Police Powers of Arrest and Search in the Investigation of Crime

Abstract

The days are long gone when a police constable was viewed as little more than a citizen in uniform, having few powers peculiar to that office. Influences such as, for example, demographic changes, the increase in regulatory legislation and the developing nature of crime in an industrial and technological society, have engendered demands that special and extended powers be granted in order that the police may effectively carry out their work. Nevertheless, the policing of labour disputes and civil unrest during the 1980s, and animal rights and environmental protests in the 1990s combined with increasing revelations of miscarriages of justice and racism, have greatly tarnished the image and reputation of the profession. The discernible movement away from a consensus and reactive approach towards proactive policing, the insatiable attention of the media and the highly politicised nature of law and order, have also served to highlight concerns about civil liberties. Accordingly, a compromise is constantly being sought between the seemingly inevitable extension of police powers and the accountability of those who are to exercise them. This approach was reflected within the Report of the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice (1993 Cm 2263) which promotes the increase of the powers of the police, while advocating more effective safeguards for suspects in police custody.