IDENTIFYING THE PRISONER
SIR,--Identification parades are not sanctioned or even contemplated by the law and are the outcome of a private police practice. In any event an identi- fication parade is completely superfluous and cannot put the police in a better position than they were before. Identification parades are unlawful per se and should cease forthwith. Arrest and charge are con- temporaneous for all purposes of criminal law. A person who, after arrest or apprehension, is put up for identification, even with his own consent, has the full right to claim and, after action taken, receive damages in respect of the mistake in law made by the Crown. Once a person has been apprehended he must not be tampered with by the police. As to the Home Office letter quoted in your issue of September 6 (page 299), this must be a monstrous effusion. As identification parades arc unlawful per se it is ridicu- lous to suppose that they can ever be fair, or even un- fair if it comes to that. That the Home Office should issue directives in relation to unlawful practices by the police is not only startling but shocking. The police are more than obligated to adhere to procedure in criminal cases which is laid down by statute—in- deed from the standpoint of criminal justice the pro- cedure is more important than the theory.—Yours faithfully,
G. W. R. THORNTON
13 King's Hall Road, Beckenham, Kent
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