Unit 8. Law Enforcement
Law
Enforcement in Great Britian The
Country. England,
Wales and Northern Ireland are parts of the United Kingdom, a group of islands
situated on the west coast of mainland Europe to the north of France and
separated from Belgium, the Netherlands and the Nordic countries by the North
Sea.
Scotland
has an area of 78,750 square kilometres and a population of 4,9 million. It is
in the northern part of the main island and has a police organisation similar
to that of England and Wales, but a different legal system.
In
area England, Wales and Northern Ireland total are some 165,000 square
kilometres and have a population of about 52 million. Eighty per cent of the
population lives in urban areas, London alone has a population of over 8
million.
There
are 43 police forces in England and Wales with a total strength of 129,000
police officers. The police / population ratio is 1:448. The Metropolitan
Police is responsible for the Greater London Area and is the largest police
force with more than 28,000 officers. The Royal Ulster Constabulary is
responsible for Northern Ireland and has over 11,500 regular police officers.
Additionally
in England and Wales there are more than 53,000 civilian support staff employed by police forces together with some 4,500 traffic wardens.
Control
of police forces is based upon atripartite relationship between central
government, the local Police Authority and
the chief officer of police.
Police
officers are not employees of the state or of local government. At the same time,
like any other citizen, they are answerable to both the ordinary criminal and
civil law, as well as to the police disciplinary procedures.
The
Home Secretary. The
Home Secretary has responsibility to promote and
maintain the effectiveness of police forces and has a
range of powers. An important power is to determine annually the key
operational objectives
for police forces. These
are published after consultation with representatives of both police
authorities and chief officers of police.
The
functions of the Home Secretary include all training at recruit training centres, senior officer training at
regional centres and the
National Staff College at Bramshill; the Police
National Computer; the
National Criminal Intelligence Service; and central research and planning units.
Her Majesty's Inspectors of
Constabulary. A
number of inspectors known as "Her Majesty's Inspectors of
Constabulary" (HMIC) assist the Home Secretary in the maintenance of
efficiency and effectiveness. Currently there are seven such appointments
together with Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary (HMCIC). The police
forces are divided into five regions for inspectorate purposes and one of the
HMIC's has specific responsibility for forces in a region.
Inspections take the form
of an annual performance review of each force with a full examination of the
organisation and activity every three years. Her Majesty's Inspectors are
particularly concerned with force strategic issues, quality of service, equal
opportunities, the structure and the management and organisation of crime
investigation. All inspection reports are published publicly.
The Police Authority. The Police Authority has a range of duties and responsibilities. It must secure the
maintenance of an efficient and effective police force for its area. It must
determine local policing objectives set by the Home Secretary. Before the
beginning of each financial year the Authority must issue a plan setting out
the proposed arrangements for policing the authority's area during the coming
year ("the local policing plan"). At the end of each financial year
the Police Authority must issue a report on the year's policing. The Police
Authority appoints the chief officers and is the disciplinary authority for
those ranks.
The Chief Constable. The Chief Constable is responsible for the
direction and control of the police force. The Chief Constable is the
disciplinary authority for all ranks up to and including the superintending
ranks.
Note: In the Metropolitan Police Service and
the City of London Police, the term Chief Constable is not used. The most
senior police officer in each of those two forces is titled Commissioner.
Word
list
legal —
юридичний, правовий, законний
civilian — цивільний;
громадянський
support — підтримка
support staff — допоміжний
склад
traffic warden — службовець
дорожньої охорони
authority — влада
criminal
law — кримінальне
право
to
promote — сприяти,
підвищувати в чині або у званні
to
maintain — підтримувати
objective
— мета (syn.: aim, goal, purpose, target)
recruit
— рекрут, новобранець
the National Criminal
Intelligence Service — Національна служба
кримінальної
розвідки
appointment
— призначення (на посаду)
duty
— обов'язок
to
secure — охороняти,
забезпечувати rank
— звання
Exercise
1
Fill
in the blanks.
1.
England,
Wales and Northern Ireland are parts of the ...
.
2.
Scotland
has a ... similar to that of England and Wales but a different
3.
There
are 43........... in England and Wales with a total strength of
129,000
.........
4. There are more than 53,000 civilian.................. employed by police
forces.
5.
There
are 4,500 .......... in the police forces of England and Wales.
6.
Police
officers are answerable to the ... and ... law.
7.
