Practice essay on police powers (1 Viewer)

[tbrooke18]

"Discuss the powers of police in the criminal process."

I am currently curating essay plans to put aside to use to revise in the future as well as using them to practice my extended response writing. I took this practice question straight from the syllabus and am working on planning an extended response on police powers. I'm just looking for a little help with planning and structuring my response and it would be much appreciated if any assistance could be given!

 

[yanujw]

Some pointers;

Intro

• Make it clear why police are important (i.e. prevent crime situationally, investigate crime)
• These powers can be used through LEPRA, you may also list some powers such as the ability to arrest individuals and gather evidence
• Brief mention of issues with police powers - problems with discretion abuses of power etc.

Some helpful LCMID

• Go to google and search 'police powers' then go to the news tab. You can get good articles from here. Try to find ones that focus on areas of controversy such as strip searches, motorcycle gang crime etc. - this gives you a nuanced discussion of the good and bad.
• Death of Roberto Curti (2012) - a good example of abuse of power and the issues with discretion.
• Famous disappearance/rape/murder cases - as examples of police investigation powers with DNA evidence, warrants, searches etc.
• NSW Police Code of Practice for CRIME (legislation)
• Evidence Amendment (Evidence of Silence) Act 2013 - good example of how effectively police powers can balance the rights of individuals vs society. To really impress a marker, explain the context of the South-West Sydney shootings that motivated the law to be passed.
• Avoid just using LEPRA as an LCMID, it only outlines the police powers and does not allow for very in-depth discussion.

Other tips

• You are discussing - don't just explain the powers but delve into how they do or don't uphold their goals, such as keeping a community safe.
• This dot point can be tied into themes and challenges such as the issues of discretion, or balancing the rights of society with individuals.
• Be careful about using evidence that really fits into other dot points - try to avoid parts of the arrest and charge, bail and remand and reporting crime processes.

Good luck!