Multimedia Mania/abacus-multimedia-mania.iso/dp/0052/00520.txt

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$Unique_ID{bob00520}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{United Kingdom
Justice and the Law in Britain}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC}
$Affiliation{Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC}
$Subject{police
crime
criminal
ireland
law
northern
act
government
local
prevention
see
tables
}
$Date{1990}
$Log{See Table 1.*0052001.tab
}
Title:       United Kingdom
Book:        Justice and the Law in Britain
Author:      Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC
Affiliation: Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC
Date:        1990

Justice and the Law in Britain

     Although the United Kingdom is a unitary state, England and Wales,
Scotland and Northern Ireland all have their own legal systems, with
considerable differences in law, organisation and practice. However, a large
volume of modern legislation applies throughout the United Kingdom. There is
a common distinction between criminal law, concerned with wrongful acts
harmful to the community, and civil law, concerned with individuals' rights,
duties and obligations towards one another.

     The main sources of law are government legislation, common law and
European Community law. Common law, the ancient law of the land deduced from
custom and interpreted in court cases by judges, has never been precisely
defined or codified but forms the basis of the law except when superseded by
legislation. European Community law is confined mainly to economic and social
matters; in certain circumstances it takes precedence over domestic law. It is
normally applied by the domestic courts, but the most authoritative rulings
are given by the Community's Court of Justice.

     Certain changes to United Kingdom law have been enacted as a result of
rulings of the European Court of Human Rights. These arose where domestic law
was in breach of the Council of Europe's Convention for the Protection of
Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, to which the United Kingdom is a party.

Criminal Justice

     The Government's strategy for dealing with crime is to prevent it, where
possible; to detect suspects; to convict the guilty and acquit the innocent;
to deal with those found guilty; and to provide more effective support for the
victims of crime. It is also concerned to maintain public confidence in the
criminal justice system and a proper balance between the rights of the citizen
and the needs of the community as a whole.

     With continuing concern in Britain, as in many other countries, over
rising crime rates, public expenditure on the criminal justice system has
increased from about 2,000 million Pounds in 1979-80 to an estimated 7,000
million Pounds in 1989-90, an increase in real terms of about 50 per cent.
Extra spending has taken place on the police, the probation service and
prison building. More than two-thirds of expenditure is initially incurred
by local government authorities, with the help of central government grants,
mainly on the police.

Crime Statistics

     Differences in the legal systems, police recording practices and
statistical classifications in the countries of the United Kingdom make it
impracticable to analyse in detail trends in crime for the country as a
whole. Nevertheless, it is clear that, as in Western Europe generally, there
has been a substantial increase in crime since the early 1950s. However,
official statistics cover only crime recorded by the police and can be
affected by changes in the proportion of crimes which are undiscovered or
unreported.

[See Table 1.: Notifiable Crimes Recorded by the Police in England and Wales
1989]

     Table 1 shows the number of offences recorded by the police in England
and Wales in 1989 and their clear up rates. There were 3.9 million crimes in
1989, of which 32.3 per cent were cleared up. Violence against the person
accounted for only 4.6 per cent of recorded crimes. The Scottish police
recorded 493,000 crimes, of which 33 per cent were cleared up.

     Crime tends to be concentrated in inner cities and deprived areas; the
risk of burglary can be as high as one in ten houses a year in inner city
areas, compared with one in 100 in rural areas. Rising affluence has provided
more opportunities for casual property crime. In 1957, for example, car crime
was only 10 per cent of total crime but 30 years later this had risen to over
25 per cent.

     Most crime is committed by young males; it is opportunist and is not
planned by hardened professional criminals although these do exist. Only a
small proportion of young male offenders go on to become serious repeat
offenders.

Crime Prevention

     The national crime prevention programme is overseen by the Ministerial
Group on Crime Prevention. National publicity campaigns, such as the Crack
Crime campaign launched in 1988, are a regular feature of the Government's
programmes. The Home Office's Crime Prevention Unit helps local agencies to
design and implement preventive measures and to assess the results. In
Scotland national publicity is administered through the Crime Prevention
Committee.

     Other Government departments are brought together with the Home Office in
the Ministerial Group to deal with crime prevention strategies. The Department
of the Environment's Priority Estates Project and Estate Action Programme are
designed to encourage improvements in the design, layout and management of
housing estates. The gas and electricity suppliers have speeded up their
programme of replacing domestic prepayment meters by cashless or 'token'
meters, so removing a prime target for burglaries.

     Local crime prevention panels-each one assisted by the police crime
prevention department-identify crime problems and try to tackle them through
publicity, marking goods and equipment and fund raising to buy security
devices. The panels have been closely involved in setting up some 74,000
neighbourhood watch schemes in England and Wales. There are some 1,100 watch
schemes in Scotland.

     In 1988 an independent national crime prevention organisation, Crime
Concern, was launched to encourage local initiatives such as crime prevention
panels and neighbourhood watch schemes, and to stimulate business
participation in crime prevention. Crime Concern in Scotland was established
in 1989.

