NCJ Number
133746
Date Published
1991
Length
118 pages
Annotation
The passage in 1984 of the British Police and Criminal Evidence (PACE) Act has affected the police task of investigating crime by balancing newly legislated police powers against reinforced safeguards for the suspect. The impact of PACE on residential burglary investigations in three police districts is examined.
Abstract
The data are drawn from crime files, burglary crime reports, custody records for those held on the suspicion of burglary, sub-divisional records and statistics, and interviews with detectives. One key element in the investigatory process is the statutory right of detainees to receive legal advice. Another important issue in this analysis is the effect of PACE on police effectiveness. The views expressed by police officers suggested that PACE has contributed to a more professional approach to criminal investigations, stressing the accumulation of evidence in ways other than interrogation. Claims that PACE has benefited suspects more than aided in detection have basically remained unsubstantiated. The author concludes that variations in the effectiveness of the three police stations in solving burglary cases may be due more to local policies about interrogation and officers' understandings of pre-arrest evidence requirements than to the actual effects of PACE. 2 appendixes