NCJ Number
129282
Journal
Policing and Society Volume: 1 Issue: 2 Dated: (1990) Pages: 115-140
Date Published
1990
Length
26 pages
Annotation
Reporting findings from research on the impact of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE), this paper assesses the effectiveness of rights provided for suspects in police custody which were intended to counterbalance increased police powers.
Abstract
It discusses the involvement in the detention and questioning process of parents, social workers, and legal advisers; the procedures regulating the detention and questioning of suspects before charge; and the effectiveness of sanctions and supervision. The safeguards provided by PACE have had some significant, albeit geographically variable, effects. Compliance with PACE also is variable. Some provisions are complied with totally, some are routinized, and some are overlooked or ignored. The potential impact of PACE is limited by several factors including insufficient resources and commitment of the legal and welfare services necessary to make rights effective, an absence of knowledge of rights in the general population, lack of effective sanction of police malpractice, discretion and exceptions in PACE rules which police can use to their benefit, and a tendency for procedures designed to safeguard rights to become routinized and insubstantial. There is no basis for complaints that PACE procedures for the detention and questioning of suspects improperly interfere with crime investigation and detection. 47 references (Author abstract modified)