The Prosecution of the Crown
| Date | 01 April 1958 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X5803100211 |
| Published date | 01 April 1958 |
| Author | Ivan D. Packman |
| Subject Matter | Article |
no
THE
POLICE
JOURNAL
the police account, £1,071 in 1956/57); the Architect builds (for which
and similar duties, he receives considerably more (£12,743 in 1956/57)
and he also repairs and redecorates. The legal department deal with
the purchase and the sale or disposal, the ejectments, and the hundred
and one problems and complaints regarding damage, rents, rights of
way, and what have you.
As the years go by it might be pertinent to hope that such co-
operation will continue, thrive and bear fruit, and that in consequence
the standard of police housing will continue to improve; for, as the
Police Federation has on more than one occasion pointed out, houses
without garden fences, without a garden footpath from which to hang
out the washing, without doors to stop the gale which rages through
the artificial wind tunnel created by the modern plan, and without
garage space, are not the ultimate in police house design, although, at
the moment, they may be the cheapest.
The Prosecution
of
the Crown
By INSPECTOR IVAN D. PACKMAN
Kent
County
Constabulary
THE
king can do no wrong. Common law has always said so.
The
sovereign is outside the jurisdiction of his courts but at various
times during our history it has been found necessary to review the
royal prerogative, because of its general vagueness.
"The
royal prerogative may be defined as being that pre-eminence
which the Sovereign enjoys over and above all other persons by virtue
of the common law, but out of its ordinary course, in right of his
regal dignity, and comprehends all the special dignities, liberties,
privileges, powers and royalties allowed by the common law to the
Crown of England."!
What is meant by the expression "The Crown"?
Does it mean the sovereign, the government, or perhaps both? No
longer is it applicable only to the sovereign. It now embraces members
of
Her
Majesty's Forces, Ministries and Departments and all officers
of state and servants of the Crown when acting within the scope of
their authority on behalf of the Crown. Each claims immunity from
criminal proceedings within certain limits but nevertheless they all
enjoy a position which is
not
common to all subjects.
The
case Cooper v, Hawkins" provides a good illustration. This was
a case, stated by the justices for the opinion of the King's Bench
Division, concerning the conviction of the appellant for exceeding the
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