Arrest Detention And Criminal Justice System

A just, fair, reasonable, and purposeful exercise of arrest and detention powers by the State is both in the interest of the individual and the society at large. However, very often individual rights are impinged by arbitrary and illegal exercise of State power to arrest and detain. The book studies issues pertaining to arrest and detention, comprehensively, critically, and analytically, in the light of the Indian Constitution. It points out that the arrest and detention provisions in the legal system of India, by and large, have remained the same as inherited from the imperial British era. Despite constitutional prescriptions and judicial pronouncements over several decades, there has been no noteworthy change that would bring the law in tune with the constitutional emphasis on right to life and personal liberty as well as other human rights. To capture the complexity of the issue, the volume analyses constitutional provisions, statutory law, pertinent judgments, case law, reports of various committees, and recommendations of experts in the field. Exploring lacunae in the present legal scenario, the book stresses on the need for organizational and attitudinal changes in the State instrumentalities for successfully balancing the need to maintain law and order and human rights imperatives. Emphasizing that it is the poor who often suffer the most, the author further advocates inclusion of the developments in the field of jurisprudence, behavioural sciences, technology, and management to deal with crime and criminality.

The criminal justice system aims to maintain a balance between the individual interest of private citizens to carry on their lives free from state interference, and the communal interest in maintaining a safe society. These two goals come into conflict with each other most visibly when agents of the state physically take control of private citizens -- that is, when they exercise their powers to detain or to arrest. The book focuses on "street-level" encounters: detentions and arrests that occur in the course of investigating crime and laying charges. The authors explore the initial interaction between agents of the state or others authorized to detain and arrest, and the private citizens whose liberty is interfered with. It is at that point that the balance between societal safety and individual liberty is most keenly in play. This second edition has been updated to incorporate significant changes which have taken place with regard to statutory powers (the new citizen's arrest power and others), to common law powers (powers of detention, safety searches, search incident to arrest, etc.) and to Charter rights (freedom from arbitrary detention, right to counsel, and so on).

Annotation The criminal justice system aims to maintain a balance between the individual interest of private citizens to carry on their lives free from state interference, and the communal interest in maintaining a safe society. These two goals come into conflict with each other most visibly when agents of the state physically take control of private citizens-that is, when they exercise their powers to detain or to arrest.

"This 82-page report documents the routine arrest of children for such 'offenses' as begging, running away from home, or being alone with a member of the opposite sex. Prosecutors can hold children, like adults, for up to six months before referring them to a judge. In the case of girls, authorities can detain them indefinitely, without judicial review, for what they say is 'guidance.' Detention centers mix children under investigation or trial with children convicted of a crime and sometimes with adults. Judges regularly try children without the presence of lawyers or sometimes even guardians, even for crimes punishable by death, flogging, or amputation."--Publisher website.

Examines the causes for mass incarceration of Americans and calls for the reform of the bail system. Traces the history of bail, how it has come to be an oppressive tool of the courts, and makes recommendations for reforming the bail system and alleviating the mass incarceration problem.

Most people in jail have not been convicted of a crime. Instead, they have been accused of a crime and cannot afford to post the bail amount to guarantee their freedom until trial. Punishing Poverty examines how the current system of pretrial release detains hundreds of thousands of defendants awaiting trial. Tracing the historical antecedents of the US bail system, with particular attention to the failures of bail reform efforts in the mid to late twentieth century, the authors describe the painful social and economic impact of contemporary bail decisions. The first book-length treatment to analyze how bail reproduces racial and economic inequality throughout the criminal justice system, Punishing Poverty explores reform efforts, as jurisdictions begin to move away from money bail systems, and the attempts of the bail bond industry to push back against such reforms. This accessibly written book gives a succinct overview of the role of pretrial detention in fueling mass incarceration and is essential reading for researchers and reformers alike.