the police, policing and prosecution Flashcards
Define what is meant by ‘policing’
-Broader concept
-Complex matrix of organisations that are concerned with the regulation of crime and disorder
Define what is meant by ‘police’
-Minor concept
-Part of the matrix of ‘policing’
-Social institution that is funded by taxpayers
Describe the history of the police
-Metropolitan Police Act 1829
-Before this point there was no formal police forces within the country
-Courts rely highly on citizens and victims to bring criminals forward
-Industrialisation occurred, population increased in places like London which then means that crime is increased
-Old system could no longer work
Describe Robert Peel and the principles that he came up with
-He campaigned for the introduction of state-funded police force
1: Preventive policing (decreasing crime)
2: Policing by consent (what society agrees)
3: Consent derives from legitimacy
4: Political impartiality (no biases)
5: Minimum force (only what is necessary)
How many regional police forces are there in England and Wales?
-43 regional police forces
What are the 4 organisations that are part of the Quadripartite System of Governance?
-Home Secretary
-Police and Crime Commissioners
-Chief Constables
-Police and Crime Panels
Describe ‘Home Secretary’
-Central monitor
-Makes national policies
-Sponsors the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC)
Describe ‘Police and Crime Commissioners’
-Introduced through Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011
-Directly elected by local people
-Responsible for force budget
-Set objectives through Police and Crime Plan
Describe ‘Chief Constables’
-Head of regional forces
Describe ‘Police and Crime Panels’
-Replacing police authorities
-10 councillors and 2 independent members
-Could challenge PCC decisions
What are the needed reasonable grounds for suspicion around ‘Stop and Search’?
-Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE)
1: Genuine suspicion
2: Suspicion must have passed ‘the reasonable man’ test
What is the reasonable man test?
-If a normal individual had the same information as the police, then they must reach the same conclusion as the police would to pass this test
What are the not needed grounds for suspicion around ‘Stop and Search’?
-Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994
-A senior police officer has to have a good reason to believe that;
-Serious violence happening in the area
-Carrying weapons for no good reason
What are the additional requirements by PACE Code A?
‘Following can’t be used alone or in combination with each other or any other factors, as a reason for stopping and searching’
1: Person’s physical appearance e.g. age, disability, gender, pregnancy, maternity, race, religion, beliefs, sex and sexual orientation
2: If an individual has a previous conviction
3: Generalisations or stereotypical images that certain groups take part in more criminal activity
A lawful arrest requires 2 elements…
1: Police believe on reasonable and objective grounds that a person has committed or attempted to commit a criminal offence
2: That a person’s arrest is necessary
What do the police have to tell the individual when they are arresting them?
-Identify themselves as Police
-Tell them they are being arrested
-Tell them what crime they think has been committed
-Explain why it’s necessary to arrest them
-Explain to them that they are not free to leave
How can this differ for under 18’s?
-Should only be arrested at school is unavoidable, if so they must inform the headteacher
-Police should contact parents/guardians as soon as possible after detained person arrives at police station
What has to be said when they give out caution given on arrest?
“You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in Court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.”
Police power to detain suspects is mainly regulated by PACE 1984 and PACE Code C
According to the law:
1: A person shall not be detained for more than 24 hours without being charged, if not charged then they should let you go
2: Can be extended up to 36 hours by a specialist police officer, with valid reasoning
3: If the police obtain the approval of a magistrate, the maximum time can be further extended to 96 hours
4: For terrorism crimes, the maximum term of detention without charge is 14 days
5: A detainee will be searched, and their possessions kept by the custody officer whilst they are in a cell.
Custody officers should explain rights to…
-Free legal advice
-Notifying someone of detention
-Medical help
-Relevant codes of practice and written notice explaining these rights
How does this change for under 18’s?
-‘Appropriate adult’ should be identified to come to the station and help the detainee and be present during questioning and searching
-Can’t be interviewed alone without a parent/carer/guardian/social worker
What are the 3 controversies in contemporary policing?
-Law v Discretion (whether police make their own decisions
-Personal bias and institutional culture (allowing personal beliefs to get in the way)
-Crime control v Social control
What happened in the Brixton Riots 1981?
-Fighting, looting and burning on the streets of Brixton
-Community felt targeted due to their culture as the town was populated by people of black minority
-Mainly began as 5 black individuals were burned and died and no one was charged within this case, felt dismissed
What happened in the Stephen Lawrence case (1999)?
-Racist murder
-People who killed him made racist comments whilst abusing him, and there was clear evidence of who committed the crime, yet no one was prosecuted
-Institutional racism
-Black community are over policies and under protected
What did the Lammy Report (2017) find?
-BAME make up 14% of population
-Make up 25% of prisoners
-Over 40% of young people in custody are from BAME backgrounds
-Black people make up around 3% of general population, but 12% of adult prisoners in 2015
How did the CPS come about?
-Prosecution of Offenders Act 1985
-Responsibility of scrutinising police investigation of crime
-Evaluate quality of evidence
What did Criminal Justice Act 2003 introduce to assist CPS?
-Statutory charge scheme
-Giving CPS the power to press charges in most criminal cases
What is the CPS direct service?
-Gives professional guidance to the police on charging decisions 24 hrs a day, 365 days a year through online services
What are the 2 special divisions?
-Serious Economic, Organised crime and International Directorate
-Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division
What happened in the murder of Maxwell Confait?
-Male prostitute found dead at his home, burnt down
-Forensic inconclusive evidence
-At the time there was no CPS and so police dominated the investigation
-Tortured 3 suspects and forced them to confess
What are the 2 stages of the Full Code Test?
-Evidential Test
-Public Interest Test
What happens in the Evidential Test?
-Admissible evidence (how it was gathered)
-Credible and reliable
-Good enough to make a judge/jury convict (at least 50% chance)
What happens in the Public Interest Test?
-How serious is the offence?
-Culpability (responsibility)
-Harm to victim
-Impact on community
-Age and maturity of suspect
-Protection of confidential info (undercover agents)
How does the Victims Right to Review (2013) challenge CPS decisions?
-Gives effect to principles set out in case of R v Christopher Killick (2011)
-Victim couldn’t communicate in a ‘normal’ way and so couldn’t give their side of the case
-If CPS don’t charge then they can apply for review
**What is the consensus theory around stop and search?
-Renauer (2013)
-Social order within society is based on system of shared norms and values
-Assume a broad level of agreement on society’s aims and objectives
-Police drawn to crime dense areas
-Live in high crime areas and so stop and search is disproportionately aimed at ethnic groups
**What is the conflict theory around stop and search?
-Chambliss and Seidman (1971)
-Social order within society is based on system of inequality
-Offending is more spread evenly across different social groups
-Police will ignore offending from the powerful and tend to target offending from those in low status groups e.g. drug users in UK (white male users are policed differently)
-Police more concentrated in poorer areas where there is more variation of ethnic groups, not because there’s more crime there but because it’s easier to police these individuals
