![]() ![]() In due course the law was changed and all police interviews had to be tape recorded or video taped. I remember the talk at the defence bar at the Bailey during the first series of Rumpole: we credited the series with the new willingness of juries to acquit in such cases. It showed how bent or overzealous police could secure convictions by forensic trickery. Rumpole of the Bailey presented a different picture. Juries would believe them, having been led by television fare like Dixon of Dock Green. At least, police would tell this to juries as they read from their concocted notes. Hardened villains, immediately on their arrest, would always say "It's a fair cop, guv" or "You've got me this banged to rights this time" or make other incriminating remarks. It came at a time – the late 70s – when the Vaudeville routine of the police "verbal" was still in vogue. ![]() Rumpole of the Bailey had a particular impact on the reception by juries of police evidence. It is interesting to consider how his insights, expressed in his plays and books, influenced progressive law reform. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |