IDENTIFYING THE PRISONER
SIR,—Mr. Mursell's questions are answered seriatim:
1. The law certainly forbids identification parades as these constitute a breach of the principle that the prisoner shall not be required to incriminate him- self, as he must do if he is put up for identification. Such parades are not provided for by any statute.
2. These parades are superfluous as they are not evidence in the case and so cannot be mentioned'in court. After the prisoner has been arrested the evi- dence of arrest must be complete. Neither the prosecution nor the defence are in a different position after the parade is over.
3. For the police to invent new law for their own purposes is obviously a 'mistake in law.' The en- suing action against the police would be in tort— that is, for assault, trespass and probably other torts arising out of the error.
4. If an arrested person is put on an identifica- tion parade and thus assaulted, etc., in defiance of his legal rights he is Obviously being tampered with.
5. The police are expected to know the law and act within it and their obligations in this respect must transcend those of the public at large.
These answers would seem to cover all that Mr. Mursell has asked.—Yours faithfully,
G. W. R. 'THOMSON
13 Kings Hall Road, Beckenham, Kent
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