(1) The chief officer of police of a police force must keep under consideration the ways in which the collaboration functions could be exercised by the chief officer and by one or more other persons to improve the efficiency or effectiveness of—
(a) that police force, and
(b) one or more other police forces.
(2) If the chief officer considers that there is a particular way in which the collaboration functions could be so exercised by the chief officer and by one or more other particular persons (“the proposed collaboration”), the chief officer must notify those other persons (the “proposed partners”) of the proposed collaboration.
(3) The chief officer, and the proposed partners notified under subsection (2) (the “notified proposed partners”), must consider whether to exercise the collaboration functions to give effect to the proposed collaboration.
(4) In considering whether to so exercise the collaboration functions, the chief officer and the notified proposed partners must consider whether the proposed collaboration would be in the interests of the efficiency or effectiveness of one or more police forces.
(5) Subsection (6) applies if all, or two or more, of—
(a) the chief officer, and
(b) the notified proposed partners,
(the “agreeing parties”) are of the view that the proposed collaboration would be in the interests of the efficiency or effectiveness of one or more police forces (if the agreeing parties were to exercise the collaboration functions to give effect to the proposed collaboration, or to give effect to it so far as it relates to them).
(6) The agreeing parties must exercise the collaboration functions so as to give effect to the proposed collaboration or to give effect to it so far as it relates to them.
(7) In this section “collaboration functions” means functions of chief officers of police or policing bodies under any of sections 22A to 23I (apart from this section).