Some Aspects of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984
| DOI | 10.1177/002201838605000308 |
| Author | Dorothy Wilson |
| Date | 01 August 1986 |
| Published date | 01 August 1986 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
SOME
ASPECTS
OF
THE
POLICE
AND
CRIMINAL
EVIDENCE
ACT
1984
Dorothy Wilson*
In November 1984the long-awaited Police and Criminal Evidence
Bill became law. The promoters of any law seeking to define police
powers must perform abalancing act between two public interests:
the interest of the community in bringing offenders to justice and
the interest of the community in safeguarding the rights of the
individual. This balance cannot be achieved simply by defining the
powers of the police and the rights of the suspect.
It
must permeate
the whole Act. To secure this balance the new Act provides for new
recording procedures, statutory codes of conduct and an
independent element in dealing with complaints against the police.
Whether these innovations will be successful remains to be seen but
what is certain is that this Act, though complex, states clearly what
the law is, where previously there was only doubt and obscurity.
Stop and Search
The
new Act rationalises the law by abolishing all local and some
general powers and by introducing a new and wider general power
of stop and search. Under section 1(2):
"a
constable
(a) may search
(1) anything which is in or on a vehicle, for stolen and
prohibited articles;
and
(b) may detain aperson or vehicle for the purposes of such a
search."
Section 1(1) states that this power isexercisable in a public place i.e.
broadly any place where the public has access at the relevant time
and may include football grounds, pubs, gardens, but not dwellings;
the constable must have reasonable grounds for believing that the
persons or vehicles to be searched are not permitted to be there .
• Law School, The Polytechnic, Newcastle upon Tyne.
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