Police Service Ordinance 2026

1. Short title and commencement

This Ordinance may be cited as the Police Service Ordinance 2026 and comes into force on the day appointed by notice in the Gazette.

2. Interpretation

In this Ordinance:

"the Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the Coral Island Police Service appointed under section 4;

"indictable offence" means an offence that may be tried on indictment, whether or not it may also be tried summarily;

"island waters" has the meaning given by section 2 of the Criminal Code Ordinance 2026;

"the Minister" means the Minister responsible for public safety;

"officer" means a police officer of any rank appointed under section 5;

"premises" includes any place, and any vehicle, vessel or aircraft;

"public place" has the meaning given by section 2 of the Criminal Code Ordinance 2026;

"reasonable grounds" means grounds based on facts, information or intelligence about the particular person, vehicle, vessel or thing, and never on a person's appearance, nationality or immigration status alone;

"senior officer" means an officer of the rank of inspector or above;

"the standard scale" means the standard scale of fines in section 14 of the Criminal Code Ordinance 2026;

"standing orders" means the orders issued by the Commissioner under section 22.

3. The Coral Island Police Service

(1) The Coral Island Police Service continues in being as a department of the Ministry of Health and Public Safety.

(2) The functions of the Service are:
(a) keeping the peace and protecting life and property;
(b) preventing and detecting crime;
(c) enforcing the laws of Coral Island;
(d) policing island waters, with Coastguard Command;
(e) carrying out removals under section 6 of the Immigration and Citizenship Ordinance 2026;
(f) event safety under sections 6 and 9 of the Public Order and Events Ordinance 2026; and
(g) firearms licensing under the Firearms and Ammunition Ordinance 2026.

(3) The headquarters of the Service is the Police station, Puerto Coral.

4. The Commissioner

(1) There is a Commissioner of the Coral Island Police Service, appointed by the President under Article 7 of the Constitution.

(2) The Commissioner commands the Service and decides every operational matter, including how its officers and resources are deployed.

(3) No Minister may direct the Commissioner to investigate, arrest or charge any particular person, or not to do so. The Minister may set the general policing priorities of the Government, and the Commissioner must have regard to them.

(4) The Commissioner reports to the President each year on the work of the Service, including the number of searches, arrests, uses of force and complaints. The report is published.

(5) The Commissioner may delegate any function under this Ordinance or any other law to a senior officer, except the issue of standing orders.

5. Police officers

(1) Officers are appointed by the Commissioner. The Commissioner sets the ranks of the Service and makes promotions.

(2) Before exercising any power, an officer takes this oath before the Commissioner or a senior officer: "I swear that I will serve Coral Island and its people impartially, with fairness, integrity and respect for the rights of everyone, and that I will uphold the law without fear or favour."

(3) Every officer is given a warrant card showing their name, rank and number. An officer who is not in uniform must show their warrant card before exercising a power, unless it is not reasonably practicable to do so.

(4) The Commissioner may discipline or dismiss an officer for misconduct, in accordance with standing orders.

6. Area of operation

(1) Officers exercise their powers on Coral Island and in island waters, including on board any vehicle, vessel or aircraft there.

(2) Outside Coral Island an officer has only the powers that the law of that place allows.

(3) Nothing in this section limits the power of an officer under section 9 of the Immigration and Citizenship Ordinance 2026 to check the immigration status of a person at the departures desk.

7. Working with other services

(1) The Service works with immigration officers, reef wardens, the Harbour Master, Coastguard Command and Coral Control, and may agree arrangements with them for joint operations.

(2) Members of the Coral Island Defence Force act in aid of the Service only when the President directs it in writing, for the purpose and period stated. While they do so they have the powers of an officer and are subject to section 14.

(3) No officer of another state or city, including an officer of the Los Santos authorities, has any power on Coral Island unless the Commissioner authorises it in writing, for a stated purpose and period.

8. Stop and search

(1) An officer who has reasonable grounds to suspect that a person, vehicle or vessel is carrying any of the following may stop and search the person, vehicle or vessel:
(a) stolen property;
(b) a controlled drug within the meaning of the Misuse of Drugs Ordinance 2026;
(c) a firearm or ammunition held unlawfully;
(d) a prohibited weapon or an offensive weapon; or
(e) an article made or intended for use in theft, burglary or criminal damage.

