The UK has 45 territorial police forces — the Metropolitan Police covers Greater London, Police Scotland covers Scotland as a single national force, and the Police Service of Northern Ireland covers Northern Ireland. Each force is led by a Chief Constable, who is operationally independent. In most of England and Wales, an elected Police and Crime Commissioner sets the local policing budget and priorities and holds the Chief Constable to account.
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Police officers can stop, search, arrest and detain people only under powers given by Parliament — most of them set out in the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE). Complaints against the police are investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) in England and Wales.
You may be asked which body investigates complaints against the police (the IOPC), or who leads each police force (the Chief Constable).
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