The
Home Secretary has responsibility to ... and ... the effectiveness of police forces.
8.
The
Home Secretary has a power to determine annually the key operational ... for
the police forces.
9. The functions of the Home Secretary include
all training at ... training centres.
10. The duties and responsibilities of the Police
Authority are to ... the maintenance of an efficient and effective police force for its area.
11. The Police Authority .. . the chief officers
and is the disciplinary authority for those ... .
Exercise
2
Read
the following sentences and decide if they are true or false.
1. England, Wales and Northern Ireland are a
group of islands situated on the east coast of mainland Europe.
2.
Scotland
has a police organisation and a legal system similar to those of England and
Wales.
3.
The
Metropolitan Police is the largest police force with more than 28,000 officers.
4.
There
are more than 53,000 civilian support staff with some 4,500 traffic wardens.
5. Police officers are employees of the state
and of local government.
6. Police officers are answerable only to the
civil law.
7.
The
Home Secretary has responsibility to promote and maintain the efficiency and
effectiveness of police forces.
8.
The
functions of the Home Secretary are all training at recruit training centres,
supervisory and senior officer training, the Police National Computer; the
National Criminal Intelligence Service, etc.
9.
The
police forces are divided into ten regions for inspectorate purposes.
10. The duty of the Police Authority is to secure
the maintenance of an efficient and effective police force for its area.
11. The Police Authority appoints the junior
officers.
12. The Chief Constable is responsible for the
direction and control of the police force.
13. The Chief Constable is the disciplinary
authority for chief officers only.
14. The most senior police officer in the
Metropolitan Police Service and the City of London Police is the Chief
Constable.
Exercise
3
Find words and expressions in the text which
mean:
1. power or right to give orders and make others
obey;
2. a new member of a society, group, etc,
especially a soldier in the early days of his training;
3. distinct grade in the armed forces;
4. help to organize and start, give smb. a
higher position or rank;
5. person not serving with the armed forces;
6. to keep up, support;
7. position.
Exercise 4
Ask questions to get the following answers.
1. England, Wales and Northern Ireland are parts
of the United Kingdom, a group of islands situated on the west coast of
mainland Europe.
2. Scotland has a police organisation similar to
that of England and Wales, but a different legal system.
3. There are 43 police forces in England and
Wales with a total strength of 129,000 police officers.
4. The police / population ratio is 1:448.
5. The Metropolitan Police is the largest police
force.
6. Police officers are not employees of the
state or of local government.
7. The Home Secretary has responsibility to
promote and maintain the efficiency and effectiveness of police forces.
8. The Home Secretary determines annually the
key operational objectives for the police forces.
6.
The functions of the Home Secretary include all training at recruit training
centres.
10. Inspections take place every three years.
11. Her Majesty's Inspectors examine quality of
service, equal opportunities, the structure and management and organisation of
crime investigations.
12. The Police Authority must determine local
policing objectives.
13. The Police Authority appoints the chief
officers and is the disciplinary authority for those ranks.
14. The Chief Constable is responsible for the
direction and control of the police force.
Exercise 5
Answer the following questions.
1. What is the geographical position of England,
Wales and Northern Ireland?
2. Is the police organisation of Scotland
similar to that of England and Wales?
3. How many police forces are there in England
and Wales?
4. What is the police / population ratio?
5. What is the largest police force?
6. Are police officers employees of the state?
7. What responsibility does the Home Secretary
have?
8. What are the functions of the Home Secretary?
9. What are the duties of Her Majesty's
Inspectors?
10. What responsibilities does the Police Authority have? 11 . Who is the disciplinary authority for all ranks?
Exercise
6
Complete
the following text by translating the words and expressions in brackets.
Britain
has no national police force. Instead there is a separate (поліцейське управління) for each of 43 areas into which the country is divided. Each has a police (влада) — a commitee of local county councillors and magistrates. The forces
cooperate with each other, but it is unusual for members of one force to
operate in another's area unless they are asked to give
assistance. This sometimes happens when there has been a very serious (злочин). For historical reasons the (Міністр
закордонних справ) is
responsible for London's Metropolitan Police Force. (Королівська Ольстерська поліція) is responsible for Northern Ireland. As in
the army, there are a number of (звань):
after the Chief Constable
comes the Assistant Chief Constable, Chief Superintendent, Chief Inspector,
Inspector, Sergeant and Constable. The police are helped by a number of Special
Constables — members of the (громадськості) who work for the police voluntarily for a few
hours a week.
