Review: Blackstone's Criminal Practice 2009
| Author | Jon Mack,Zoe James |
| Published date | 01 December 2008 |
| Date | 01 December 2008 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1350/pojo.2008.81.4.449 |
| Subject Matter | Review |
ZOE JAMES
Reviews Editor
Z.James@plymouth.ac.uk
REVIEWS
BLACKSTONE’S CRIMINAL PRACTICE 2009
Lord Justice Hooper and David Ormerod (eds)
Oxford University Press, 2008
Reviewed by Jon Mack LLB LLM
Since my last review in the pages of this annual publication two
years ago,1there has, inevitably, been a morass of new criminal
law, both statutory and common. Over the past two years
Blackstone’s Criminal Practice has grown by half an inch,
reflecting the need to squeeze as much of the new material as
possible into its pages. As one might expect, the price has also
increased, to £185 for the basic book. A CD-ROM version is
also available, but nothing beats the ease with which this book
can be browsed through.
Blackstone’s Criminal Practice is an encyclopedia of the
rules and regulations of the criminal justice system. Beat officers
may be more familiar with other publications, such as the Beat
Officer’s Companion, or Jack English’s Police Law. Although
the lion’s share of the book is concerned with Offences and
Procedure, also included are sections on Sentencing and Evid-
ence. At first glance, this does not seem of particular interest
to the police, but a detailed explanation of the rules relating to
hearsay is included – the importance of which is underestimated
by the police at their peril. The Appendices are ‘source focused’,
which means that useful materials such as the Criminal Proced-
ure Rules (2005), the Code for Crown Prosecutors, and the
PACE Codes of Practice (among others) are included. One of the
strengths of Blackstone’s Criminal Practice is that it is annually
updated, and the Oxford Unversity Press website provides reg-
ular updates on law and practice. Additionally, two paper supple-
ments are published, the aim of which is to inform readers more
fully of developments during the year (October–September).
As usual, Blackstone’s Criminal Practice is compiled by an
expert panel of lawyers and judges, and the rigour with which
material has been tested is evident. The contributors include
seven professors, eight silks, and the DPP. Case analysis is sharp
and reliable, and the authors get straight to the heart of many
The Police Journal, Volume 81 (2008) 345
DOI: 10.1358/pojo.2008.81.4.449
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