Powers of Police Essay

Information is a sworn written document that officially accuses a perpetrator of a specific offense. Information is given for a variety of reasons, such as informing the accused of a particular allegation, starting legal action against them, identifying the complaint sworn before a judge, and identifying the formal charge that was brought within six months of the offense. Anyone who has strong evidence to support their claim that someone has broken the law is capable of fabricating information. The police are typically in charge of disclosing information in civil proceedings. (Police powers, 2010). However, there are restrictions and situations that apply to how the authorities can use information. Civil matters comprise of cases which relate to complaints which are not criminal in nature. They frequently involve court cases or the lawsuits whereby one party claims that he is owed money by the other. A police officer can lay information concerning civil matters depending on the nature and the reality of the issues. One of the circumstances under which police can lay information regarding public affairs to court is sufficient evidence to prosecute exist as far as the individual involved in the case is concerned(Parpworth, 2014). The police have a role of investigating the issue in question to find out supportive evidence that makes the civil matter a court case. If the police assess the evidence and determine that the incident can amount to a court case, then he/she can lay information on the same. On the other hand, if the police assess that the evidence of the incident cannot be a police matter, then the police can give the victim a suggestion to take civil action (Jason-Lloyd, 2013).

Another circumstance in which the police can lay information is when the victim wish is in line with the lay of charges. The police might not lay any information if the victim does not want that the information is laid, even after collecting sufficient evidence. According to the established criteria of proving a case, the police cannot lay information against the desire of the victim, since the suspect might not accept the allegations. The guidelines from the Department of Public Prosecutor are also useful in determining whether the information needs to be laid or not. At a point where the guidelines allow the police to lay charges on a particular civil matter, then the police have the authority to do so (“If police lay charges”, 2017).

The third circumstance is when the civil matter under investigation is a serious offense, for example, domestic violence and assault. Under this situation, even if the victim does not wish to proceed with the charges, the police have authority to lay information regarding the offense. Serious offenses can result in serious crimes. Therefore, the police power to lay accusations of this kind would be useful in preventing such crimes (Diab, & Pue, n.d.).

Conclusion

Police have a duty to care for the public by reducing civil matters such as domestic disputes and violence. Police would, therefore, need to make a decision of laying charges on the offenders or provide suggestions to victims to take civil actions. Laying information is dependent on the availability of sufficient evidence concerning the offense, the wish to proceed by the victim and the seriousness of the offense (Database, 2013). The police must prove beyond reasonable doubt any allegation made concerning a particular offense.

References

Database, P. (2013). Blackstone’s Police Operational Handbook 2014. Oxford University Press.

Diab, R., & Pue, W. The Gap in Canadian Police Powers: Canada Needs ’Public Order Policing’ Legislation. SSRN Electronic Journal. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1388602

If police lay charges. (2017). Victimsofcrime.wa.gov.au. Retrieved 19 March 2017, from http://www.victimsofcrime.wa.gov.au/I/if_police_lay_charges.aspx?uid=3110-8204- 9096-2373

Jason-Lloyd, L. (2013). The Legal Framework of Police Powers. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis.

Parpworth, N. (2014). Reforming Police Powers of Stop And Search: Voluntary Action. The Police Journal, 87(4), 234-244. http://dx.doi.org/10.1350/pojo.2014.87.4.677

Police powers. (2010). Melbourne.