(2) Before searching, the officer gives their name, the station to which they are attached and the reason for the search.

(3) A search in public is limited to outer clothing, pockets and bags. A more thorough search is made out of public view.

(4) An officer may detain a person, vehicle or vessel for as long as is reasonably required to carry out the search.

(5) The officer records the search as soon as practicable, including the grounds and anything found. The person searched may ask for a copy of the record at the Police station, Puerto Coral.

9. Search of vessels and aircraft

(1) An officer who has reasonable grounds to suspect that a vessel or aircraft in island waters or at Coral Island Airfield is carrying anything listed in section 8(1), or a person who has committed an offence, may stop, board and search it.

(2) The person in command of the vessel or aircraft must stop when required and give the officer every reasonable assistance.

(3) The powers of reef wardens under section 11 of the Reef and Marine Parks Ordinance 2026, and of Coral Control and the Coral Island Defence Force under the Border Security and Airspace Ordinance 2026, are unaffected.

10. Arrest without warrant

(1) An officer may arrest without a warrant a person who is committing, has committed or is about to commit an offence, or whom the officer has reasonable grounds to suspect of any of those things.

(2) The power in subsection (1) may be used only where the officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the arrest is necessary:
(a) to learn the person's name or address;
(b) to prevent them causing harm to themselves or another person, or loss of or damage to property;
(c) to protect any person;
(d) to allow the prompt and effective investigation of the offence; or
(e) to prevent them leaving Coral Island before the matter is dealt with.

(3) Any person may arrest without a warrant a person who is committing an indictable offence, or whom they have reasonable grounds to suspect of committing one, where it is not reasonably practicable for an officer to do so. They must hand the arrested person to an officer at once.

(4) A person arrested has the rights set out in section 11 of the Courts and Criminal Procedure Ordinance 2026. They are taken as soon as practicable to the Police station, Puerto Coral, or to another place of custody designated under section 47 of that Ordinance.

11. Arrest with warrant

(1) A magistrate or a judge may issue a warrant for the arrest of a person where satisfied, on information given on oath, that the person has committed or is suspected of an offence, or has failed to appear before a court when required.

(2) A warrant is addressed to every officer and remains in force until it is executed or withdrawn by the court. Any officer may execute it anywhere on Coral Island or in island waters.

(3) An officer executing a warrant need not have it with them, but must show it to the person arrested as soon as practicable if they ask.

12. Entry and search of premises

(1) A magistrate may issue a warrant authorising an officer to enter and search premises where satisfied, on information given on oath, that there are reasonable grounds to believe that an offence has been committed and that there is material on the premises likely to be of substantial value to its investigation.

(2) A warrant authorises entry on one occasion within 7 days of its issue, and the use of reasonable force if entry is refused.

(3) An officer may enter and search premises without a warrant:
(a) to arrest a person for an indictable offence;
(b) to save life or to prevent serious injury or serious damage to property;
(c) to recapture a person who is unlawfully at large; or
(d) in immediate pursuit of a person.

(4) An officer who enters under subsection (3) searches only to the extent reasonably required for the purpose of the entry.

(5) The officer gives the occupier, if present, a copy of any warrant and a written notice of what was done and of anything seized.

13. Seizure

(1) An officer who is lawfully on premises, or carrying out a lawful search, may seize anything the officer reasonably believes is evidence of an offence or has been obtained by an offence.

(2) The officer gives the person from whom the thing was taken a written receipt describing it.

(3) A thing seized is kept for as long as it is needed for an investigation or proceedings, and is then returned to the person entitled to it, unless a court orders its forfeiture or another law provides otherwise.

(4) A person who claims a thing seized may apply to the Magistrates' Court for its return.

14. Use of force

(1) An officer may use only such force as is reasonable in the circumstances to prevent crime, to make or assist in a lawful arrest, to prevent the escape of a person in lawful custody, or to protect any person.

(2) Force that is likely to cause death or grievous harm may be used only where it is absolutely necessary to protect life.

(3) Firearms and less-lethal weapons are carried and used by officers only as the Commissioner's standing orders authorise, and only by officers trained and authorised under them.

(4) Every use of force that causes injury, and every discharge of a firearm by an officer other than in training, is recorded and reported to the Commissioner as soon as practicable. The Commissioner may refer any such report to the Attorney General.

(5) Where a person dies or suffers grievous harm following contact with an officer on duty, the Commissioner refers the matter to the Attorney General.

15. Road checks and cordons

(1) A senior officer may authorise a road check, or a cordon around an area, for up to 24 hours, where it is reasonable to do so to catch a person suspected of an indictable offence or to protect the public.

(2) An authorisation is made in writing, states its reason and the place or area, and may be renewed by a senior officer for further periods of up to 24 hours.

(3) At a road check an officer in uniform may stop any vehicle. Stopping a vehicle does not by itself authorise a search, which needs grounds under section 8.

(4) An area within a cordon may also be restricted under section 6 of the Protected Places and Restricted Areas Ordinance 2026.

16. Directions to leave

(1) An officer in uniform may direct a person to leave a stated area and not to return to it for a stated period of up to 24 hours, where the officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the person's behaviour in that area has caused, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to others, or the commission of an offence.

(2) The direction is given in writing where practicable, and otherwise orally, and states the area, the period and the reason.

(3) A direction may not be given to stop a person taking part in a peaceful assembly or procession permitted by law, or to prevent a person going to their home, their place of work, a court, or any place they are required by law to attend.

(4) Failing without reasonable excuse to comply with a direction is an offence under section 21.

17. Name and address

(1) An officer who has reasonable grounds to suspect that a person has committed or is committing an offence may require the person to give their name and address, and to produce proof of their status on the island (a visa, a residence permit or a certificate of citizenship).

(2) Refusing to give a name or address, or giving a false name or address, is an offence under section 21.

18. Penalty notices

(1) Where an authorised officer has reason to believe that a person has committed an offence listed in regulations made under this section, the officer may give the person a penalty notice offering them the opportunity to discharge their liability to conviction by paying a fixed penalty.

(2) Paying the fixed penalty discharges liability for the offence. It is not a conviction and is not recorded as one.

(3) A person given a penalty notice may instead ask to be tried for the offence, and the notice then has no further effect.

(4) The Minister makes regulations listing the offences that may be dealt with by penalty notice and the fixed penalty for each, and may designate reef wardens, the Harbour Master and other public officers as authorised officers for offences under the laws they enforce.

(5) In this section "authorised officer" means an officer, or a person designated under subsection (4). The regulations in force are the Penalty Notices Regulations 2026.

19. Records

(1) Every stop, search, arrest, entry, seizure and use of force by an officer is recorded in writing by the officer as soon as practicable, with the officer's name and rank, the time and place, and the grounds.

(2) The Service keeps the records at the Police station, Puerto Coral, for at least 1 year.

(3) A person may ask for the record about them under the Access to Information Ordinance 2026. Information may be withheld only on a ground that Ordinance allows.

20. Complaints against the police

(1) Any person may complain to the Commissioner about the conduct of an officer, in person at the Police station, Puerto Coral, or in writing.

(2) The Commissioner has the complaint investigated by an officer who was not involved in the matter, and tells the complainant the outcome in writing.

(3) A complainant who is not satisfied with the Commissioner's response may complain to the Complaints Commissioner under section 5 of the Complaints Commissioner Ordinance 2026.

(4) A complaint that alleges an offence by an officer is referred by the Commissioner to the Attorney General.

21. Offences

(1) A person commits an offence who, without reasonable excuse:
(a) fails to stop a vehicle or vessel when required to do so by an officer in uniform;
(b) fails to comply with a direction given under section 16; or
(c) refuses to give their name or address when required under section 17, or gives a false name or address.

(2) A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale, or to imprisonment for 3 months, or to both.

(3) Resisting or obstructing an officer in the execution of their duty is an offence under section 54 of the Criminal Code Ordinance 2026.

22. Regulations and standing orders

(1) The Minister may make regulations for carrying this Ordinance into effect. Regulations are published as legal notices.

(2) The Commissioner issues standing orders for the internal management of the Service, including ranks, uniform, training, records, and the carrying and use of firearms and less-lethal weapons.

(3) Standing orders must be consistent with this Ordinance and cannot give an officer any power the law does not give.

(4) Standing orders are not published where publication would prejudice security or operations, but the Commissioner publishes a summary of those on the use of force.