Exercise 7
Read, translate and discuss
the text.
THE
ORGANISATION OF POLICE FORCES
The
British Police
The
British police officer is a well-known figure to anyone who has visited Britain
or who has seen British films. Policemen are to be seen in towns and cities
keeping law and order, either walking in pairs down the streets ("walking
the beat") or driving specially marked police cars. Once known as
"panda cars" because of their distinctive markings, these are now
often jokingly referred to as "jam sandwiches" because of the pink
fluorescent stripe running horizontally around the bodywork. In the past policemen
were often known as "bobbies" after Sir Robert Peel, the founder of
the police force. Nowadays Common nicknames include "the cops",
"the fuzz", "the pigs", and "the Old Bill"
(particularly in London). Few people realise, however, that the police in Britain
are organised very differently from many other countries. 82
Most countries, for
example, have a national police force which is controlled by central Government
Britain has no national police force, although police policy is governed by the
central Government's Home Office. Instead, there is a separate police force for
each of 52 areas into which the country is divided. Each has a police authority
— a committee of local county councillors and magistrates.
The forces co-operate with each other, but it
is unusual for members of one force to operate in another's area unless they
are asked to give assistance. This sometimes happens when there has been a very
serious crime. A Chief Constable (the most senior police officer of a force)
may sometimes ask for the assistance of London's police force, based on New
Scotland Yard — known simply as "the Yard".
In most countries the police carry guns. In
Britain, however, this is extremely unusual. Policemen do not, as a rule, carry
firearms in their day-to-day work, though certain specialist units are trained
to do so and can be called upon to help the regular police force in situations
where firearms are involved, e.g. terrorist incidents, armed robberies, etc.
The only policemen who routinely carry weapons are those assigned to guard
politicians and diplomats, or special officers who patrol airports.
In certain circumstances specially trained
police officers can be armed, but only with the signed permission of a
magistrate.
All members of the police must have gained a
certain level of academic qualifications at school and undergone a period of
intensive training. Like in the army, there are a number of ranks: after the
Chief Constable comes the Assistant Chief Constable, Chief Superintendent,
Chief Inspector, Inspector, Sergeant and Constable. Women make up about 10 per
cent of the police force. The police are helped by a number of Special
Constables — members of the public who work for the police voluntarily for a
few hours a week.
Each police force has its own Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Members of CIDs are detectives, and they do
not wear uniforms. The other uniformed people you see in British towns are
traffic wardens. Their job is to make sure that drivers obey the parking
regulations. They have no other powers — it is the police who are responsible
for controlling offences like speeding, careless driving and drunken driving.
The duties of the police are varied, ranging
from assisting at accidents to safeguarding public order and dealing with lost
property. One of their main functions is, of course, apprehending criminals and
would be criminals.
Exercise 8
Answer the following
questions.
1. Who was the founder of the British police?
2. What does "walking the beat" mean?
3. Why are British police cars called "jam
sandwich" cars in colloquial speech?
4. Is there a single police force organised by
central government?
5. What is the major difference in police
organisation between Britain and some other countries?
6. When do British police forces cooperate with
each other?
7. What is the name of London's police
headquarters?
8. In what situations can policemen carry arms?
9. What are the ranks of policemen?
10. What is the job of CID officers?
11. What are the duties of traffic wardens?
Exercise
9
Read
the text and fill in the gaps with the appropriate words and expressions from
the previous text.
In Britain different areas have different____________________ . For
instance,
the Metropolitan police operate in London, but there are different police
forces in the counties outside London.
The top man in each police force is______________ . He is appointed
by the local Watch Committee which is a________________ of
the local
government.
The Watch Committee can dismiss him too, if the central
government agrees. The Chief Constable appoints all the__________ below
him
in his force.
Things
are slightly different in London. The top man is known as the Metropolitan
Police Commissioner and his appointment is arranged through the central
government.
British police are normally not_________ . In special cases, when their
work becomes dangerous, they can be given____________ however.
As is well known, the________ of the British policeman is blue, with
a
tall helmet. These days, though, you can see a different uniform in the
streets. This is the uniform with the yellow hatband worn by_____________ .
Their job is simply to control traffic and___________ .
The most famous name connected with the
British police is__________ .
It
is the headquarters of the London police force. Besides dealing with local
police matters, the London police also help all over England and Wales with
difficult crimes. They do this at the request of the local police.
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