, for example to take account of new developments in international terrorism and organised crime, or roles such as monitoring offenders on release from prison or working with young people to divert them from crime.
In 1997, ACPO was incorporated as a private
company limited by guarantee
In British, Australian, Bermudian, Hong Kong and Irish company law (and previously New Zealand), a company limited by guarantee (CLG) is a type of corporation used primarily (but not exclusively) for non-profit organisations that require legal pe ...
. As a private company, ACPO was not subject to
freedom of information legislation
Freedom of information laws allow access by the general public to data held by national governments and, where applicable, by state and local governments. The emergence of freedom of information legislation was a response to increasing dissatisfa ...
. It was not a staff association; the staff association for senior police officers was a separate body, the Chief Police Officers Staff Association (CPOSA).
The change in structure from a "band of volunteers" to a limited company allowed the organisation to employ staff, enter into contracts for accommodation and publish accounts.
A number of options were considered for the status of ACPO, including charitable status, but all were discounted.
Chief constables and commissioners are responsible for the direction and control of policing in their force areas. Although a national body and recognized by the government for consultation, ACPO had no powers of its own, nor any mandate to instruct chief officers. However, the organisation allowed chief officers to form a national policy rather than replicate the work in each of their forces. For example, after the 1980–81 riots in 27 British cities including in
St. Pauls and
Brixton
Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...
ACPO began to prepare the
Public Order Manual of Tactical Operations and Related Matters. Police forces began training in its tactics late in 1983.
Membership
ACPO was not a staff association. It acted for the police service, not its members. The separate
Chief Police Officers Staff Association acts for chief officers.
ACPO was composed of the
chief police officer
In the United Kingdom, a chief police officer is the most senior police officer in a police force. The chief police officers are the 53 Chief Constables, the Commissioner of the City of London Police and the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Poli ...
s of the 44 police forces in
England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...
and
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
, the
deputy chief constable and
assistant chief constable of 42 of those forces and the
deputy commissioner,
assistant commissioner,
deputy assistant commissioner and
commander
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain.
...
s of the remaining two - the
Metropolitan Police
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...
and
City of London Police
The City of London Police is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the City of London, including the Middle and Inner Temples. The force responsible for law enforcement within the remainder of the London region, ou ...
. Certain senior non-police staff and senior members of national police agencies and certain other specialised and non-geographical forces in the UK, the
Isle of Man
)
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, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
and the
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...
were also members.
, there were 349 members of ACPO.
The membership elected a full-time President, who held the office of Chief Constable under the Police Reform Act 2002.
ACPO bodies
ACPO was responsible for several ancillary bodies, which it either funded or which received Home Office funding but which reported to ACPO:
ACPO Criminal Records Office
The
ACPO Criminal Records Office (ACRO) was set up in 2006 in response to a perceived gap in the police service's ability to manage criminal records and in particular to improve links to biometric data. The initial aim of ACRO was to provide operational support relating to criminal records and associated
biometric
Biometrics are body measurements and calculations related to human characteristics. Biometric authentication (or realistic authentication) is used in computer science as a form of identification and access control. It is also used to identify in ...
data, including
DNA and
fingerprint recognition
A fingerprint is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. The recovery of partial fingerprints from a crime scene is an important method of forensic science. Moisture and grease on a finger result in fingerprints on surfac ...
.
It also issues police certificates, for a fee, needed to obtain immigration visas for countries including Australia, Belgium, Canada, Cayman Islands, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States.
The organisation continues under the style "ACRO Criminal Records Office" under the control of
Hampshire Constabulary
The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the counties of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in South East England.Hampshire Constabulary, 2012 Retrieved 27 April 2012
The force area inc ...
.
ACPO Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service
The Association of Chief Police Officers Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (AVCIS), later the
National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service
The National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS), formerly known as the Association of Chief Police Officers Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (AVCIS) is a British police unit.
Originally set up and run by the Association of Chief Police ...
(NAVCIS), was managed by ACPO, and was responsible for combating organised vehicle crime and the use of vehicles in crime.
National Community Tension Team
The
National Community Tension Team (NCTT) was an ACPO body which monitored religious, racial, or other tensions within communities, and provided liaison between police forces and community organisations.
National Counter Terrorism Security Office
The
National Counter Terrorism Security Office
The National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO) is a police unit. It is funded by, and reports to, the Home Office, which advises the British government on its counter-terrorism strategy.
