The Royal Commission — Cataclysm or Catalyst?
| Author | Paul Acres |
| Published date | 01 April 1992 |
| Date | 01 April 1992 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X9206500204 |
| Subject Matter | The Winning Essay in the Police Journal Bramshill Essay Competition |
THE
WINNING ESSAY IN
THE
POLICE
JOURNAL
BRAMSHILL ESSAY COMPETITION
CHIEF
SUPERINTENDENT PAUL A(::RES
Merseyside Police
THE
ROYAL COMMISSION -
CATACLYSM
OR
CATALYST?
ABSTRACT
Aspartofits term ofreference toexaminetheeffectivenessofthecriminal
justice systemin securing theconviction of the guiltyand the acquittalof
the innocent, the Runciman Royal Commission will consider whether
changesareneededintheconductandsupervisionofpoliceinvestigations.
This paper argues that the fundamental issue to be addressed is the
integrity ofevidence, aproblem whichhasbeenof concerntoeveryRoyal
Commission into the policethis centuryyet which remainsoutstanding.
It
argues that it is now both necessary and politically acceptable for
ACPOto usethe commission as a catalystto increase its leadership and
policy setting role to address the problem nationally from a central
perspective.
Itexamines integrity in relationto evidence gathering andattemptsto
defineitsimportance, toassesshowit islostand torecommendhow
it
can
berestored.
It
suggests thatwhilstsystemshavevaluein this respectthey
do not address the underlying behaviour or the culture from which
malpractice springs andthat, whateverthecommission recommends, itis
themorefundamental issueof culturewhichwillhaveto be addressed by
internalcentral direction.
Ratherthan waitforchangestobe imposedfromoutsidethe serviceit
recommends thatACPO shouldseizetheinitiative, carefullyresearchall
issues, designandintroduce newinternalsystemsto
improve
procedures
andthenintroduce andpromulgatean appliedcodeofethicsto enhance the
professionalism andcultureof our organization. It envisages thatACPO
mightwishto invokeajoint association approach, similartothatinvolved
in the preparation of theOperational Policing review, to do so.
Having
put its own housein order, it suggests theserviceshould then
submitdetailsof its internalresponse tothecommission togetherwith its
carefully researchedrecommendations forother'external' changeswhich
would
improve
the wholecriminaljustice system.
It
contends the priceof not responding insuch a positivemannermay
betheimposition of
working
practiceslesseffective thanthosethe service
might design - perhaps cataclysmic change and a lost opportunity to
radically improve thejudicial
system.
Cataclysm or catalyst? Thechoice it suggests is ours.
April
1992 The PoliceJournal 109
Introduction
On March 14,1991 the Home Secretary, Mr. Kenneth Baker, announced
that the Government was to set up a Royal Commission under the
chairmanship of Lord Runciman
of
Doxford to examine the criminal
justice system.
The announcement was made on the day the Court
of
Appeal decided
to quash the convictions
of
the so called 'Birmingham
Six'.
It followed
in the wake
of
asimilar decision concerning the 'Guildford Four' and
several successful appeals against conviction by persons arrested by the
now disbanded WestMidlands Police Serious Crime Squad. Those cases
were lost amidst allegations that police evidence was at best unreliable, at
worst fabricated and the Government's decision may be seen as a not
unreasonableresponse to growing publicconcern aboutjudicial procedures
and the integrity of police evidence.
The Royal Commission has been asked to report within two years. Its
terms
of
reference (Appendix 1) are extremely broad and concern the
whole
of
the criminaljustice system from investigation through to appeal
and beyond. They include the following specific remits:
"To
examine the effectiveness
of
the criminal justice system ... in
securing the conviction
of
those guilty of criminal offences and the
acquittal
of
those who are innocent ... and in particular to consider
whetherchangesare needed inthe conduct
of
police investigationsand
their supervision by seniorpolice officers, and in particularthe degree
of
control that is exercised by those officers over the conduct
of
the
investigation and the gathering and preparation
of
evidence".
Whilstit is not a Royal Commission into the Policeper se,its remits are
extremely far reaching and its recommendations could have profound
effects upon the service, both directly and in terms
of
the possiblerevision
of
the whole accusatorialjudicialsystem. LordScarman, amongst others,
has arguedfor some form
of
judicial supervision
of
police inquiries and it
is that aspect which might, in the long run, be the
most
telling.
What
then will be the impact
of
theRoyal Commission upon the Police?
Will it bring cataclysmic change to the way in which we investigate
offences or will it be the catalyst that prompts the service to respond in a
very positive way to a problem that has eaten away at its public standing
for over halfacentury but which it has never properly addressed - that is,
the question
of
the integrity
of
evidence?
It
also raises the question of central direction and leadership. Is the
service again to reactto pressures from outside or will itseize the initiative
and set the agenda for change?
I will suggestthat the commission offers theservice aunique opportunity
to address both issues. Building upon recent progress towards central
direction ACPO can demonstrate its intention to set standards and policy
for the service by grasping the nettle and addressing the ethical question
of
the integrity
of
evidence from a central perspective.
The paper is written within the context of the belief that whilst the
110 ThePoliceJournal
April
1992
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