Understanding the Role of Police in England and Wales

Introduction to crime and
punishment

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ESSAY TITLE NUMBER 1: ..........................................................................................................3
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6
ESSAY TITLE NUMBER 2:...........................................................................................................7
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................7
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10
ESSAY TITLE NUMBER 3:.........................................................................................................11
INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................................11
MAIN BODY.................................................................................................................................11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14

ESSAY TITLE NUMBER 1:
WHAT IS THE PRIMARY ROLE OF POLICE IN ENGLAND AND WALES?
PRODUCE A CRITICAL DISCUSSION SUPPORTED WITH A RANGE OF
ACADEMIC EVIDENCE AND REFERENCES.
INTRODUCTION
The role of police in every nation is very immense as police is the body of officers who
represents the civil authority. The police is basically responsible for the peace and order in
addition to maintaining the public order and safety. The role of police is to enforce laws,
identifying any criminal activities and investigating the same. This essay provides a critical
analysis of the roles and responsibilities of the police pertaining to England and Wales.
MAIN BODY
The powers provided to the police pertaining to England and Wales is mainly identified
by the statute law and the major source of power is based on the Police and Criminal Evidence
Act 1984 along with the Police Act 1996. All the police officer in England and Wales are called
as the “constable” irrespective of their rank. Along with that certain powers of police are made
available to a limited extent to the police community support officers (Ozin and Norton, 2019).
There are certain general power which the constables have in contrast to the general public like,
the power to detain people under special and particular situation. The police is having power to
stop and search vehicles or things or a person but is it is based upon the principle which governs
the power to stop and search (Davis, 2018).
According to it, this power should be used fairly and responsibly in regard to the person
or vehicle to be searched within the law (Miller, 2021). According to Section 149 of the Equality
Act 2010, the police officer while conducting their functions is required to make sure that they
comply the duty to eliminate any type of unlawful discrimination or victimization (Pearson,
Rowe and Turner, 2018). The main purpose behind the stop and search powers is to enable the
officers to get confirmation about the suspicions pertaining to the individuals without exercising
the power of arrest. In addition to this, the police officer is also having the power to seize and
retain the property under various situations. Along with that, the police is having the power to
direct the behaviour of the people and vehicles in public places.
The main aim of the police service is to uphold the law fairly and firmly in order to
prevent occurrence of crime and in order to bring and pursue justice pertaining to those who

breaks the laws and keeping the place protected. In simple words, the role of police officer is to
make sure that there is law and order being maintained in the local areas through the way of
protecting the public, property along with the minimising the fear of crime and improving the
quality of life of all the citizens (Gee, 2021). But in contrast to it, there are certain challenges
which is being faced by the police of England and Wales but on the other hand, it is rewarding
career which helps in making difference in the community. The breach of peace which is
considered as the oldest and the basic offence still prevailing in England and Wales. This is
considered as an offence at common law therefore, it is not found in any act of parliament (Greer
and South, 2019). Therefore, the power in regard to arrest in case of breach of peace is made
available to anyone who may arrest without any warrant. In contrast to it, there are certain
critical factors which is required to be accounted for.
There are threat to the lives of the police officer as the work environment can be
physically demanding at times and it can be potentially dangerous and might be distressing
(Murphy, Eckersley and Ferry, 2017). Therefore, it becomes essential for the police officer to be
physically fit in order to carry out their jobs in a better and effective way. On the other hand,
there are considerable set of problems which has been emerged and is mainly associated with the
expenditure and the performance. In the recent times, there has been a rise in the crimes which
has been reported to the police and it has exceeded the number of police officers (Ariel and
Bland, 2019). There is a huge amount of expenditure being made on the police of England and
Wales in respect to the criminal justice. In addition to this various measures have been designed
and put in place in order to undertake maximum advantage of the resources which are being
made available (Davis and Bailey, 2018). It is important to understand that the emotional burden
is the part of everyone's life which is possible under the situation of police officer as well. There
can be times when the police officer dealing with the emotional aspect of life along with the job
and this can result into ineffective performance and stress.
In addition to this, the roles and responsibilities of police in England and Wales are
sometimes often required to undertake difficult decisions (Jones and Lister, 2019). For instance,
taking decision pertaining to making use of gun or not based upon the situation and sometimes,
such decision are unclear in many situations which results into creation of the biggest mistake
which can even lead to cost of one's life. Thus, the roles and responsibilities of the police officer