The National Counter Terrorism Security Office ...
was funded by, and reported to, ACPO and advised the British government on its counter terrorism strategy.
Police National Information and Co-ordination Centre
ACPO was responsible for coordinating the national mobilisation of police resources at times of national need through the
Police National Information and Co-ordination Centre (PNICC), which it set up in 2003.
This included ensuring policing resilience during major events such as emergency response to serious flooding or the investigation of a terrorist attack. PNICC sat alongside the government in COBR (
Cabinet Office Briefing Room
The Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms (COBR) are meeting rooms in the Cabinet Office in London. These rooms are used for committees which co-ordinate the actions of government bodies in response to national or regional crises, or during overseas ev ...
) to advise on national issues. PNICC also handled support to overseas crises involving UK nationals.
It employed three full-time staff, with other staff seconded to it as needed and is funded by contributions from each of the police forces.
Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit
The
Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit The Counter-Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU) was set up in 2010 by ACPO (and run by the Metropolitan Police) to remove unlawful terrorist material content from the Internet, with a specific focus on UK based material. CTIRU works with inter ...
(CTIRU) was set up in 2010 by ACPO (and run by the
Metropolitan Police
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...
) to
remove unlawful terrorist material content from the Internet with a focus on UK based material.
The December 2013 report of the
Prime Minister's Extremism task force, said that it would "work with internet companies to restrict access to terrorist material online which is hosted overseas but illegal under UK law" and "work with the internet industry to help them in their continuing efforts to identify extremist content to include in
family-friendly filters" which would likely involve lobbying ISPs to add the CTIRU list to their filters without the need for additional legislation.
National Wildlife Crime Unit
The
National Wildlife Crime Unit
The National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) is a British national police unit that gathers intelligence on wildlife crime and provides analytical and investigative support to law enforcement agencies.
History
The idea was first piloted in 2002 and t ...
is a national police unit that gathers intelligence on wildlife crime and provides analytical and investigative support to law enforcement agencies.
Controversies
Freedom of information
ACPO had been criticised as being unaccountable to
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
or the public by virtue of its limited company status. In October 2009,
Sir Hugh Orde
Sir Hugh Stephen Roden Orde, (born 27 August 1958) is a retired British police officer who was the president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, representing the 44 police forces of England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Between 2002 a ...
stated that ACPO would be "more than happy" to be subject to the
Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request:
* Freedom of Information Act 1982, the Australian act
* ...
.
On 30 March 2010, the
Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry.
Lists of current ministries of justice
Named "Ministry"
* Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia)
* Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan)
* Ministry of Just ...
announced that ACPO would be included under the FOI Act from October 2011. In its response, the organisation stated that "Although organisations cannot voluntarily comply with the Act, a large proportion of ACPO's work is public already or available under FOI through any police force". In January 2011 its website still said it: "is unable to do is to respond to requests for information under the Act. The organisation is too small and there are too few members of staff to be able to conduct the necessary research and to compile the responses". From November 2011, however, FOI requests could be made to ACPO.
Apartments
The organisation was criticised in February 2010 for allegedly spending £1.6million per year from government anti-terrorist funding grants on renting up to 80 apartments in the centre of London which were reported as being empty most of the time.
The organisation responded that it had reviewed this policy and would reduce the number of apartments.
Undercover activities
As a result of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' articles with regards to the activities and accusations of
PC Mark Kennedy of the
National Public Order Intelligence Unit
The National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU) was run by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), a private company connected to United Kingdom police intelligence, and was set up in 1999 to track green activists and public demonst ...
within the National Extremism Tactical Co-ordination Unit, and the collapse of the subsequent trial of six activists, a number of initiatives and changes were announced:
* Acknowledging that "something had gone very wrong" in the Kennedy case to the
Home Affairs Select Committee, Home Office minister
Nick Herbert stated that ACPO would lose control of three teams involved in tackling domestic extremism. Herbert announced that the units would be transferred to the Metropolitan Police, with acting commissioner
Tim Godwin
Timothy John Godwin OBE QPM is a former British police officer, who served as Deputy Commissioner of London's Metropolitan Police Service, from July 2009 until November 2011. He held the post of Acting Commissioner, following the resignation ...
confirming that this would occur at the earliest possible timescale.
