Territorial Extent and Application Police co-operation Section 11 Police equipment
68.Section 53 of the Police Act 1996 allows the Secretary of State to make regulations as to standards of police equipment. Such regulations cannot be made unless the Secretary of State considers it necessary to do so for the purpose of promoting the efficiency and effectiveness generally of police forces (section 53(1B)). The amendments made by this Act clarify that the definition of police equipment includes software and also enable the section to be used in respect of one or more forces (at the moment regulations only apply to all forces). Section 44 of the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003 provides that the Secretary of State may make regulations under section 53 of the Police Act 1996 which have effect in relation to the British Transport Police (including in relation to Scotland). So the section also enables regulations to be made about software used by the British Transport Police in England and Wales and Scotland.