Book Review: Evidence Textbook
| Date | 01 October 1996 |
| Published date | 01 October 1996 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X9606900417 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
POLICE POWERS: A PRACTITIONERS' GUIDE,
3rd
edn, by
H. Levenson, F. Fairweather and E. Cape. Legal Action Group.
Paperback £32.
Police Powers has become a standard work on the subject approved by
the Legal Aid Board's Duty Solicitor Committee. Written primarily to
assist the criminal practitioner, it nevertheless would make a useful
addition to any police library.
The book gives a clear and detailed account of police powers of
search, seizure, arrest, detention and interrogation of suspects,
interception of communications and confiscation of the proceeds of
crime.
If
you are considering purchasing a book on the subject this would
be an excellent choice since it contains the full Statute (PACE Act 1984);
the 3rd edition of the Codes of Practice which came into force in April"
1995; The Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989;
The Criminal Justice Act 1987, ss.2 and 3, statutory police powers to
enter and search premises; and The Children Act 1989, s.46. The
purchase of some of these individually would justify the £32 spent on
the book. Borrow the duty solicitors' copy, or better still ask the force
to purchase one for the custody suite.
EVIDENCE TEXTBOOK, 7th edn, revised and updated by D.G.
Cracknell. HLT Publications, London. Paperback £18.95.
As has been previously stated, HLT textbooks are written particularly
for students. However, fewer officers now attend and give evidence in
court; combining that with the fact that it is decades since a separate
paper was set for evidence in promotion examinations means it is even
more important that good textbooks such as this are available for those
wishing to study.
Recent cases include: R. v. Chief Constable
of
the West Midlands
ex parte Wiley [1994] 3 WLR 433 (immunity of police complaint
documents), R. v. Effik [1994] 3 WLR 583 (police interception of
cordless telephone conversations), R. v. Pieterson (1994) The Times,
November 11 (admissibility of dog handler's evidence), andR. v. Clarke
(1994) The Times, December 26 (evidence of facial mapping by video
superimposition) - all of which will be of interest to police officers.
In addition to updating, a new chapter has been added, specifically
"recent cases". The new chapter discusses, inter alia, Taylor v. Chief
Constable
of
Greater Manchester (1995) The Times, January 19 (police
complaint reports, admissibility). Developments up until February 9,1995
have been taken into account. HLT also publish a companion title,
namely, Evidence Casebook.
BLACK POLICE IN AMERICA, by W. Martin Dulaney. Indiana
University Press. Paperback.
African Americans demanded "coloured police for coloured people" for
more than two centuries. Black Police traces the history from the first
"free men of colour" as slave patrollers to the advent of black police
October 1996 The Police Journal 371
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