Why Not an English Criminal Code?
| Date | 01 April 1944 |
| Published date | 01 April 1944 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X4401700212 |
| Author | W. O. Gay |
| Subject Matter | Article |
WHY
NOT
AN
ENGLISH
CRIMINAL
CODE?
147
potential ally. Moreover, he will describe his treatment to his friends,
so that his reactions will become diffused.
Thus
is the fabric of
public opinion woven.
The
police, of course, can only function with the accord of
the
public.
That
the authorities appreciate this cardinal
truth
is evi-
denced by the following quotation from Sir
John
Moylan's Scotland
Yard:
"In
the years 1926-28 it was necessary to have several inquests
into Metropolitan police matters. .
..
Underlying
them
all was
perhaps something in the nature of a general questioning of police
methods and an idea
that
the
relations of police and public were not
as cordial as they used to
be."
To
take for granted the goodwill of the public would be
folly:
rather is it something to be continually merited.
It
is a heritage
bequeathed by policemen of the past,
not
to be
put
in jeopardy through
any fault of policemen of to-day. Having on occasions to enforce
an unpopular law and having to perform agreat many restrictive
duties inevitably entail the loss of a measure of popularity.
This
can be largely offset by a manifest readiness to help the public in
extraneous matters as far as is compatible with the efficient discharge
of specified police duties.
In
short, by remembering
that
besides
being aservant of His Majesty apoliceman is also, within reason, the
servant of His Majesty's humblest subject.
Why
Not
an English Criminal Code?
" The law of England is notoriously formless to a degree unparalleled
in Europe.v-c-Taojaas
ERSKINE
HOLLAND
(1835-1926).
"
0,
reform it altogether."-Hamlet, Act
III,
Sc.
2.
PEACE, advancement, and reform are much discussed at the present
time, and it remains to be seen whether Barlow, Beveridge, Scott,
Uthwatt
and others will be known to future generations as names
inscribed on monuments erected to mark
the
resting-place of dead
endeavours, or on milestones along the road of social progress.
In
view
of the sense of change
that
pervades contemporary affairs it would
seem an appropriate time to revive for discussion and positive action a
matter
that
was the subject of many reports before the authors of those
named above were
born;
amatter
that
should be of interest and concern
to all policemen in England,
not
merely because it has engaged the
attention of eminent men at various periods of
our
history (and during
the last century and a half in particular),
but
because,
if
given practical
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