police

Question 1

what is the definition of police?

Answer 1

in Common Law, police authority is derived from the public, that is our consent. In the UK, the police are servants to the Crown, in order to ensure that policing is in the public’s interest

Question 2

what is the police’s role in the CJS?

Answer 2

• police are the first respondent of the CJS
• they aren’t the only department in law enforcement, there are other government bodies that work to law enforcement like HMRC (immigration, tax), public authority (child services, domestic violence)

Question 3

what is the role of the police with examples?

Answer 3

1. problem solving (street lighting)
2. peacekeeping (dealing with riots)
3. crime control and investigation (evidence without contamination)
4. emergency response (car accidents/disasters)
5. order maintenance (police at football)

Question 4

what is discretion?

Answer 4

discretion denotes the freedom of the individual officer to act according to his or her own judgement in particular situations (JONES 2009)

Question 5

how does discretion impact the police?

Answer 5

• the police are required to enforce the law, but discretion is created as a consequence to how laws are defined:
  1. actus reus (action to committing crime)
  2. mens rea (guilty/criminal mind)
• police must use their discretion when deciding how to act and when to use their powers

Question 6

what is the police regulation?

Answer 6

Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984:
- gave police more powers but with more regulation
- could now use stop and search, enter private property, take fingerprints, and detain a person in custody
- argument that it increased prejudice and bias (minority in stop and searches, police having more power). E.g. George Floyd, Rodney King

Question 7

what powers do the police have on the streets (PND’s and arrests)?

Answer 7

• Penalty Notice for Disorder (PND) introduced Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 = used for offences where arrests aren’t necessary (theft, possession of drugs)
• there has been a decline of arrests. In 2022, police arrested over 52% less than 2007. Reasons include less police, more out of court disposals, introduction of voluntary interviews before arrest