In this section, learn what the powers of the police are, what your rights are, and who to complain to if you feel you have been mistreated by the police. Below you will find a summary about the different personnel making up the police force. If you want more information on police powers and what your rights are, click on the appropriate link in the left-hand column of the page.

The police service is made up of a number of different kinds of police personnel to help meet the challenges of policing today, including:

• Regular Police Officers - Regular officers have full police powers and make up the majority of the police service
• Special Constables - Specials are part-time volunteer officers who have full police powers, but who also have their own full-time jobs too
• Community Support Officer- CSOs are full-time staff with partial police powers who are focused on community safety and deterring anti-social behaviour

The police service aims to be a regular part of our community, ensuring we all have a safe environment in which to live and work.

There are 43 police forces in England and Wales comprising 141,230 police officers, 12,077 volunteer special constables and 6214 community support officers.

The police have a wide range of powers to give them the tools they need to reduce crime and keep our communities safe. The powers are set out under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE). The Act aims to balance the powers of the police with the rights and freedoms of the public.

The PACE codes of practice describe police powers relating to elements of law enforcement including custody and stop and search.

There are eight police forces in Scotland. There are around 15, 000 police officers in Scotland. The main legislation setting out police powers in Scotland is the Police (Scotland) Act 1967. There are no Community Support Officers in Scotland.