72 • Our chief law enforcers — the police
Murder Squad and Flying Squad. These branches of the force deal with the most serious investigations into murder and other violent crime, such as armed robbery. The Flying Squad gets its name from the ex-Royal Flying Corps vehicles which it once used. Often, too little credit is given to its officers, whose work may place them in real danger, and who show great bravery when dealing with armed criminals.
Criminal Investigation Department (CID). CID officers wear plain-clothes and specialise in detective work. They are frequently called in to interview suspects who have been arrested by uniformed officers.
The above list of police specialities is by no means complete. Police officers are also specially trained to investigate cases of child abuse, or fraud. London has its own section of River Police, and everyone has heard of 'police frogmen'. The police also have a Special Branch, which deals with crimes of terrorism, and are involved in the work of Interpol, the International Criminal Police Organisation set up in 1923 to fight crime worldwide. Over 170 countries around the world are members of Interpol and co-operate in its work.
The powers of the police are set out in a number of Acts of Parliament. The police have four main powers, to:
Stop and search. The police may stop and search a suspect if they have reasonable grounds for believing that certain offences have been committed, such as theft, the possession of stolen goods, offensive weapons, knives, or other bladed articles, or the unlawful taking of a vehicle.
Powers of arrest. Until 2006 the police could only arrest people suspected of 'arrestable of fences'—usually more serious crimes carrying a five-year maximum jail sentence. On 1 January 2006 the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 came into force—its purpose being 'to modernise and simplify police powers'. Now all offences are 'arrestable', and people can be arrested not merely for less serious offences, but even trivial offences like painting graffiti and dropping litter. These new powers, however, are limited, for in less serious cases police officers must apply a 'necessity test'— they can only arrest someone if it is necessary to do so, for example to stop them from escaping or in order to protect a vulnerable person from attack.
Detain. The police may detain a suspect while they carry out their investigations. This includes the power to question the suspect. The police now have the power, on the authority of a senior officer, to take 'non-intimate' samples from a suspect, for example of hair or saliva; or 'intimate' samples such as dental impressions, or samples of pubic hair, blood, or urine. These
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will be analysed by scientists who may be able to identify the suspect as having been involved in a crime.
• Enter and search premises. This includes the power to seize evidence. This power is normally dependant upon a magistrate issuing a warrant, but the police may enter premises without a warrant, where, for example, they have reasonable cause to believe that someone is committing a serious offence, or to save life or limb, or to prevent serious damage to property. The police may also ask a Crown Court judge for an order allowing them to inspect bank accounts or telephone accounts.
These powers are very great, and they are given to the police as part of their overall responsibility to enforce the law, but they are all governed by the law, and are subject to strict control by rules and regulations. If the police exceed their powers, the person who has been wronged may take action in the courts against the officers concerned and the police force to which they belong. The officers may be disciplined, even prosecuted if their behaviour amounts to a criminal offence, and their force may be ordered to pay compensation.
POLICE INTERVIEWS
One of the important powers of the police, which has caused much difficulty and controversy, is the power to question or interview persons suspected of crime. In some cases, the prosecution's case against a defendant includes evidence that he confessed to the crime. This has on occasion led to the courts deciding that certain defendants have made 'false confessions'—admitting to offences which they have not committed.
We may wonder how this could come about, but there is no doubt that people questioned about even the most serious offences, including murder, have sometimes admitted to committing the crime, and yet it has later been proved that they were innocent. This problem of confessions being obtained by oppression, or from weak or frightened people who are easily 'suggestible' (react to questioning by readily agreeing to suggestions put to them), has been taken very seriously. There are now many rules relating to police interviews, and a great deal has been done to try to make sure that these are conducted fairly, and that anything said by the suspect after his arrest is accurately recorded.
THE POLICE AND CRIMINAL EVIDENCE ACT
The most important of these changes have been made by the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (known as PACE). This Act provides numerous