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The Process of Criminal Investigation and Evidence Essay
Objectives and importance of criminal investigation
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The criminal investigation process is the primary role of state and federal police officers in Australia, though the focus of this essay will be on the NSW Police Force. The police are a law enforcement body, and in regards to the criminal investigation process they investigate crimes, make arrests, interrogate suspects and gather evidence. The criminal investigation process has mixed effectiveness as a means of achieving justice. Though measures have been implemented to encourage accessibility, the criminal investigation process is still somewhat hindered by public perception of the legal system. Though the criminal investigation process is designed to balance the need for individual rights with achieving justice, in practice it faces widespread …show more content…
Most focus has been on improving transparency, allowing widespread access to police powers and the rights of citizens in Australia. The Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act (LEPRA) 2002 NSW was created, in response to recommendation by a Royal Commission, in order to consolidate police powers into one piece of legislation. Most matters in which people come into contact with the law, such as search and seizure powers, are able to be accessed in this legislation, though some matters remain in other legislation (eg. Bail Act 1978 NSW). Non-government organisations such as Legal Aid NSW have played an extremely important role by summarising LEPRA into simple documents available for free online. Legal Aid NSW also plays an important role by providing legal advice during detention and court proceedings, though due to limited resources not all applicants receive free legal aid. Furthermore, due to a lack of faith in the legal system and fear of revictimisation many crimes go unreported. A survey (IVAWS 2004) from the Australian Institute of Family studies showed that only 1 in 7 women who experienced violence from an intimate partner, and just over 1 in 6 women who experienced violence from someone else (non-partner), indicated that they had reported the most recent incident to police. This demonstrates a great failure in the criminal investigation …show more content…
Some police powers give the impression of contradicting other Australian law; for example search and seizure powers under LEPRA seems contrary to The Privacy Act 1998 (Cth) and common law such as Grosse v. Purvis [2003]. Hence, it is of upmost importance that the police are strictly regulated. The NSW Police Force follows a specific code of behaviour called the Code of Practice for CRIME (custody, rights, investigation, management and evidence) which details the rights of suspects. It upholds the rule of law, dictating police are expected to treat all members of the community in a fair and ethical matter regardless of age, sex, religious or ethnic background. However, the vagueness of terms such as “reasonable force” has left much up to the discretion of police at the expense of individual rights. Though it is intended to allow for flexibility and improved resource efficiency, there is some risk of police abusing their powers. The media plays an important role in reporting situations such as this, as demonstrated in 2013 in line with allegations of police brutality during one of Sydney’s Mardi Gras celebrations. The NSW Police Force is also overseen by the NSW Ombudsman and the Police Integrity Commission. Where a suspect believes their rights have been abused, there are also complaints procedures available which ensures the accountability of individual police
Vicki Sentas and Nicholas Cowdery, ‘Focus on police, not the laws’ (2013) Sydney Morning Herald Online
“Scales Of Justice” shows the corruption in the police force. It is a fictitious portrayal of organised crime and human weaknesses in an unstated Australian location. It is about the possible abuses of power in the police force and is a study of power and its potential to corrupt. The drama is concerned with organised crime both petty and at a high level, involving those in senior positions of responsibility.
The purpose of stop and search, an investigative tool to prevent crime is arguably different to the current practice of this procedure, current research suggests that it is used to gain intelligence and for social control (Bowling and Phillip, 2007). Following this, there is substantial evidence suggesting that thirty police forces have no understanding of how to use their powers to complete a stop and search (HMIC, 2013). Furthermore, the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (1984, c60) states that a police officer can only stop and search a citizen if they have reasonable grounds to suspect they have stolen or prohibited items on their person. However, statistical evide...
344. The. Australian Institute of Criminology, [Online]. Available at: http://www.aic.gov.au/documents/0/C/5/%7B0C5DFDDF-7A72-43F9-80A1-CA6D51B635B6%7Dtandi344.pdf, [Accessed 14 April 2011].
