General Police Duties
Offences and Powers relating to Information
Evidence and Procedure
Identification
Interviews


This week there are three chapters to look at, and for the first time they are from two different books. One from General Police Duties and that is ‘Offences and Powers relating to Information.’ The other two are from Evidence and Procedure and they are ‘Identification’, and Interviews. The good news is that these are the last two chapters from E and P this year.

Let us start with ‘Offences and Powers relating to Information’. This chapter contains a lot of good areas to test by your examiners. The Freedom of Information Act has hardly been out of the headlines since it received Royal Assent, which makes it a good area to test because it could well have been in the mind of the examiners when they met to discuss topics to set in the exam. However there is very little in the text in Blackstone’s that stands out as an easy area to write questions about. It might be a good idea to have a look at the key areas highlighted but I would not worry too much about the rest of this section.

The next section ‘Unauthorised Access to Computer Materials’ lends itself very well to being questioned in your exam. The example in the keynote about logging on demonstrates just how flexible this piece of law is, and therefore how easy it is to find an area to test. This is one of those topics where it might pay dividends to spend a little time making a list of circumstances that would trigger this offence. Once you have done that you will have a good idea of the sort of correct options to look out for if this topic is tested.

There are a number of offences relating to the use of computers that follow and they are all good areas to test. It is important to get a good understanding of the terms defined in Para 4.12.2.2. They will help you to understand the sections that follow.

The Data Protection Act does not lend itself naturally to being tested, so if I were you I would focus my attention on the sections that follow. RIPA is a really good area to test, it is full of different authority levels and definitions. The first one of real interest is the authority for a CHIS because in an urgent situation the authority level drops down to the rank you are studying to become. This is another one of those authorities where your force may have a policy that does not agree with the law. Remember that you are being tested on the contents of Blackstone’s, so do not fall into the old trap about what your force policy says.

Your authority only lasts for 72 hours, so there are two good questions straight away. It is worth noting here that the same rules apply to the authorisation of Directed Surveillance, but it DOES NOT apply to Intrusive Surveillance.

The section on Unlawful Interception of Private Communications is a good area to test, and I can see a question about a head of security listening to someone’s telephone calls on the internal work telephone system, in order to clear up an outstanding crime.

The section on Unauthorised Disclosures covers almost every eventuality, so spend a little time working up some scenarios to put them all into a place where you can remember them. Lastly in this chapter, the section on Communications data is full of lots of reasons to allow police to do certain things, a lot of the items that appear on the list pop up regularly through out RIPA, and so this is a good area where a matrix of the different reasons would pay dividends. Make one axis the list of reasons and the other axis is for the sections to which this applies. It may well prove to be time well spent because those reasons crop up all through RIPA and that exercise will help you put them into a place where you can recall them in your exam.

The second chapter is a vital one for you in this years syllabus. There are many methods of identification and they are easy to test. Most of them are the domain of the Inspector. If you have not recently been involved in an identification process ask your local friendly Inspector if they would be happy for you to sit in with them while they carry one out. Read up on the law for that procedure before you go and then see how it works in practice. Most forces use a proforma which should be legally correct and will have been checked out by the force solicitors so that could also be you prompt card while you are studying. You will need to know when to hold an identification procedure, and that is a good area to test, because all that follows falls out of that.

There is a section on taking of fingerprints after conviction, is a good area to know. It contains ages, and conditions which makes it great for the good question writer. This is one of those chapters that impacts on the Inspector role so much it would benefit you to make that list of Inspectors powers, or if you already have one, add to it, the powers from this chapter that are dependent on the Inspectors authority.

There is so much in this chapter that you need to know, my advice is to take some time on this one, and really get to know it well.

The chapter on Interviews contains a lot of basic things such as when to caution, but it also contains a lot of good study areas. We have already looked at Special Warnings some weeks ago, but as part of your revision it might be a good idea to re-visit it, it is an easy area to test, and as such, good knowledge is important. I think the section on law relating to Scotland is unlikely to come up. There is an issue of fairness here, because those of you that work in the north of England, on or close to the England/Scotland border, are far more likely to become involved in this than those of you from Surrey, Sussex or Devon and Cornwall. As the examiners try to be sure the exam is fair for all I think that make this an unlikely topic to test.


Top Tip.

You have just over a month away from your exam and now is the time to use every spare second to revise. I know it is different today from how it was in my day, but the year I passed I took all my books out on patrol with me and instead of watching the world go by sitting in the patrol car I read and re-read. Use any time you get, don’t read the newspaper, read question and answer books, don’t let up, you are so close, if you get this right you will never have to study Blackstone’s again. Now there is a thought!

You have given yourself a good chance to pass this exam as long as you stick to your study plan. There is still a lot of material to get through and as of today there now 30 days to go. As that figure drops, time will continue to move really quickly, and as you get closer will seem to move quicker.

If it helps I will be running more of our successful weekend Crammer Courses just south of London in Surrey in the weekends just before the exam you can book yourself on one by going to www.executiveguidance.co.uk and visiting our shop. Dates are now published in the events section in the same web-site. Don’t forget too there is a blog on the web-site for you to put tips for study on, or just to chat. No-one has taken advantage of it yet, but it would be great if we could get it up and running, please feel free to join in. I would love it to become the support structure for you.

However I am writing this feature very early this week because on Wednesday morning along with 750 others I will be getting out my cycle and set off to ride from London to Paris. This is the 7th time I have done this, and this year we hope to raise in excess of £1 million for an amazing charity called Action Medical Research. We are riding on five different routes meeting up on Saturday at about 3pm when we will ride down the Champs-Elysees together, an amazing experience, and one I am really looking forward to.

Please remember that I do not have any inside track as to the content of your exam, I can only give you pointers. The only sure fire way to pass is to know all four books really well. Hopefully at the end of this programme of learning that is what you will have done. Keep at it, it is worth it when the results are published and your name is on that list of those who passed.

Finally if you are having a problem visit my OSPRE Part 1 forum on www.policeoracle.com and if I can help you I will. That makes the assumption a knowledgeable officer reading the forum does not get there ahead of me.  Good luck with this weeks study and keep at it, the rewards are well worth it.

The Trainer