     In 1986 five local projects were set up with government support to see
how crime and the fear of crime could be reduced through action by local
government, private businesses, the police and voluntary agencies. As part of
the Government's Safer Cities projects, this model is being adapted for use in
20 inner city areas in England and Wales. Each project is led by a local
committee, drawn from local agencies and supported by a co-ordinator funded by
the Home Office. Four projects are also being established in Scotland. The aim
is to encourage local communities to devise their own crime prevention
activities. Similar projects are being funded by the Government in Northern
Ireland.

Strengthening the Law

     A number of measures to strengthen the criminal justice system have been
taken. The Drug Trafficking Offences Act 1986 and the Criminal Justice
(Scotland) Act 1987 provide powers to trace, freeze and confiscate the
proceeds of trafficking. Under the Acts a court can issue an order requiring
the offender to pay an amount equal to the full value of the proceeds arising
from the trafficking. The laundering of illegal money associated with
trafficking is unlawful. Because of the international nature of the problem,
the legislation also provides for restraint and confiscation orders made by
courts to be enforced against assets held overseas, and vice versa. These
arrangements apply to countries with which mutual enforcement agreements
have been concluded.

     Under the Criminal Justice Act 1988 a court may also make a confiscation
order against the proceeds arising from offences such as robbery, fraud,
blackmail and insider dealing in shares. A Serious Fraud Office with wide
powers to investigate and prosecute serious or complex fraud in England,
Wales and Northern Ireland was established in 1988 under the Criminal
Justice Act 1987.

     Legislation has been passed to increase controls on firearms and the
carrying of knives. In 1988 the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988 prohibited
the private ownership of certain highly dangerous types of weapon such as
high-powered self-loading rifles and burst-fire weapons. It also tightened
police regulation of the possession, safekeeping and movement of shotguns.
Similar legislation applies in Northern Ireland. Under the Criminal Justice
Act 1988 it is unlawful to manufacture, sell or import certain weapons such
as knuckledusters or, in England and Wales, to carry a knife in a public place
without good reason.

     The Public Order Act 1986 and similar legislation in Northern Ireland
strengthened the law against incitement to racial hatred and created a new
offence of possessing inflammatory material. It also introduced in England
and Wales a new order for convicted football hooligans to prevent them
attending certain matches and created a new offence of disorderly conduct
to enable police to deal with hooligan behaviour. The Act gave the police
powers to impose conditions on assemblies in public places.

Helping the Victim

     The Government is taking steps to ensure that proper consideration is
given to the needs of victims of crime. There are more than 350 victim support
schemes in England and Wales, covering 94 per cent of the population, with
over 6,000 trained volunteer visitors. They are co-ordinated by a national
organisation, Victim Support, which receives a government grant. The
Government also finances local schemes to meet either the costs of paid
co-ordinators or running costs. In February 1990 the Government published its
Victims Charter, setting out for the first time the rights and expectations
of victims of crime. Victim support schemes are expanding in Northern
Ireland.

     The courts can also help victims by granting a compensation order against
a convicted criminal which takes precedence over a fine. The Criminal
Justice Act 1988 requires courts in England and Wales to consider compensation
in every appropriate case and to give reasons if it is not awarded.

     Victims of violent crime may apply for compensation under the Criminal
Injuries Compensation Scheme administered by a Board. Compensation is based on
common law damages and is a lump-sum payment. In 1989-90 some 38,600 cases
were resolved by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board and nearly 75
million Pounds was paid in compensation. The Criminal Justice Act 1988
provided for the Scheme to be established on a statutory basis. Because of the
need to tackle the backlog of unresolved cases and to improve the Board's
service to claimants, this provision has been postponed and steps are being
taken to streamline procedures under the present scheme. The Scheme allows
foreign nationals to claim compensation for violent criminal acts against them
in Britain.

     In Northern Ireland there is separate, statutory provision in certain
circumstances for compensation to be made from public funds for criminal
injuries, and for malicious damage to property, including the resulting loss
of profits.

     In February 1990 Britain ratified the European Convention on the
Compensation of Victims of Violent Crimes, under which mutual arrangements
for compensation apply to citizens of those countries in which the Convention
is in force; at present these are Denmark, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands
and Sweden.

Measures to Combat Terrorism

     Legislation provides the authorities with certain exceptional powers for
dealing with and preventing terrorist activities, while taking account of the
need to achieve a proper balance between the safety of the public and the
rights of the individual. While acknowledging that the special powers make
inroads into civil liberties, the Government believes that they should
continue in force as long as a substantial terrorist threat remains. Nobody
can be imprisoned for political beliefs; all prisoners, except those awaiting
trial, have been found guilty in court of criminal offences. The legislation
is reviewed annually by an independent person whose reports are presented to
Parliament.

