Have Police Powers Of Stop And Search Been Increased, Without Adequate Safeguards And Accountability? (2011)

The dissertation considers the extent of the effect to which the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and more recent accretion of powers through legislation, ostensibly designed to deal with perceived problems in society of the day has had on police stop and search powers and their accountability to them if they abuse those powers. The fact is that police powers have increased over the years but there has been a failure to balance that increase with individual civil liberties.

Reform in the police complaints process and police complaints bodies such as the Independent Police Complaints Commission has failed to rectify reoccurring themes of discontent such as independence, under representation of complainants interests, longevity of the reform process and changing police priorities.

Proposals of reform to the complaints process in particular have failed to produce a viable alternative and the government seems unwilling to push reform further and go for a fully independent complaints body such as the Police Ombudsman in Northern Ireland. For the first time in 40 years the call for reform has fallen off the public agenda in favour of the police dealing with rising crime rates.


  • 15,000 words – 88 pages in length
  • Excellent use of literature
  • Expertly written throughout
  • Outstanding piece of work
  • Ideal for law students

1 – What Powers Do Police Have In Relation To Stop And Search?
Definition Of Stop And Search Powers
How Have Stop And Search Powers Developed?
Why Was Pace Introduced And What Happened When It Was Enacted?
Safeguards And Reasonable Suspicion
Is Pace Effective?
Have New Powers Undermined Pace?
Sporting Events (Control of Alcohol Etc) Act 1985
Criminal Justice And Public Order Act 1994
Serious Organised Crime Act 2007
Terrorism Act 2000
Concluding Remarks

2 – Police Accountability And Procedures Of Complaint
What Is The Importance Of An Effective Complaints Procedure?
Local Resolution
What Is Local Resolution?
The Effectiveness Of Local Resolution
Is Local Resolution Independent?
Local Resolution Concluding Remarks
Formal Resolution
What Is Formal Resolution?
The Effectiveness of Formal Resolution
The Difficulty Of Standard Of Proof
Formal Resolution Concluding Remarks
Formal And Local Resolution In The Light Of Stop And Search Complaints
Alternative Systems
The Use of Tort
Tort And The Standard Of Proof
Tort And Publicity
Tort And Liability
Tort And Concluding Remarks
Recommendations For Reform – New South Wales
New South Wales Concluding Remarks
Concluding Remarks

3 – The Independent Police Complaints Commission
History Of Police Complaint Bodies
The Introduction Of The Independent Police Complaints Commission – New Powers
Is The IPCC More Accessible And Independent?
Independence
Accessibility
The IPCC In Relation To Stop And Search
The IPCC’s Effect On Policing
Concluding Remarks On The IPCC
The Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland as an Alternative System
Concluding Remarks

Conclusion

Bibliography

Police Stop And Search Dissertation
Police Stop And Search Dissertation

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