POLICE POWERS IN
GREAT BRITAIN
Unit 35
Preview
► History
of the English police
► Arrest
► Entry
► Search
► Seizure
► Legal
terms
► Exercise
History
► JPs
conscripted ordinary citizens known as
petty constables, later as constables, to
walk the streets and report any disorder
► Sometimes- employed thief-takers, who
were often no better than criminals; knew
the criminal underworld well
► 17th and 18th c: gangs of criminals roamed
the towns; transport was risky
(highwaymen)
History
► First
police force: the Metropolitan Police
Force (policed the metropolis of London) –
created by Metropolitan Police Act of 1829
► Home Secretary: Robert Peel – policemen
came to be known as ‘Bobbies’
► Instruction book: ‘the first duty of a
constable is always to prevent the
commission of a crime’
History
► The
headquarters: at first occupied a
private house in Whitehall Place, the back of
which opened on to a courtyard – site of a
residence owned by the Kings of Scotland;
the courtyard became known as Scotland
Yard
► When a new police station was built it was
called New Scotland Yard
Law related to police powers
► Defines
the extent to which the police may
interfere with the freedom of the individual
► Various questions of civil and criminal
liability depend on the lawfulness or
unlawfulness of the use of police powers
Due process
► Importance
of indvidual citizen
► The need to limit the powers of officials,
who may otherwise abuse their position
► The need for formal safeguards to protect
the position of suspects at all stages
Crime control
► The
most important function of the criminal
justice system- repression of criminal
conduct in the interests of society
► Efficiency; the capacity to investigate, try
and convict a high proportion of offenders
► Emphasis on informality rather than
compliance with strict procedural rules
Crime control
► Emphasises
the expertise of the police and
prosecutors to screen out the innocent,
rather than relying on more thorough
judicial proceedings or the rights of suspects
to challenge the criminal justice process if it
becomes oppressive
► Emphasis on the need for the police to
extract confessions from suspects
PACE
► Police
and Criminal Evidence Act (1984):
defines legal powers of the police
Police powers
► Arrest
► Search
► Entry
► Seizure
Powers of arrest
► Until
2006 police could only arrest people
suspected of arrestable offences
► 1 Jan. 2006 the Serious Organised Crime
and Police Act came into force
► All offences are ‘arrestable’
► Necessity test: police can only arrest
someone if it is necessary to do so, e.g. to
stop them from escaping or to protect a
vulnerable person from attack
Powers of arrest
►A
constable may arrest without a warrant:
► 1) anyone who is about to commit an offence,
who is in the act of commining an offence or
anyone he has reasonable grounds for suspecting
to be committing an offence
► 2) if a constable has reasonable grounds for
suspecting that an offence has been committed
► 3) if an offence has been committed
Lawful arrest requires:
► 1)
a person’s involvement or suspected
involvement AND
► 2) reasonable grounds for believing that the
person’s arrest is necessary
► Arresting officers must inform the person
arrested that they have been arrested, even
if this fact is obvious
Arrest can be made:
1) to enable the person’s name or address to
be ascertained
► 2) to prevent the person from causing
physical injury to himself or others, causing
loss of or damage to property, committing
an offence against public decency, causing
an unlawful obstruction of the highway
Arrest can be made:
► 3)
to protect a child or other vulnerable
person
► 4) to allow investigation of an offence
► 5) to prevent any prosecution for the
offence from being hindered by the
disappearance of the person in question
Arrest with a warrant
► The
police may make an application to a
magistrate for a warrant to arrest a named
person
Arrest
► Citizens
– power to arrest anyone who is
committing, or reasonably suspected to be
committing, an indictable offence; citizens
have no power of arrest for anticipated
offences; they can arrest for past and
present offences only (Section 24A of PACE,
s. 110 of the Serious Organised Crime and
Police Act 2005)
Reasonable suspicion
► Gives
the police a very wide discretion in
the matter of arrest; very few restraints on
police discretion
► The exercise of that discretion is structured
not by legal rules but by police working
rules, of which they identify six which they
regard as particularly significant
Police working rules
► Being
known to the police - likely to make sbd a
suspect
Public order
► Genera suspiciousness
► Information recieved
► Workload
► Victim (e.g. problems of female victims of
domestic violence; assumptions about male rights
and female blame)
Lawfulness of arrest
► If
the arrest is lawful, the arrested person
will be guilty of the crime and tort of assault
if he uses force to resist
► The policeman is entitled to use such
reasonable force as may be necessary to
make the arrest
► If the arrested person escapes from
custody, he will be guilty of an offence
Unlawful arrest
► If
the arrest is unlawful, the policeman will
be guilty of the tort and crime of false
imprisonment
► If the policeman uses force, he will be guilty
of assaut
► The arrested person is legally entitled to use
reasonable force to protect his liberty
► He will not be guilty of any offence if he
resists arrest or escapes from custody
Powers of detention
► Police
can detain a suspect while they carry
out their investigations (24 hrs, 36 hrs,
max: 96 hrs; exception: terrorism cases: 1428 days)
► The power to question the suspect
► The power to take bodily samples
Rights of a detained person
► Confessions
obtained by oppression –
inadmissible at court
► Right to advice of solicitor
► The right to silence
► Children must be accompanied by a parent
or other ‘responsible adult’
► Interviews should be tape-recorded
The right to silence
► “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.”
