NCJ Number
74564
Date Published
1979
Length
161 pages
Annotation
This collection of bulletins and background papers presents an assessment of developments in the policies of the British government in the fields of law, policing, internal security, and the military between October 1978 and September 1979.
Abstract
Short articles in the bulletins cover a wide variety of events and subjects, such as North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) exercises in Scotland, the new army structure, police press cards, new police powers in Scotland, telephone tapping, and the police complaints boards. Among the longer background papers is one which discusses the ways in which civil defense planning and machinery can be used against citizens. Another provides information on the trials of three former intelligence agents who publicized state secrets and were later acquitted. The origins of NATO, a description of its present structure, and the British contribution to NATO are subjects of a further paper. Three others deal with law enforcement issues. In one, the history and organization of West Germany's police and security forces are described. The police use of lethal weapons and the country's law enforcement information systems also receive attention. Another paper reviews the activities of Great Britain's Royal Commission on Criminal Procedure and some of the issues confronting it. The commission was set up in 1977 to study and report on the whole range of police powers in England and Wales. In the third, the activities of the Special Control Groups in Great Britain are described. These groups were originally intended to perform crime prevention duties; however, since the terrorist assaults, strikes, and demonstrations of the early 1970's, they have assumed the characteristics of paramilitary units. Book reviews and lists of new publications are also included. Name and subject indexes are provided.