Book Review: Child Abuse: Procedure & Evidence
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X9406700113 |
| Date | 01 January 1994 |
| Published date | 01 January 1994 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
Book Reviews
CHILD ABUSE: PROCEDURE &EVIDENCE, by
Jean
Graham
Halland Douglas F.Martin. Published byBarry RoseLawPublishers.
Hardback. £23.50.
This can rightly be described as an all-embracing guide to the vexed
subject
of
child abuse for it covers all aspects
of
what has, regretfully,
become a very topical problem.
The book is intended to help and guide those who are concerned
professionally or socially with the protection
of
children from abuse,
whether lawyer or social worker, police officer or parent, magistrate or
doctor; the authors cross professional lines with impunity.
Abuse is categorizedas Emotional, Physical, Sexual or Neglect, with
afurther classification
of
causingGraveConcern to cover those situations
which do notfit readily into one
of
the above but where social and medical
assessments indicate that the child is at significant risk
of
abuse.
The authors begin by dealing with the relevant legislation and its
historical progression up to and including the Children Act, 1989.
Thereafter, they cover the role, power and procedures
of
the courts;
parental responsibilities and rights; local authority involvement, and
evidence in all its manifestations. The final chapter (13) deals with
Appeals, Judicial Review and Wardship, including such esoteric matters
as the Wednesbury Principles.
Throughoutthe book, examples ofcases are provided either tostrengthen
or to elucidate points made. To assist in its use as a book
of
reference, the
reader is supplied with an alphabetical list
of
the cases cited as well as an
index. In all, the authors have succeeded in presenting a well written,
concise treatise on a very important subject.
POWER AND
THE
POLICE CHIEF, by Raymond G. Hunt and
John
M. Magenau. Published by Sage Publications Ltd. Clothback
£32.50.Paperback £15.50.
A Sage Publication offering in the Studies in Crime, Law and Justice
series, written by two academics.
It looks at the role
of
a police chief in the contemporary urban setting,
highlighting the institutional changes effected by such things as police
unions and increasing bureaucracy, and examining the political arena in
which he operates.
As the title suggests, the authors and the chiefsubjects
of
their study are
American, but the expressed need for senior police officers to both
understandand work with the citizens they serve has universal application.
In this regard, the setting-up in 1991
of
aPolice Leadership Institute to
"select and develop the individuals whose ethical exercise
of
influence
over their
own
organizations, as well as their social and political
environment,"will be
of
real interestoutside the USA. The idea
of
helping
police chiefs to become more astute as political actors at least recognizes
that their role is political in the USA and is becoming much more so in the
UK.
72 The Police Journal January 1994
To continue reading
Request your trial