NCJ Number
127835
Journal
Journal of Law and Society Volume: 17 Issue: 3 Dated: (Autumn 1990) Pages: 345-362
Date Published
1990
Length
18 pages
Annotation
Common law jurisdictions increasingly are changing and controlling policing through legal regulation as exemplified by the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) and by results from research into the impact of PACE on a police force in northern England.
Abstract
Legal regulation is a mode of accountability. In England and Wales, legal regulation has been developed as part of an alternative to an outdated system of control by the local State. Abuse of stop and search has been a major factor in the worsening of relations between police and public; some of PACE's most important provisions were those regulating stop and search. This had little impact on the practice of many officers, rather, PACE operates to give an acceptable appearance to the way police work is carried out. Another provision was the requirement of an officer to state purpose and possible consequences of a proposed search of premises, to obtain written consent for it, and to keep detailed records of all such searches; however, many consent searches are not recorded. Consent laws may produce some problems, but consent is a desirable policing concept and process which should be developed to its fruition. 63 references