By Sarah Hart and Paul Crane (Release Collective) * Greater powers to hold people in police SEATOIS without charging them.
Opposition to the presence of outsiders during interrogations or the taping or filming of interrogations. * Greater powers with people wno refuse to talk and for magistrates or a jury to draw inferences of cuilt it a persor stays silent either in the police staton or in court. * Greater powers to stop and search people randomly, throw up road blocks, arrest people who refuse to give their name and address, greater powers to fingerprint and suspects. * Powers to the police to vet jurors' backgrounds further reduce the needed to reach a verdict. * Powers to appeal against acquittals (so you can never be sure when the case is over).
These are just a few of the things that the police and other law Culorcement bodies asking the Royal Commission on Criminal Procedure recommend to the government.
The police have argued that until now they have been able to rely on people's ignorance photograph don't strictly have the legal power to do and someone to the police station majority to 'help with enquiries.
But now that there are law centres, free legal aid, etc., and hence expert available to all, the rules need to be changed.
In other words, now that the public are aware of their rights are we need to take them away, otherwise the police are seen to be breaking the rules.
What is more, this argument actually makes too much of the necessary things they unaware of their • such as take relation to the police enforcing them.
legal advice basis that and should most.
They have of society few cases where people have standards, won out against the police. discipline, In fact most people are still etc.
"rights'
- and "social crisis'. many of these exist in name only, since there is no means of The police have asked for greater formal powers on the they dI C the "impartial experts' in their field - like a surgeon or engineer -therefore have more say in the matter than familiar one.
presented the same picture of the breakdown declining end family unrest, — and the need for a strong and determined answer to this The Police Superintendents recently claimed: 'In 1978 it is regrettable but true that our So normal state of society is under rules serious threat. public disorder Is almost the norm in many places. Official crime statistics do not support such hysteria, but the image in the media is a Changes in the law usually follow recommendations from commissions such as this. It i important that there is some response to the law enforcers' picture if such changes are not to go through on the nod.
However the government has excluded the issue of police accountability from the Com mission's terms of reference even if more ibertaria were accepted, how could they be made to stick?
There must be a defence to this campaign to sweep away formal democratic rights.
* The Release Bust Book, Trouble with the Law, has just been published by Pluto Pres (E1.25).
Socialist Challenge. February 1979, page 7.