Criminal Justice, Law and Order, and Policing in Post-War Britain

CCTV ◽  
2016 ◽  
pp. 43-66

In 1945-1946 the considerable increase of criminality was marked in a republic. The complex of reasons of political, social, organizational, economic and psychological character influenced on it. An author set that factors, that entailed this criminal phenomenon, were, : post-war devastation, enormous scarcity of goods of daily necessity, presence of far of weapon, that was in a population (as a result of battle actions), hunger that began in 1946, full unstrength of organs of militia, insufficient professionalism of her employees, mass migration of population, is demobilization of millions of servicemen, return of far of people from evacuation, captivity, concentration camps, psychological consequences of war, that formed at certain part of population habit to violence. Did not assist the improvement of work of militia also an erroneous criminal law doctrine, that dominated in jurisprudence of time of the Stalin totalitarian mode that criminality is vestige of the past, not inherent socialism and that is why her increase, - only a defect in-process militia. To the article the far of facts that testify to complication of criminogenic situation in an investigated period and frequent displays of gangsterism in the different regions of republic is driven. The features of the normatively-legal providing of activity of organs of law and order are exposed ; character of changes is educed in organization and skilled composition of militia of Ukrainian SSR in 1945-1946. Basic directions and features of practical activity of organs of internal affairs are analysed in a fight against criminality, the results of counteraction to the militia of gangsterism are shown in an indicated period. An author marks that to the fight against criminality considerable enough attention was spared in this period, activity of militia got better gradually, but on the whole this job performances substantially influenced on reduction of displays to gangsterism some later.


2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Sherrell

The justice sector contributes to society by protecting civil and property rights, as well as providing a fair and effective way to resolve disputes. In the criminal justice area, the sector aims to:  maintain law and order, focusing on minimising harm and victimisation;  bring perpetrators to justice with appropriate punishment;  provide rehabilitation for offenders to reduce reoffending. The question is how to deliver these aims in a way which maximises the benefits to society and efficiency of the sector. 


Author(s):  
Yaacov Lev

In Fatimid Fustat-Cairo the shurta was a police force responsible for fighting crime and its chiefs dispensed criminal justice. How the shurta and its chiefs operated in Fustat of the 1020s is discussed relying on Musabbih’s reports concerning 1024-1025. The shurta as an urban police force intended to fight crime was too small to maintain law and order in the capital and, in times of crisis, the task was delegated to the army.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel LaChance ◽  
Paul Kaplan

Popular documentary representations of crime and punishment have traditionally tended to fall into two camps: programs that are critical of law enforcement agencies and those that are sympathetic to them. In this article, we show how programs that present themselves as critical of legal authorities can nonetheless reinforce the “law and order punitivism” that underlay the ratcheting up of harsh punishment in the late 20th century. In a case study of the popular documentary miniseries Making a Murderer, we show how this can happen when texts fetishize the question of a criminal defendant’s innocence, adopt a “good versus evil” approach to players in the criminal justice system, and perpetuate a procedural rather than substantive vision of justice. Arguments are supported by a close reading of Making a Murderer and illustrated by a line of discussion it inspired in an internet forum.


Author(s):  
Stuart Don

This chapter analyses the pervasive impact of the Charter on the Canadian criminal justice system. Active judicial interpretation of Charter rights has put in place distinctive constitutional standards of substantive law, including those of fault, and struck down oppressive laws for arbitrariness and overbreadth. Also examined are new standards for police powers to stop, search, detain and interrogate, fair trial rights such as the duty of full Crown disclosure, and for assessing mandatory minimum sentences. This chapter describes and welcomes a robust exclusionary discretion for evidence obtained in violation of the Charter. It is suggested that the Canadian Charter standards are no panacea and are sometimes too weak but that they have often provided a welcome balance to the expedient lure of law-and-order politics.


Three decades after the election of Mrs Thatcher, it is perhaps time to take stock of the concept of ‘Thatcherism’ and the prominent role it has played in the history of post-war Britain. Of course, there is much debate about what ‘Thatcherism’ was, with some arguing that Thatcherism was more noteworthy for its rhetoric than for its achievements. Indeed, when it came to the welfare state little had changed after 13 years of Thatcherism. Some historians have additionally suggested that other social forces that had existed prior to Thatcher will outlast her. Yet, whichever way one looks at it, the Thatcherite project of the 1980s brought about a fundamental reorganization of much of the UK’s social and economic life. Did Thatcherite policies dramatically alter the trajectory of the country’s development? Can even long-term and seemingly enduring path dependencies be altered as dramatically as claimed? Ought Thatcher’s period in office be seen as a ‘critical juncture’ for the UK? This book brings together a range of experts in housing, economics, law and order, education, welfare, families, geography, and politics to discuss the enduring legacy of those social and economic policies initiated by the first of the UK’s New Right governments (1979–90).


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Lidewij Oosterhoff

<p>This paper examines the origins, benefits and pitfalls of the Citizen Initiated Referenda Act 1993, focusing on the non-binding justice-based referendum question put to the public in 1999. Citizen Initiated Referenda find their roots within the ideas of public participation in government, or direct democracy. This paper examines the philosophical and political theories – both in favour and against direct democracy – in order to canvas opinions relating to political participation. This is used as a basis to assess whether New Zealand should consider holding binding referenda on criminal justice related issues.</p>


Author(s):  
Brett Curry ◽  
Banks Miller

The pervasiveness of their influence arguably makes prosecutors the most consequential actors in the American criminal justice system. Armed with discretion over which cases to pursue, what charges to file, and which issue areas to prioritize, prosecutors play a decisive role in determining what progresses from investigation to the courtroom. It is their charge to do justice in each case, but that obligation hardly forecloses the influence of politics on their decisions. Despite their centrality, however, prosecutors and their behavior have failed to garner even a fraction of the attention that scholars have directed toward law enforcement, correctional systems, or judges. The discretion of American prosecutors is theoretically immense; there are few formal constraints upon it. If a federal or state prosecutor declines to pursue a case that has been referred to him or her, that declination decision is essentially immune from judicial review. But these formalisms come with more practical limitations. At the federal level, United States Attorneys are appointed by the president and, therefore, are expected to carry out an administration’s general policy priorities. In the states, most district attorneys answer to the electorate, which imposes its own constraints on a prosecutor’s freedom of action. Chief prosecutors—state and federal—are simultaneously principals to their subordinates and agents of the people or the president. If those considerations were not enough, American prosecutors must be mindful of still other factors. How might their actions today impact their future career paths? What influence might legislative changes, public opinion, or judicial rulings have on how they operate? Scholarship on prosecutors has addressed some of these questions, but we still lack a good understanding of all the ways in which politics infects prosecutorial decision-making. As “progressive prosecutors”—many who are former public defenders—continue to win office, new questions will arise about how far prosecutors can push reform of the criminal justice system. A major looming question is how voters conditioned to law-and-order rhetoric will evaluate the new prosecutors. Some preliminary work shows that non-White prosecutors tend to reduce rates of incarceration, while Republican-affiliated prosecutors increase them.


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