The Police Act (Northern Ireland) 1970

Abstract

Swift action followed upon the publication of the Hunt Report. On 26 May 1970 the Police Act (Northern Ireland) 1970 was introduced by the Westminster Parliament, whose power to legislate for Northern Ireland on any matter it so chose remained undiminished, notwithstanding devolution under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. Many of Hunt’s recommendations were embodied in the statute and, not surprisingly, the Act was shaped on the Police Acts of 1964 and 1967 which applied to the mainland forces. Until March 1972, when direct rule was introduced in Northern Ireland by the Westminster Parliament, the equivalent powers of the Secretary of State with regard to mainland forces were vested in the Minister of Home Affairs, and thereafter in the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland; the chief officer of the force was referred to in the Act as ‘Inspector General’, but almost immediately the style ‘Chief Constable’ was adopted and the title was introduced by way of a Statutory Instrument in 1970.