Review: Policing Ethics and Human Rights
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X0107400411 |
| Published date | 01 November 2001 |
| Author | Phil Clements |
| Date | 01 November 2001 |
| Subject Matter | Review |
REVIEW
POLICING ETHICS AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Peter Neyroud and Alan Beckley
Collompton, Devon: Willan Publishing, 2001
ISBN 1-903240-15-8
Neyroud and Beckley suggest that 'human rights have replaced capital-
ism and socialism, the sparring partners of the second half of the
twentieth century, as the
"big
idea" for the new millennium'. Whether
or not this is true, their book could hardly be more timely. The events
in New York and Washington on 11 September have led to renewed
debates about such issues as the extent to which individual freedoms
can be curtailed in the fight against terrorism: for example, identity
cards, the need for legislation against stirring up hatred on religious
grounds and the use of both overt force and covert methods by police.
The principles of ethics and human rights that all these issues and many
others raise are fully expounded by the authors. Any reader would well
be able to engage in such debates after having studied this book.
Studied is probably the right word here because the text, although
very accessible and well laid out, is a hefty read, positioned very much
at the academic end of the spectrum. Its accessibility, on the one hand,
is due to the authors' inclusion of case studies, as well as many
diagrams and models, while each chapter recommends further reading
and in some cases even suggested Web sites for further research. The
case studies will appeal to an international audience, being drawn from
the US, The Netherlands and several other countries. On the other
hand, the authors are frequently at pains to ensure they are presenting a
coherent argument. At some points the language is unnecessarily
obscure. 'Mechanisms for ethical calculus', for example, does not
immediately speak loudly to me and I fear would be quite off-putting
for many potential readers. That would be a pity because a book of this
nature should really be required reading for those (for example, in the
criminal justice system) who have power to engage either ethically or
unethically with the human rights of others.
As I read this book for review I tried to take four perspectives. In
the first I considered it from the point of view of a serving police
officer. I would be disappointed if I thought this was a starter book on
ethics, neither would I find that it is a book to help me get to grips with
the application of the Human Rights Act 1998. From the perspective
of an academic, however, the book would be enormously helpful in
stimulating thought around the issues of human rights and ethics and
would give me a good grounding in all of these. I would find the
suggestions for follow-up reading and Web links very helpful. As a
trainer I would find the book essential reading to help me understand
both theory and contexts. The section on discretion, for example, is one
of the best I have read. From the point of view of someone working in
The Police Journal. Volume 74 (2001) 365
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