NCJ Number
91435
Journal
Journal of Law and Society Volume: 10 Issue: 1 Dated: (Summer 1983) Pages: 71-84
Date Published
1983
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Great Britain's criminal justice system is moving toward increased authoritarianism and repression, as shown by the government's acceptance of Lord Jellicoe's 1982 review of the 1976 Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act, which is an example of normalizing extraordinary powers originally given to government for emergencies.
Abstract
Other examples of the rightward shift are the 1981 Contempt of Court Act restricting groups' abilities to report trials, the Employment Acts of 1980 and 1982 which increased restrictions on organized labor, and substantial increases in funding and employees for the criminal justice system. Jellicoe's review of the Prevention of Terrorism Act recommended removing the Temporary Provisions, extending its scope from the Irish to international terrorists, maintaining the police's extended detention powers, and keeping exclusion orders. Moreover, Jellicoe legitimated his proposals for the extension of police powers contained in the Police and Criminal Evidence Bill by arguing that this is the norm to which the new Act should aspire. Jellicoe's suggestion that the introduction of a fresh terrorist bill be preceded by a private review is likely to remove discussion and critical evaluation of the Act even further from public scrutiny and debate. Finally, debates over the new Act reveal a police tendency to blur the distinctions between terrorist and subversive. Statistics show that the Act's powers do not produce a successful prosecution level that would be acceptable for other legislation. Instead, its powers are used to gather information and suppress legitimate debate on the Irish question. The paper includes 57 footnotes.