Criminal Justice Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Criminal Justice Law - Essay Example This essay studies the Criminal Justice Law itself and focuses on the concept of â€Å"Arrestable Offences†, defined under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. They enable police to exercise certain related powers like entry to premises, arrest, searches following arrest, and provisions while in custody. Definitions of arrestable offences under Section 24 of the Act include an offence for which the sentence is fixed by law; i.e. murder and offences for which a first time offender of legal age could be sentenced to terms of 5 years or more. Such offences constitute the most common ones including theft, serious assault, burglary and criminal damage. Some other offences are listed in a separate schedule of the act, which did not attract 5 year sentences but are to be considered in the same category as arrestable offences. These include offences like possession of offensive weapons, ticket touting etc. This list has expanded further with the inclusion of newly created offenc es and the number of exclusions dropped. Finally, the very concept of â€Å"Arrestable Offences† disappeared on enactment of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 which came into effect from 1st January 2006. The focus now changed to whether arrest is "necessary" in the sense of being under pressure of circumstance or physical or moral compulsion 4 to arrest the relevant person. 5. The change from a statute based decision to arrest or not, to a decision involving discretion on the part of the person making the arrest has serious implications especially in the context of the offenders’ rights.