NCJ Number
73202
Date Published
1975
Length
245 pages
Annotation
The Australian Law Reform Commission reports on a series of proposals aimed at safeguarding the interests of both suspects and authorities through the adoption of a modern, balanced code of criminal investigation procedure relevant to the contemporary Australian community.
Abstract
This 1975 interim report focuses on the controversial area of criminal investigation procedures, describing how modern technology can be used to safeguard the rights of the accused without impairing law enforcement effectiveness through such tools as tape recorders, telephones, telex, computers, and copiers. The underlying philosophy of the law reform commission is, whenever possible, to encourage proceedings by summons instead of arrest. The backers of the proposed legislation aim at sufficient clarity to prevent all misunderstandings. All members of the commission reached complete agreement in such areas as arrests without a warrant; limitations on the use of force by the police; additional restraints on suspect interrogation procedures; and provision of communication facilities between detained suspects and their lawyers, relatives, and friends, with the presence of a friend of the prisoner mandated for Australian aborigines. Suspects' rights would also be protected by more stringently defined procedures on police lineups, fingerprinting, bodily searches, bail, access to police records, and admissible evidence. Still unresolved is the matter of realistic regulations to replace the present requirements -- seldom honored in practice -- prescribing the appearance of a suspect before a justice immediately following arrest. A table of relevant court cases and a list of Australian laws and statutes, both Federal and State, are provided. Three appendixes present a list of participants in the work of the law reform commission, both individuals and organizations, the draft of a criminal investigation bill; and other proposed legislation. A 145-entry bibliography, and an index and footnotes are included.