Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011

Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011[a]
Act of Parliament
coat of arms
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long titleAn Act to make provision about the administration and governance of police forces; about the licensing of, and for the imposition of a late night levy in relation to, the sale and supply of alcohol, and for the repeal of provisions about alcohol disorder zones; for the repeal of sections 132 to 138 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 and for the prohibition of certain activities in Parliament Square; to enable provision in local authority byelaws to include powers of seizure and forfeiture; about the control of dangerous or otherwise harmful drugs; to restrict the issue of arrest warrants for certain extra-territorial offences; and for connected purposes.
Citation2011 c. 13
Introduced byTheresa May, Home Secretary (Commons)
Baroness Browning, Minister of State for Crime Prevention and Antisocial Behaviour Reduction (Lords)
Territorial extent 
  • England and Wales
  • Sections 58, 152, 154, 157, and 158, and Schedule 58 also extend to Scotland and Northern Ireland, Section 98 and Schedule 15 extend to England, Wales and Scotland
[b]
Dates
Royal assent15 September 2011
Commencementvarious[c]
Other legislation
Amends
Amended by
Relates to
Status: Amended
History of passage through Parliament
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended
Text of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 (c. 13) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Provisions

Police and crime commissioners

It transfers the control of police forces from police authorities to elected police and crime commissioners.[1] The first police commissioner elections were held in November 2012. The next elections took place in May 2016 and will subsequently take place every four years.

Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime

The act replaced the Metropolitan Policing Authority with the Mayor's Office for Police and Crime.[2][3]

Prohibited activities near Parliament Square

The act repeals the provisions in the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 which prohibit protests near Parliament Square, and instead restricts certain "prohibited activities" in Parliament Square garden and the adjoining footways. The police have used these powers to confiscate pizza boxes, tarpaulin and umbrellas from protesters in Parliament Square.[4]

Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs

The act removed the statutory requirement for the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to include scientists. The move follows the sacking of David Nutt from the council in 2009.[5]

Arrest warrants for offences of universal jurisdiction

Section 153 of the act amends section 1 of Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 so that an arrest warrant for an offence of universal jurisdiction cannot be issued without the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions, unless applied for by a Crown Prosecutor.

Proposed amendments

In 2021, the government published their proposed Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill which would amend the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act, in relation to behaviour around and access to the Parliamentary estate.[6] This was enacted as the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.

In 2025, the government intends to abolish police and crime commissioners by 2028.[7]

Notes

  1. ↑ Section 158.
  2. ↑ Section 156.
  3. ↑ Section 157.

References

  1. ↑ "Police reforms: Key points". BBC News. 26 July 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
  2. ↑ "Metropolitan Police Authority holds last meeting". BBC News. 12 January 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2026.
  3. ↑ "London mayor gains powers over the Metropolitan Police". BBC News. 16 January 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2026.
  4. ↑ Perraudin, Frances (24 October 2014). "Occupy protesters forced to hand over pizza boxes and tarpaulin". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  5. ↑ "Drugs advice body needs scientists, say campaigners". BBC News Online. 6 December 2010.
  6. ↑ Explanatory Notes Parliament.uk
  7. ↑ "Police and crime commissioners to be scrapped in England and Wales". BBC News. 13 November 2025.
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