Recent Book: Drink, Drugs and Driving
| Author | N. A. Seymour |
| Published date | 01 July 1985 |
| Date | 01 July 1985 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X8505800317 |
| Subject Matter | Recent Book |
What the authors have done is to identify and define specific criminal groups at
work in the United States and explain their involvement in organised crime. They
highlight the requirement for a substantial commitment in respect of staff and
additional funds to be made available to the forces of law and order when they set
out to combat organised crime.
The Arizona Organised Crime Project, which is mentioned throughout this book
and has two chapters devoted to it, explains the particular problems in that state
and how inroads were made into such criminal activity when sufficient staff and
money were made available. It explains how this project came about, i.e. the
quality of life in Arizona was under threat from organised crime such as drugs
distribution, pornography and prostitution. It was also acknowledged that several
notable members of the Mafia were resident in Arizona.
The book, as previously mentioned, is a factual account and contains a great
deal of new information. Its contents are well presented, and structured, however,
whilst I personally found it informative, it is not a book that could be described as
making interesting reading.
The studies and findings in this book, do not seem to be directly related to
organised crime in this country and I do not consider that the book is of any
practical use in crime investigation in the United Kingdom.
What is significant is that only recently in the National Press (April 15, 1985to
April 20, 1985)it has been suggested that Mafia money is being banked in the
Channel Islands.
A.G.HILL
H. G. WALLS AND A. R. BROWNLIE: Drink, Drugs and Driving.
London: Sweet and Maxwell. £17.50.
The authors of this book are a former director of the Metropolitan Police Forensic
Science Laboratory and a Scottish solicitor (Supreme Courts, Edinburgh). Given
this, it is not surprising that each topic is dealt with ina logical and thorough
manner.
The book is well laid out with excellent cross references and I particularly liked
the clarity in which the tables of the relevant statutes and statutory instruments
were indexed at the beginning of the reading, making reference extremely easy.
Although there was much technical ground covered in the earlier chapters, I fully
appreciated their content when related to the Road Traffic Act itselfand it would
greatly assist those concerned with its administration,to understand the machinations
that led to the Act as it now stands.
According to the preface, the book is aimed at "Drivers and Members of the
Public". I feel that it would be more fully understood and appreciated by those
persons having a specific interest in the subjects dealt with i.e. police officers,
solicitors and the associate judiciary bodies, as the authors enter into great detail in
all aspects of the Act, possibly in too much detail for the average layman to
comprehend. N. A. SEYMOUR
BEVAN AND LIDSTONE: A Guide to the Policeand Criminal Evidence Act 1984.
London: Butterworths. £15.
A weighty volume, even in soft cover version, of which one third comprises a
complete reproduction of the Act and Codes of Practice, thereby affording easy
reference to the reader and going some way to justifying the purchase price.
The format is sensible, first dealing with the themes and definitions which
pervade the Act and Codes, then the comment which follows the order of the Act,
and which is profound in its explanations of the background to the introduction of
the Act and its various provisions, together with the practical problems and effects
of its implementation. The legal arguments are sound and adequately supported by
reference to relevant case law. It is set out in simple terms with numbered
July 1985 275
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