Internal Cross-Border Policing within the United Kingdom: the High Road or the Low Road to Effective Co-operation
ONE of the less vaunted aspects of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 is Part X, entitled “Cross-Border Enforcement”. On closer scrutiny, one quickly discovers that the borders in question are those internal to the distinct legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom—in other words, the territories of England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. As for “enforcement”, it is apparently the enforcement of the law via police powers and not the enforcement of court judgments which is the concern. As with other, more notorious parts of the Act, three main questions need to be answered in order to reach an understanding of these provisions: what prompted Part X to be passed; how does it seek to attain its objectives; and does it seek to attain its objectives in ways which are effective and appropriate?