False confessions
►A
safeguard against the danger of
convictions based on false confessions – a
rule that the defendant could not be
convicted on confession evidence alone (a
corroboration rule) – this would reduce the
risk of miscarriages of justice arising from
false confessions
Stop and search
► Right
to stop and search people and
vehicles in a public place
► If there are reasonable grounds for
believing that an offence has been
committed (e.g. theft, possession of stolen
goods, firearms, drugs, or the unlawful
taking of a vehicle)
Stop and search
► Powers
to stop and search in anticipation of
incidents involving serious violence (Criminal
Justice and Public Order Act 1994)
► Such powers to look for articles that could
be used with commission, preparation or
instigation of acts of terrorism (Section 44
of the Terrorism Act 2000)
PACE: Stop and search
► “Powers
to stop and search must be used
fairly, responsibly, with respect for people
being searched and without unlawful
discrimination”
► “It is unlawful for police officers to
discriminate on the grounds of race, colour,
ethnic origin, nationality or national origins
when using their powers”
Stop and search
► There
must be an objective basis for
reasonable suspicion based on facts,
information and intelligence
► Reasonable suspicion can never be based
on personal factors alone without reliable
supporting intelligence or information or
some specific behaviour by the person
concerned
Unlawful search
► An
unlawful search of the person – assault
► The person searched is entitled to use
reasonable force to resist
Lawful search
► If
the search is lawful, the policeman is
entitled to use reasonable force
► Resistance is considered to be an assault
Safeguards
► The
police officer must give his name and
station and the reason for the search
Record of search
► The
object of the search
► The grounds for making it
► The date and time and place where it was made
► The outcome
► Whether any, and if so what, injury to a person or
damage to property, appears to the constable to
have resulted from the search
► The identity of the constable making the search
Osman v DPP (1999)
► The
officers did not give their name and
station
► The Queen’s Bench Divisional Court held
this made a search of Mr Osman unlawful
and so he could not be guilty of assaulting
the police in the execution of their duty
► If the officer fails to give a reason for the
search, the search is unlawful
Enter and search premises
►A
magistrate issues a search warrant
► Police may enter premises without a
warrant if they believe a serious offence has
been committed, to save life, or to prevent
serious damage to property
Lawful entry
► The
police can enter premises to make an
arrest and can search the premises
Unlawful entry
► Unlawful
entry onto private property
constitutes the tort of trespass
► The occupier is entitled to use reasonable
force to expel the trespasser
► If the latter retaliates, he will be guilty of
the tort and crime of assault
Seizure
► When
a lawful arrest is made, the police are
entitled to seize articles or documents in the
possession or control of the suspect that
could be used in evidence against him
► They can also take any weapon or article
that he could use to harm himself or others
Seizure: lawful or unlawful?
► If
a policeman takes goods without lawful
justification, he is guilty of the tort of
trespass to the goods
► If he refuses to return them, he will be
liable for the tort of detinue or conversion
► The owner can obtain damages from the
police and a court order for the return of
the goods
Unlawful entry and searches
► It
may be possible to persuade the judge at
the trial to refuse to allow the prosecution
to put forward any evidence obtained as a
result of an unlawful search
The use of force?
► The
use of force by the police should be
reasonable and must be delayed until it is
necessary
► Example: although the policeman has the
right to use force to enter the building, he
must not do so until the occupier has had
the opportunity to open the door. The
occupier should be told by the policeman
why he requires entry
Attestation
► “I…do
solemnly and sincerely declare and affirm
that I will well and truly serve the Queen in the
office of constable, with fairness, integrity,
diligence and impartiality, upholding fundamental
human rights and according equal respect to all
people; and that I will, to the best of my power,
cause the peace to be kept and preserved and
prevent all offences against people and property;
and that while I continue to hold the said office I
will, to the best of my skill and knowledge,
discharge all the duties thereof according to law”.
