NCJ Number
79389
Journal
Trial Volume: 17 Issue: 10 Dated: (October 1981) Pages: 48-52,84-85
Date Published
1981
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article examines the legal powers given to English and American police, compares English and American attitudes toward the police, and makes comparisons concerning specific police responsibilities.
Abstract
The powers vested in English police are, in almost all instances, far greater than those given to American police. Bobbies operate under few restrictions with regard to field interviews, searches, arrests, and interrogations. They are the major influence in the setting of bail, and in most criminal cases, the police conduct the prosecution themselves. Even though the English police have far greater powers than American police, the fear of the police abusing their powers does not seem to disturb the English as much as it does Americans. This indifference toward police powers permeates the entire population, not just the average citizen: it extends to lawyers, judges, and legal scholars. The article examines the right of police in both countries to conduct searches, to use search warrants, to conduct searches incident to arrest, to conduct consent searches, and to conduct field interviews. The article concludes with a review of changes in English common law concerning confessions and self-incrimination. It mentions that the right to silence is in critical condition in England today, with proposals to abolish it completely. Thirty reference notes are included.