Book Review: Scotland Yard
| Published date | 01 January 1996 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X9606900113 |
| Date | 01 January 1996 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
BOOK REVIEWS
SCOTLAND YARD, by Robert Fleming with Hugh Miller. Penguin.
Softback £5.99.
Adissection of ScotlandYard and its multifarious activities by a man who
in 1989, with the agreement of the then Commissioner, began work on a
television series about the Flying Squad - successfully shown in the
Autumn of 1995 - and who indulged in a further three years' investigation
into the entire workings and responsibilities of Scotland Yard.
Because of the enormity of his task, he was assisted in compiling the
book by Hugh Miller, to whom the author attributes its coherent structure.
Without question, the two are to be congratulated both on the excellence
of the text and its readability.
Every department is covered, ranging from the glamorous, albeit
dangerous Flying Squad to the decidedly less glamorous but nevertheless
vital work oftheofficers in Back Hall (the perversely named entrance hall
at New Scotland Yard). In all cases, the departmental responsibilities are
enumerated and interviews with its officers recounted, often with the
added spice of stories of past experience to personalize the narrative.
Readers of the book will find that the Metropolitan Police will come to
life, for it presents a moving picture of policing, with all its problems, in
present-day London.
WEAPONS LAW, 2nd edn, by J.B. Hill. Sweet &Maxwell. Softback
£29.95.
The second edition of an interesting reference book with wide-ranging
coverage of all criminal matters which relate to the use of weapons.
Firearms, explosives, crossbows, flick knives, coshes, etc., all receive due
treatment with, as one would expect, the main emphasis being placed on
the law relating to firearms. Chapters on poaching and the police use of
firearms give an indication of the spread, whilst 12 very useful and
informative appendices, including a brief summary of the martial arts and
other weapons, complete an up-to-date, definitive guide to the legal issues
surrounding the use of all weapons.
THE
CHILDREN ACT 1989, 2nd edn, by P.M.
Harris
and
D.E.
Scanlan. Butterworths. Softback £24.95.
"An essential guide for lawyers and those whose work relates to civil court
proceedings concerning children", this book provides a handy practical
'pointer' to the relevant statutory provisions, the remedies available and
the procedures to be followed in children cases.
Information on the way in which cases should be approached and
conducted - as given in judgments in the plethora of stated cases since the
commencement of the Act - is reflected in the text, which contributes
greatly to the book's value as a procedural guide.
January 1996 The Police Journal 91
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