POLICE IN AUSTRALIA - DEVELOPMENT, FUNCTIONS AND PROCEDURES

• NCJ Number: 50485
• Author(s): K L MILTE; T A WEBER
• Date Published: 1977
• Length: 532 pages
• Corporate Author: Victoria Law Foundation; Butterworth Pty Ltd
• Sale Source: Butterworth
• Publication Type: Historical Overview
• Language: English
• Country: Australia

Annotation

THE HISTORY OF LAW ENFORCEMENT IN AUSTRALIA IS TRACED, THE CONTEMPORARY ROLE AND FUNCTIONS OF AUSTRALIA POLICE ARE EXAMINED, AND PROBLEMS FACING THE POLICE ARE DISCUSSED.

Abstract

THE PURPOSE OF THE BOOK IS TO PLACE THE DEVELOPMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT IN AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY WITHIN ITS HISTORICAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVE AND TO IDENTIFY ISSUES THAT HAVE EMERGED IN THE COURSE OF THAT DEVELOPMENT. UNDERLYING THE DISCUSSION IS THE VIEW THAT THE POLICE MUST BECOME AND REMAIN THE COMMUNITY'S AGENTS, NOT THE AGENTS OF TEMPORARY GOVERNMENTAL CAPRICIOUSNESS, SUCH AS THAT REFLECTED IN THE ENACTMENT OF HASTY, ILL-CONCEIVED, OR OPPRESSIVE LAWS. THE ORIGINS OF THE POLICE ROLE IN AUSTRALIA ARE TRACED, AND THE ROLE OF THE POLICE IN THE COMMUNITY IS DISCUSSED. A SECTION ON POLICE POWERS INCLUDES DISCUSSIONS OF POLICE POWER AND INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM, POLICE PROVISIONS OF A PROPOSED AUSTRALIAN BILL OF RIGHTS, DETENTION FOR QUESTIONING, ARREST, INTERROGATION, SEARCH AND SEIZURE, USE OF FORCE, AND BAIL. POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY AND DISCRETION ARE EXAMINED, AS ARE POLICE DISCIPLINE AND INVESTIGATION OF COMPLAINTS AGAINST POLICE. AN ANALYSIS OF A POLICE STRIKE THAT OCCURRED IN VICTORIA IN 1923 IS INCLUDED. THE DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS OF THE POLICE--CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION, PATROL, TRAFFIC LAW ENFORCEMENT--ARE CONSIDERED. ORGANIZED CRIME, TERRORISM, AND DIRECT ACTION AS A POLITICAL TECHNIQUE ARE EXAMINED, WITH EMPHASIS ON IMPLICATIONS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT. POLICE ORGANIZATION AND PERSONNEL PRACTICES (RECRUITMENT, STAFF ASSESSMENT, TRAINING) ARE DISCUSSED, AS ARE COLLABORATION BETWEEN POLICE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCHERS, THE ROLE OF COMPUTERS IN POLICE ADMINISTRATION, AND FORENSIC SCIENCE (FORENSIC PRACTICES IN AUSTRALIA IN NEW ZEALAND, THE ROLE OF NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS IN POLICE SCIENCE, DOCUMENT ANALYSIS). FOR SEPARATE ABSTRACTS OF PRESENTATIONS ON POLICE POWERS, ACCOUNTABILITY, PATROL, TRAFFIC LAW ENFORCEMENT, ORGANIZED CRIME, CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE, TRAINING, AND POLICE SCIENCES, SEE NCJ-50486-50500. A SUBJECT INDEX AND TABLES OF CASES AND STATUTES ARE PROVIDED. (LKM)