Unlawful Possession
| Date | 01 July 1949 |
| Author | S. J. Harvey |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X4902200306 |
| Published date | 01 July 1949 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
UNLAWFUL
POSSESSION
18S
is, however, a very real palliative in a difficult waiting period, and
one which promises to be of permanent value.
Unlawful Possession
By
MAJOR
S. J. HARVEY
Chief Constable, Rochdale
A
CLAUSE
giving Police power to
"stop,
search and take into
custody any person who has in his possession anything which may
be reasonably suspected of having been stolen or unlawfully
obtained"
has recently become law by virtue of a local Act in the Police district
in which I am serving.
It
may be of interest to all police officers to
consider this very vital matter, and how it affects their own particular
powers and procedure in the prevention and detection of crime.
During the time the Bill was under consideration by Parliament I
had occasion to ask an experienced Detective Inspector of a Force
which had enjoyed these powers for many years, what would be the
effect
if
Police in
that
area had to perform their duties without the
assistance of the law in respect of unlawful possession. He was appalled
at the idea, and had difficulty in appreciating that there were at the
present time many police forces in the country which had to work
without such powers.
Generally speaking, a patrolling policeman or plain clothes man
has an opportunity of observing crime in its early stages in one of the
following three ways:
I.
Before the criminal commits the offence (loitering);
2.
Actually attempting or committing the crime;
3. Leaving
the
scene of the crime, usually with the proceeds.
After that it is a matter for detective investigation.
The
general police powers relating to item Iare contained in
section 4of the Vagrancy Act, 1824, under the headings
of"
suspected
person or reputed thief loitering with intent to commit a
felony"
and
"being found on enclosed premises for an unlawful purpose."
It
is
not the intention of this article to comment on these extremely useful
provisions, except to say how valuable they are, and how much they are
used by Police generally, despite the tightening up which resulted
from Ledwith v. Roberts.
As regards the second heading, it is worth while pondering over
the chances of a police officer catching acriminal actually attempting
or committing crime. How many private individuals have seen a crimi-
nal trying to break into a house, or stealing from a motor-car?
In
spite
of members of the public moving about freely during most hours of the
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