The Police And Criminal Evidence Act 1984

The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, as amended, sets out to strike the right balance between the powers of the police and the rights and freedoms of the public. The current operation of police powers achieves this balance. Discuss.The introduction of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) stems from recommendations laid out by the Royal Commission on Criminal Procedure. Its purpose is to bring together the powers of the police in one code of practise with a view to balance with care rights of individuals against the police powers. The act is accompanied by eight codes of practice clarifying the extent of the polices power, maintaining the balance is central to PACE. PACE came after a response to increasing negative perception of the police by the public fuelled by a believe of miscarriage of justice in highly publicised cases. There needed to be faith in the police and through them the justice system while preserving the rights of the public. Before PACE police powers were piecemeal and ill dened, thus PACE was meant to professionalise and standardise their work. Professor Herbert Packer created two models; crime control model and the due process model, these represented competing value