Training
► The
new police constable must work ‘on the
beat’ – patrolling the streets – for a
probationary period (2 years)
► Career structure: constable, sergeant,
inspector, superintendent, Deputy Chief
Constable, Chief Constable
Legal terms
► Arrest
► Uhićenje,
prisilno dovođenje, lišavanje slobode
► Search
► Pretraga,
pretres, pravo pretrage
► Entry
► Ulazak
na privatni posjed; pravo ulaska na privatni
posjed
► Seizure
► Privremeno oduzimanje, zapljena
Legal terms
► Assault
► An
intentional or reckless act that causes someone
to be put in fear of immediate physical harm.
Actual physical contact is not necessary to
constitute and assault (e.g. pointing a gun at
someone may constitute an assault)
► Assault is a form of tresspass to the person and a
crime as well as tort
► Napad, nasrtaj, pokušaj nanošenja ozljede
Assault
► Common
a.: a summary offence punishable
by a fine and/or up to six months’
imprisonment
► Aggravated a.: more serious assault, e.g.
assault with intent to resist lawful arrest (2
years), a. occasioning actual bodily harm (5
years), a. with intent to rob life (life
imprisonment)
Legal terms
► Custody
► Istražni
zatvor, pritvor
► False imprisonment
► Protuzakonito uhićenje
False imprisonment
► Unlawful
restriction of a person’s freedom of
movement, not necessarily in a prison.
► Includes unlawful arrest and unlawfully preventing
a person from e.g. leaving a room
► A form of trespass to the person, so it is not
necessary to prove that it has caused actual
damage
► Both a crime and a tort
► The writ of habeas corpus is available to restore
the imprisoned person to liberty
Legal terms
► Writ
► Sudski
nalog
► Suspect
► Osumnjičena osoba
► Warrant
► Uhidbeni nalog
Legal terms
► Trespass
► Ometanje
posjeda, neovlašteni pristup
► Tresspasser
► Osoba koja neovlašteno ulazi na tuđi
posjed, prijestupnik
► Retaliate
► uzvratiti
Legal terms
► Detain
► Zadržati;
privremeno zatvoriti
► Detention
► Pritvor
► Detinue
► Protupravno zadržavanje
► Conversion
► otuđenje
State whether there has been a lawful arrest in the
following situations. Give reasons.
► After
an incident in which a man was
stabbed and seriously hurt, a police officer
grabs hold of Damon. When Damon
protests and asks why, the police officer
says ‘you know what it’s for’. The police
officer did not see the incident but was told
by someone else at the scene that Damon
was responsible.
State whether there has been a lawful arrest
in the following situations. Give reasons
► Amanda
is stopped by the police for
speeding. When one of the police officers
asks her her name, she replies
‘Superwoman’. She is then asked for her
address and refuses to give it. The police
officer arrests her and takes her to the
police station.
Fill in the missing words: court,
deterrent, disciplinary, evidence, legal
► The
police who fail to act within the scope
of their ____ powers may be the subject of
internal ___ proceedings, or worse.
Potentially the most effective ___ against
breaking the rules arises from the fact that
any ___ obtained improperly may not be
able to be given in ___.
Key
► The
police who fail to act within the scope
of their legal powers may be the subject of
internal disciplinary proceedings, or worse.
Potentially the most effective deterrent
against breaking the rules arises from the
fact that any evidence obtained improperly
may not be able to be given in court.
Put the verbs in brackets into
appropriate forms:
► As
the police know that during the investigative
information-gathering stage these rules of
evidence will__ (apply, passive) should a case
reach court and ___(contest, passive), these rules
should shape the ways in which evidence___
(obtain, passive) by the police. However, the law
of evidence ___(give) judges considerable
discretion whether or not evidence should ___
(exclude, passive). The practical consequences of
bending or ___(ignore) the questioning rules are
not always predictable.
Key
► As
the police know that during the investigative
information-gathering stage these rules of
evidence will be applied should a case reach court
and be contested, these rules should shape the
ways in which evidence is obtained by the police.
However, the law of evidence gives judges
considerable discretion whether or not evidence
should be excluded. The practical consequences of
bending or ignoring the questioning rules are not
always predictable.