NCJ Number
74566
Date Published
1979
Length
8 pages
Annotation
The activities of Great Britain's Royal Commission on Criminal Procedure and some of the issues facing it are reviewed.
Abstract
The Commission was set up in June 1977 to study and report on the whole range of police powers in England and Wales from detention and arrest to searches, gathering evidence, questioning, and the preparation of prosecutions. Three phases of work were planned: a study of written evidence from more than 300 organizations and individuals; a study of procedures in other countries; and hearings for oral evidence. The final report from the Commission's 16 members --12 of whom have experience in criminal procedures-- is expected at the end of 1980. Although it was originally established in response to demands for greater rights for suspects, the Commission is under pressure from police representatives to cut back on suspects' rights in favor of greater autonomy and discretion for the police, who fear that present practices are heavily in favor of the acquittal of guilty persons. In particular, the police favor the abolition of the suspects' rights to silence before police questions and in court. Opponents support these rights and also demand that the Judges' Rules, which regulate police powers of detention and questioning and the treatment of suspects, should be given statutory force. At present, these rules do not have the force of law, and judges are free to decide on whether or not evidence gained in violation of them will be admissible. Furthermore, these opponents are not willing to grant police requests for authority to set up road blocks for general searches, to fingerprint whole communities, or to hold suspects for up to 3 days without charging them--with extensions, if necessary. In the middle, the professional governing body of solicitors, the Law Society, is among a number of bodies which are prepared to concede the abolition of the rights to silence providing that new protections are introduced, such as access to solicitors and a statutory code of rights.