     The Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Acts 1978 and 1987 give
the security forces in Northern Ireland special powers to search, question
and arrest suspected terrorists. They allow the Secretary of State to
proscribe terrorist organisations. Certain serious terrorist offences are
tried by a judge sitting alone without a jury because of the possibility of
jurors being intimidated by terrorist organisations. The maximum period for
which the police can hold a suspected terrorist on their own authority has
been reduced from 72 to 48 hours. Statements obtained by the use or threat of
violence are inadmissible in court. Renewable each year, the Emergency
Provisions Acts expire in 1992.

     The Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989 applies
throughout the United Kingdom and is renewable annually by Parliament. It
provides for the exclusion from Great Britain, Northern Ireland or the United
Kingdom of people connected with terrorism related to Northern Ireland affairs
and for the proscription of terrorist organisations in Great Britain. It also
gives the police powers to arrest people suspected of being involved in
terrorism without warrant and hold them for 48 hours and, with the approval of
the Secretary of State, for up to a further five days. This provision also
applies to suspected international terrorists.

     It is a criminal offence to handle, give or receive funds for use in the
furtherance of, or in connection with, terrorism. Police are able to apply for
a court order to freeze a suspect's assets once he or she has been charged and
funds can be confiscated if a person is convicted. The Act also provides for
reciprocal enforcement agreements with other countries.

     The Criminal Jurisdiction Act 1975 makes it possible to try in Northern
Ireland a person accused of certain offences committed in the Irish Republic.
It also enables evidence to be obtained in Northern Ireland for the trial of
offences in the Irish Republic. Reciprocal legislation is in force in the
Irish Republic.

     Britain attaches great importance to international action to combat
terrorism and plays an active part in the work of various bodies. These
include a group of European Community ministers, which facilitates the
exchange of information and intelligence about terrorism affecting member
countries. Britain believes that there should be no concessions to terrorist
demands and that international co-operation is essential in tracking down and
arresting terrorists, and impeding the movement of international terrorists
from one country to another.

THE POLICE SERVICE

     There are 43 police forces in England and Wales, eight in Scotland and
one in Northern Ireland (the Royal Ulster Constabulary). Outside London the
service is organised on a county basis (regional in Scotland) though some
counties and regions have combined forces. The Metropolitan Police Force and
the City of London force are responsible for policing London. At the end of
1989 police strength in Great Britain was nearly 140,000. The Royal Ulster
Constabulary numbered 8,260.

     Because of the need to strike a balance between providing the police with
effective powers and protecting individual freedom against any abuse of those
powers, the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 was introduced to clarify
police powers in England and Wales to stop, search, arrest and detain suspects
and to search premises for evidence. Separate legislation applies in Scotland,
while a number of major reforms are being implemented in Northern Ireland to
bring it in line with the 1984 Act.

     Officers in Great Britain do not normally carry firearms, although in an
emergency firearms can be issued quickly on the authority of a senior officer.
In Northern Ireland police officers are issued with firearms for personal
protection and other firearms are available for duty purposes.

     The Interception of Communications Act 1985 sets out the grounds on which
the Government is empowered to authorise interception of postal and telephone
services. For the police, these are the prevention and detection of serious
crime, and, in some instances, the protection of national security. The other
ground for interception is the safeguarding of the economic well-being of
Britain. Interception outside the procedures established by the Act is a
criminal offence.

Police Authorities and Chief Constables

     Police forces are maintained by police authorities. In England and Wales
these are committees of local county councillors and magistrates, and in
Scotland the regional and islands councils. The police authority for London's
Metropolitan Police Force is the Home Secretary. In Northern Ireland the
police authority is appointed by the Secretary of State.

     The police authority's functions, some subject to ministerial approval,
include appointing the chief constable, deputy chief constable and assistant
chief constables; fixing the maximum permitted strength of the force; and
providing buildings and equipment. In the Metropolitan Police area the
commissioner of police and his immediate subordinates are appointed on the
recommendation of the Home Secretary. The police authorities are financed by
central and local government.

     Chief constables are responsible for the direction and control of police
forces, including the appointment, promotion and discipline of all ranks below
assistant chief constable. They are generally answerable to the police
authorities on matters of efficiency, and must submit an annual report.

Central Authorities

     The Home Secretary and the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Northern
Ireland approve the appointment of chief, deputy and assistant chief
constables; where necessary they can require a police authority to retire a
chief constable in the interests of efficiency, call for a report from a
chief constable on matters relating to local policing or institute a local
inquiry. They can make regulations covering such matters of qualifications for
appointment, promotion and retirement; discipline; hours of duty, leave, pay
and allowances; and uniform. Some of these regulations are first negotiable
within the Police Negotiating Board for the United Kingdom. The Board consists
of an independent chairman and representatives of the police authorities,
police staff associations and the home departments. Matters of a
non-negotiable kind and general questions are discussed by the Police Advisory
Boards.

     All police forces (except the Metropolitan Police) are subject to
statutory inspection by inspectors of constabulary reporting to the
appropriate Secretary of State. Inspectors maintain close touch with the
forces they inspect and have advisory functions. At the request of the
Commissioner, the inspectorate also undertakes inspections of selected parts
of the Metropolitan Police.