Recent Book: Criminal Evidence
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X8706000315 |
| Date | 01 July 1987 |
| Published date | 01 July 1987 |
| Subject Matter | Recent Book |
RECENT BOOKS
JOHN
MARSTON: Public Order: A Guide to the 1986 Public Order Act.
London: Fourmat Publishing. £10.95.
For 50 years public order was regulated by the Act of 1936. Recent events and a
shift in society's values has meant the introduction of a new Act to cope with
hitherto unknown phenomena such as mass-trespass and contamination of goods,
as well as a restatement in a form more appropriate of conventional forms of
public order regulation.
The author has provided an extremely helpful guide to the Act in this work.
There is usefulconsideration of the scope and extent of the legislation. Of
particular use to police is the practical interpretation of the Act in public order
situations. There are also suggestions as to the appropriate charges and, where
necessary, references to other publications for further detail.
Acomprehensive guide to the Act, especially with regard to Parts I and II, which
are comprehensively discussed in a clear and discerning fashion. The book is useful
as a handbook, having 189 pages with the usual table of cases. Helpful additions
are appendices in which the Act itself is printed for reference purposes, a specimen
police code of practice for the control of street processions and a prohibition order.
A book of practical value to police officers. R.M.
RICHARD
MAY: Criminal Evidence.
London: Sweet &Maxwell. £19.50.
Not many weeks pass without an addition to the stored knowledge of this
particular subject. One may consider that there is very little left to explore or
exploit in this area, which has not been tackled before. Indeed, the author in this
case is also the eminent editor of Phipson on Evidence.
Amoment spent with this work, however, soon dispels this view. The writing is
particularly clear and concise. The arrangement of the material is in four major
parts and is concerned primarily with the law of evidence as it relates to trial,
summarily or on indictment.
The presentation is aimed at the criminal practitioner, but is also an extremely
useful book for police. I would value it for its clarity and the authority with which
it is written. There is a depth of presentation which is neatly balanced with the
requirement to obtain relevant and useful information quickly.
After a general introduction concerned with preliminary matters and function,
part II examines the burden and standard of proof. Exclusionary rules and their
exceptions are considered in part III and part IV looks at the rules connected with
the trial. The book consists of 368 pages with the usual tables of cases and statutes.
The law is stated as at January I, 1986.
A highly recommended book for police officers. R.M.
EDW
ARD
GRIEW: The Theft Acts 1968 and 1978.
London: Sweet and Maxwell. £13.95, (paperback). (Also available in hardback).
This isthe 5th edition of this valuable book which, undoubtedly, isdesigned for the busy
practitioner, with its improved presentation in the form of additional headings and
other signposts to the contents.
Professor Griew, in his own words, has tried to deal with the considerable body
of decisions accumulated since 1982 and has undertaken some expansion of what
was perhaps rather too tight a text. New topics have been introduced and this new
edition, like its predecessors, is a reference book par excellance. D.E.S.
266 July 1987
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