Contents

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JCL 69 (2005) 232

The Home Secretary and improved accountability of the police?
Kiron Reid 

A week is a long time in politics and Charles Clarke has been in post for some time as Home Secretary after the unplanned departure of David Blunkett. Blunkett had seen through radical police reforms but his departure was not because of serious issues like policy. Clarke has continued to pursue the police reform agenda and this article covers the direction of Labour government policy in its second term and specifically key legal developments in David Blunkett's final year as Home Secretary. These include the outcome of his dispute with Humberside Police Authority over its refusal to comply with the suspension of its Chief Constable. The Independent Police Complaints Commission has started work in this time and its early impact is reviewed. There have also been significant reports into: policing in London (the Morris Inquiry); policing and police complaints by the Commission for Racial Equality; and Police Disciplinary Arrangements for the Home Office. The article considers the general problem of litigiousness regarding police complaints and also highlights issues of accountability relating to national police work and European cooperation in light of the creation of the Serious Organised Crime Agency.

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JCL 69 (2005) 256

The evidence of 'unavailable' witnesses under the Criminal Justice Act 2003
Gregory Durston 

Section 116 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 extends the circumstances in which statements made by witnesses who are unavailable to give evidence at court can be received. Such statements are no longer limited to those made in writing, and now also encompass those that constitute multiple hearsay. Additionally, for most first-hand hearsay statements, there is no longer a general discretion to prevent adduction, unlike the equivalent provision in s. 23 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. Although some safeguards have been put in place—such as a need to identify the maker of such statements before they can be admitted—there is uncertainty as to how these will operate and how effectively they will prevent the fabrication of evidence as well as excessive delay in the trial process.

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JCL 69 (2005) 264

Video games: some pitfalls of video evidence
Annabell James and Chris Taylor 

CCTV evidence is regularly employed in criminal cases, yet there has been relatively little consideration of the manner in which such evidence is collected and subsequently handled. The use of CCTV evidence raises issues of disclosure, data protection and human rights, all of which have a far-reaching impact not only on the accused but also on others who find themselves recorded by surveillance systems. In addition, much of the video evidence collected during criminal investigations comes from third parties, such as shops and commercial premises, which are outside the direct control of the police. This only serves to compound the difficulty of managing such material within the investigative and trial processes.

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Links to other issues

Volume 65 (2001) :   1   2   3   4   5   6

Volume 66 (2002) :   1   2   3   4   5   6

Volume 67 (2003) :   1   2   3   4   5   6

Volume 68 (2004) :   1   2   3   4   5   6

Volume 69 (2005) :   1   2   3   4   5   6

Volume 70 (2006) :   1   2   3   4   5   6

Volume 71 (2007) :   1   2   3   4   5   6

Volume 72 (2008) :   1   2   3   4   5   6

Volume 73 (2009) :   1   2   3   4   6

Volume 74 (2010) :   1   2   3   4

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