The general public of Australia has a common aspect when associated with their sources of knowledge of crime. Many would agree the media, especially newspapers and television, are their most frequent and well known source of crime activity. The media updates society with data about the extent, frequency and types of crimes committed (Moston and Coventry, 2011, p.53). Studies highlight our grasp of crime is majorly derived from the media, with a lack of exposure to police statistics or victimisation surveys. There is a concern in correlation to this fact since the media has inconsistency and inaccuracy in reporting crime. Due to this, the media can misrepresent victims and perpetrators, downsizing them to recognisable stereotypes (Moston and
The use of evidence and witnesses is a mechanism in which the law attempts to balance the rights of victims and offenders in the criminal trial process. Evidence used in court are bound by the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) and have to be lawfully obtained by the police. The use of evidence and witnesses balance the victims’ rights to a great extent. However, it is ineffective in balancing the rights of offenders. The law has been progressive in protecting the rights of victims in the use and collection of evidence and witness statements. The Criminal Procedure Amendment (Domestic Violence Complainants) Bill 2014, which amends the Criminal Procedure Act 1986, passed the NSW Legislative Council on 18 November 2014. The amendment enables victims of
Muncie J, Talbot D and Walters R, (2010) ‘interrogating crime’ Crime: Local and Global, William Publishing, (Devon). The Open University. pp. 16 – 17.
...T., Reiner, R. (2012) ‘Policing the Police’ in The Official Handbook of Criminology. Ed. By Maguire, M., Morgan, R., Reiner, R. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 806- 838
Hodgson, Jacqueline. "Adding Injury to Injustice: The Suspect at the Police Station." Journal of Law and Society Mar. 1994: 85-101. Academic OneFile. Web. 15 Feb. 2015.
Crime is a part of society encompases the news and the public. A variety of studies of media content have estimated that as much as 25 percent of the daily news is devoted to crime (Surette 1992) and that crime is the largest major category of stories in the print and electronic media (Chermak 1994, 103). (Lawrence 18). With crime at an all time high, police are constantly having to deal with more and more issues. This can lead to stressed out and fed up officers, which can lead to poor decisions by an officer. The use of force by police is a highly controversial topic as it raises questions about a government’s ability to use force against its citizens (Lawrence 19). Today’s society is caught up on the ideals of civility and equality before the law, making police use of force a touchy
The ability of police to exercise discretion was originally designed to allow officers to maintain the peace by allowing certain types of crime to remain unpunished in certain circumstances. This essay will aim to explore the issue of police discretion that suggests that the application of discretion works against the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. In drawing this conclusion, this essay will examine the relationship between policing ideals and the use of discretionary powers and the relationship between policing attitudes and the use of discretionary powers. A discussion regarding the use of police discretion towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples can scarcely be mentioned without making reference to arguably the greatest failing by a police officer since indigenous Australians were formally recognised as citizens. Further to this, the case of Mulrunji Doomadgee (Cameron) will be examined from the point of view of officer discretionary powers. The penultimate point to be made will involve the Anglo Australian response to this case as well as the ongoing relationship between indigenous Australians and the institutions that govern them. As mentioned, the first point will involve policing ideals and their relationship to discretionary powers.
The focus is on the issues of police accountability in modern society, and in particular why their accountability is more important than other professions. This is not surprising considering the amount of power and discretion police officers have, and the level of trust that the public holds with these civil servants. Police officers accountability is the biggest thing in their profession which has been an issue of concern they have to be accountable to the police department who want the officer to be an effective and responsible person, to people in the community who have best expectation from an officer and being accountable to themselves for their acts. An ordinary citizen of a country cannot obtain the powers that police officer’s have.
Police decisions can affect life, liberty, and property, and as guardians of the interests of the public, police must maintain high standards of integrity. Police discretion concerning how to act in a given situation can often lead to ethical misconduct (Banks 29).
The success of the criminal investigation process in achieving justice can be seen through its efforts to balance the rights of the victim, offender and the community, this is evident in the areas of police powers and discretion. Police powers constitute police officers to exercise special powers such as search and seizure and the use of reasonable force. These powers are outlined in the Law Enforcement (Powers
Being able to protect one’s self and family is a right that everybody should be able to carry out without any hindrance from any government entity. Yet in this country “the land of the free” we still have laws that do just that. It is a common misconception that the Police are there to protect the public from the criminal element. This was decided in a landmark ...