ABSTRACT
In the field of crime and penal policy, three types of event seemingly dwarf all others in their impact on the ‘public’: prison escapes, appalling murders and riotous assemblies, all of which presage or portend the breakdown of, or limits to, civil peace. Though the terms of reference of this history are confined to developments in criminal justice policy in England and Wales, they can be conveyed at all fully only if account is taken of the impact of the ‘troubles’ in Northern Ireland over the period. The police conducted an internal inquiry into the allegations of ill treatment and found no basis for police misconduct. Some aspects of police work are inherently resistant to monitoring and reform, not least as a consequence of the high levels of discretion and the low level of visibility that characterises much police activity, especially by the least senior in the organization.
