• Generating More Heat than Light? Debates on Civil Liberties in the UK

      Moran, Jonathan (Oxford University Press, 2007)
      This article deals with the debate over civil liberties in the United Kingdom, particularly the argument that civil liberties have been unreasonably restricted in the UK as part of the state's counter-terrorist policy. Arguments that the UK is facing an unprecedented threat to its civil liberties are examined, as are counter-arguments, including the idea that defenders of civil liberties display an excessive pessimism. The article argues that civil liberties have been constrained, but a focus on counter-terrorism shows the situation is not as bad as critics think. The main threat to civil liberties may come from outside the field of counter-terrorist operations and lies in some developments in normal criminal investigation and public order but more importantly, the processes and practices of the public and private sector (particularly surveillance) as part of what is termed the ‘risk society.’
    • Policing public order and political contention

      Waddington, P. A. J. (Cullompton: Willan Publishing, 2003)
      This is one of the most ambitious books on policing ever written. It aims to provide a comprehensive but highly readable overview of policing in the UK, reflecting the transformations that have taken place in recent years and the increasing professionalisation of one of the country's most important services. It will be an essential text for anybody involved in the study of policing as a subject in its own right or as part of a broader criminal justice or criminology course, and a key source of reference for the police themselves -- it is by far the most comprehensive and authoritative book to have been written on the subject, combining the expertise of leading academic experts on policing and policing practitioners themselves. It will become an essential point of reference at a time of rapid change for the police, and constant debate about their role and function. (Willan)