[
* ]Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary
His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), formerly Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), has statutory responsibility for the inspection of the police forces of England and Wales, and since ...
announced that Bernard Hogan-Howe
Bernard Hogan-Howe, Baron Hogan-Howe, (born 25 October 1957) is an English former police officer and was the head of London's Metropolitan Police as Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis from 2011 until 2017.
Born in Sheffield, Hogan-Howe ...
would lead an investigation into ACPO, to assess whether undercover operations had been "authorised in accordance with law" and " proportionate".[
* The ]Association of Police Authorities
Association may refer to:
*Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal
*Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry
*Voluntary associatio ...
said it was ending its annual £850,000 grant to ACPO.
DNA database
ACPO has supervised the creation of one of the world's largest per-capita DNA databases, containing the DNA profiles of more than one million unconvicted people. ACPO's guidelines that these profiles should only be deleted in "exceptional circumstances" were found to be unlawful by the UK Supreme Court in May 2011. They were found to be incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights
The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by t ...
, following the ruling by the European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...
in ''S and Marper v United Kingdom
''S and Marper v United Kingdom'' 008ECHR 1581is a case decided by the European Court of Human Rights which held that holding DNA samples of individuals arrested but who are later acquitted or have the charges against them dropped is a violatio ...
''. On 1 May 2012, the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012
The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. As the Protection of Freedoms Bill, it was introduced in February 2011, by the Home Secretary, Theresa May. The bill was sponsored by the Home Office. On Tuesd ...
completed its passage through Parliament and received Royal Assent
Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in other ...
. Up until it ceased to exist in 2015, ACPO did not reissue revised guidelines to replace its unlawful DNA exceptional procedure. Big Brother Watch, in
report
of June 2012, has adopted the view that, despite the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, the retention of DNA in England and Wales remains an uncertain and illiberal regime.
Fake uniforms
During the summer of 2011, Hugh Orde, then president of the ACPO, was seen wearing a dark blue police-style uniform with ACPO insignia, and was accused of wearing a fake uniform. Senior police officers claimed that the uniform was not that of any police force in the country but "closely resembled" the uniform worn by former Metropolitan Police commissioner
The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis is the head of London's Metropolitan Police Service. Sir Mark Rowley was appointed to the post on 8 July 2022 after Dame Cressida Dick announced her resignation in February.
The rank of Commissione ...
, Paul Stephenson. Sam Leith
Sam Leith (born 1 January 1974) is an English author, journalist and literary editor of ''The Spectator''.
After an education at Eton and Magdalen College, Oxford, Leith worked at the revived satirical magazine ''Punch'', before moving to the ' ...
, an author, journalist and literary editor of ''The Spectator
''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world.
It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...
'', mocked Orde's decision "to wear this Gadaffi-style pretend uniform on television", and suggested it was "a subliminal pitch for the Met Commissioner's job." Brian Paddick
Brian Leonard Paddick, Baron Paddick (born 24 April 1958), is a British politician and retired police officer, currently sitting in the House of Lords as a life peer. He was the Liberal Democrat candidate for the London mayoral elections of 2 ...
, at the time the police commander
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain.
...
for the London Borough of Lambeth
Lambeth () is a London boroughs, London borough in South London, England, which forms part of Inner London. Its name was recorded in 1062 as ''Lambehitha'' ("landing place for lambs") and in 1255 as ''Lambeth''. The geographical centre of London ...
, said: "It's unusual for the president of ACPO to appear in all these interviews in uniform. He is sending a clear signal: how would I look in the commissioner's uniform?"
Parker Review
In 2013, an independent review of ACPO by General
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
Sir Nick Parker was published. It recommended that ACPO be replaced by a new body, in the interests of greater transparency and cost effectiveness. On the basis of these recommendations, a new organization, the National Police Chiefs' Council
The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) is a national coordination body for law enforcement in the United Kingdom and the representative body for British police chief officers. Established on 1 April 2015, it replaced the former Association ...
, was set up to replace ACPO, which it did on 1 April 2015.
Notable members
* Commander Christine Jones (Metropolitan Police
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...
), lead on mental health issues
References
External links
Association of Chief Police Officers website
(archived link from March 2015)
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Association Of Chief Police Officers
Law enforcement in England and Wales
Law enforcement in Northern Ireland
Organizations established in 1948
Privately held companies of the United Kingdom
Counterintelligence agencies
1948 establishments in the United Kingdom
2015 disestablishments in the United Kingdom
Law enforcement-related professional associations