The implications of judicial utterances: an examination of the legal basis of murder investigations (1919-1939)

Murder investigation had been a feature of British policing for centuries but by the inter-war period, the legal justification for its operating practices was being called into question. Police responsibility had previously been restricted to the arrest of suspected offenders and placing them before the courts. Now, political, social and legal attention was being paid to the procedural treatment of arrested people and a partial recognition of a new concept of investigation was beginning to emerge. The law governing this area was unclear and attempts by the courts to informally clarify the position was dismissed as mere judicial utterances. The continuing confusion led the police to adopt inconsistent practices but socio-political opinion argued that there were apparent breaches and circumventions of the existing guidance but which attracted little criticism from the courts. There existed a fundamental disagreement between parliament, the Home Office, the police and the courts about the nature of an investigation. No legislation was introduced to clarify the position. This was caused partly by a lack of understanding of the criminal investigation process and a lack of recognition that the police had developed into a more meaningful investigative body. This position of an unstable and ambiguous legal landscape was exacerbated by legislation which mandated that the primary responsibility for the investigation of murder remained with the historic office of coroner. A duality of process existed where suspected offenders appeared both at an inquest and magistrates’ proceedings. This led to an inefficient police investigative process and one where the integrity of evidence was being compromised. The combined position of an unstable investigative framework, and an outdated attitude towards which body had primacy in murder investigations, created a dysfunctional legal environment which did not allow inter-war police to lawfully and effectively perform its role.