- Published: September 23, 2022
- Updated: September 23, 2022
- University / College: Oxford Brookes University
- Level: Doctor of Philosophy
- Language: English
- Downloads: 49
Criminal Liabilities of Police Officers [Pick the How police officers might be held criminally liable for theirmisconduct
Have a look at the world right now, not only individuals but nations also trying to be rich and powerful. It is good to be rich and powerful but only if one does so in the limits of law. There are many cases where law enforcement personnel are found liable for their misconduct. Each police officer takes oath that being a law enforcer it is my primary duty to serve mankind, to safeguard lives and property, o protect the innocent against deception, the weak against oppression or intimidation, and the peaceful against violence and disorder. Yet circumstances arise where these officers get themselves indulged into activities and hence held criminally liable. Sometimes they take bribe; sometimes their personal enmities and sometimes they may be threatened by the criminals. (Posner, 1981)
One of the historical examples of such an incidence is the Guildford Pub Bombings (England). These bombings were planned by Irish Republican Army (IRA). On Oct 5, 1947 two bombs detonated at two pubs (Horse & Groom Pub and Seven Stars Pub) in Guildford, England. These pubs were targeted as they were famous for British Army personnel being stationed at Pirbright (a village near Surrey, England). The Metropolitan Police was pressurized to cope with the situation. They apprehended four people (three men and a woman). These people are popularly known as the “ Guildford Four”. These were: Gerry Conlon, Paul Hill, Patrick Armstrong, and Carole Richardson. These people were erroneously convicted by torture by the Metropolitan Police. They served prison for about fifteen years. They appealed many times to High Court ad at last their convictions were overturned, when it was proved that their confessions were obtained by torture. (Greenfield and Osborn, 1995)
Work Cited
Posner, R. A. (1981). Excessive Sanctions for Governmental Misconduct in Criminal Cases. Wash. L. Rev., 57, 635.
Greenfield, S., & Osborn, G. (1995). Pulped Fiction-Cinematic Parables of (In) Justice. USFL Rev., 30, 1181.
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