Recent Book: “Moriarty” Again: Moriarty's Police Law

AuthorE. A. H. Howard
DOI10.1177/0032258X6303600811
Published date01 August 1963
Date01 August 1963
perhaps send a photograph that can better explain the mounting for
display purposes.
Being only 24 miles from the port of Long Beach, a recent visitor
from England who chanced to visit
our
facility with one of our local
citizens, a former British subject, was delighted to find on display an
old cap device from London and others from the Shropshire and
Wiltshire constabularies. This generated a friendly relationship
between the visitor and our officersthat would not have been created
otherwise. Our friend left vowing that if possible he would send us
other cap devices representing police agencies of his country.
Again, thanks for your fine publication and be assured that I
will renew my subscription when it expires.
Yours truly,
ORVAL DAVIS,
Chief
of
Police, City El Monte,
California, U.S.A.
"MORIARTY" AGAIN
W.J.
WILLIAMS:
Moriarty'sPoliceLaw. An Arrangement of Law and Regulations
for the Use of Police Officers. Butterworth. 16s. 6d.
This handbook is still the best
reference book for the police officer
and itjustifies its place as the standard
reference book at district training cen-
tres.
It
is 34 years since it was first
published
"with
the view of assisting
police officers in attaining a working
knowledge of the law they have to
enforce." The 17th edition continues
to achieve that object and has kept pace
with the growing volume of legislation
which affects the modern police officer.
It
affords an excellent guide for the
probationer and an ideal research
starting point for the promotion
examination candidate.
It
has not
altered in style and the subjects are
collected into chapters and grouped in
parts under headings with the conveni-
ence of the reader in mind.
The editor is to be commended for
his foresight in including as an
appendix those additional obligatory
and discretionary disqualifications for
road traffic offences under the 1st
schedule of the Road Traffic Act, 1962,
which, when the book was published,
had not become law but which have
recently been brought into force.
It
is
virtually impossible in these days of
changing laws to produce ahandbook
which is likely to remain absolutely up
to date for very long. Since this book
was published on January I, 1963, the
419
chapter on betting and gaming has, by
virtue of the newconsolidating Betting,
Gaming and Lotteries Act, 1963,
become outdated. But this is no major
change. Most of the offences and
provisions of the earlier acts have been
re-enacted and it is an interesting and
not very difficult task to amend one's
copy in the light of the new Act.
Nevertheless, this edition includes
references to 25 new Acts and several
Regulations, all of which are of
interest to the police. A number of
important recent cases, not the least of
which is
Sykes
v. D.P.P., have been
well considered in their context as
affecting the police officer both in
regards to the offences and the proce-
dure to be adopted.
The book is still the same handy
size and has only increased slightly in
thickness with the added legislation.
Over the years, Moriarty's Police Law
has found its way on to the shelves of
many public libraries. It is hoped
that
local authorities, wishing their police
officers to be up to date on the law,will
ensure that their libraries carry this
latest edition; for a police officer, or
for that matter a member of the
public, who refers to an out of date
Moriarty is almost as handicapped as
one with none at all.
E. A.
H.
HOWARD.
August 1963

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