police Flashcards
organisation of police
- Nationally, the police are organised into ‘forces’
- Some are geographic:
o England and Wales has 43 forces
o Of those 41 are provincial (provincial = outside the capital city)
o The other 2 are the Metropolitan Police (bigger than the others) + the City of
London Police
o Scotland = 8 forces
o Northern Ireland = 1 force - Some are non-geographic:
o British transport police
o Civil Nuclear Constabulary
o Ministry of Defence Police
STOP AND SEARCH
- Determined by the grounds of reasonable suspicion
- MUST be objective factors as grounds to stop and search E.G. specific facts / intelligence
- Must NOT be based on solely personal characteristics such as race, age, appearance
- Remains controversial; perception of discrimination
- NEWBURN: argues even if there were no evidence of discrimination, the controversy
around perception of it is a problem in itself - No doubt it is an important and useful power if used appropriately
WHICH YEAR WAS THE PACE ACT INTRODUCED
1984
KEY POLICING POWERS AFTER PACE
o Detain a person or vehicle
o Stop and search if reasonable suspicion of stolen goods o Can stop vehicles
o Extra powers to search vehicles for weapons
o Further powers in pursuit of terrorism
POLICE STATION DETENTION +THE RIGHT TO SILENCE
- Justice is predicated on ‘innocent until proven guilty’ state must prove guilt
- Right to not answer questions is part of that concept
POLICE STATION DETENTION +THE RIGHT TO SILENCE EVAL
LIMITATIONS
- Did the old wording allow time for people to ‘make something up’?
- Concern that not everyone understands the implications
- It hasn’t led to more early confessions
- Critics see it as an erosion of the ‘innocent until proven guilty’ principle
STRENGTHS
- Fewer people remain silent
- Police more likely now to disclose evidence earlier to suspect and solicitor
- It has led to more efficient and speedy journey through system post arrest
MODELS OF POLICING
Community Policing
Problem Orientated Policing
Intelligence Led Policing
COMMUNITY POLILCING MEANING
BERTUS 1996: ‘philosophy of full service personalized policing, where the same officerpatrols and works in the same area on a permanent basis, from a decentralized place, working in a proactive partnership with citizens to identify and solve problems’
PROBLEM ORIENTED POLING MEANING
Identification and analysis of specific crime and disorder problems, in order to develop effective response strategies
INTELLEGENCFE LEAD POLICING MEANING
getting information and using it to proactively prevent crime by attempting to identify potential victims / offenders.
Police and Magistrates Court’s Act 1994
ntroduced ‘independent members’ +
reduced number of elected councillors and magistrates.
- Financial economy is an important driver
Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011
introduced locally elected police and
crime commissioners + abolished police authorities more public accountability and
engagement in policing, public ‘ownership’, someone on the side of the public
factors behind pular policing
CRAWFORD 2008:
1. Fear of crime = increasingly visible and pertinent, demand for security has become acentral feature of modern life
2. Recognised limits of formal CJS
3. Idea of state’s monopoly over crime control/security = increasingly hard to sustain
4. Financial limits on police activity
5. Incr. pressure on formal justice system and state agencies crime prevention hasgrown in importance and emphasis
6. Changes in perception of relationship between government and people. Incr. dispersalof responsibility for crime control beyond the state as the relationships between the
state, civil society and the market has been restructured.
7. Government recognition of fear of crime, disorder, and anti social behaviour (notcrimes)
8. Decline of state employed guardians such as train guards and park keepers
