A new book, Policing and Public Trust – Exposing the Inner Uniform, by Eccy De Jonge, has been published.

The book explores the treatment of victims and complainants by the police. Case studies, based on interviews carried out at the University of Portsmouth’s Institute of Criminal Justice Studies, in the United Kingdom, reveal that victims and complainants are routinely discredited by police agencies.

De Jonge puts the case that due to police bias and covert practices, other members of the criminal justice system, such as prosecutors, coroners, and hospital pathologists (medical examiners) are shown to often corroborate the police’s version of events compromising victims’ rights and the very nature of justice.

Given recent miscarriages of justice and public relation campaigns on behalf of the police, de Jonge argues that never before has a greater openness on the inner workings of the police been needed to fully support the interests of those the criminal justice system is meant to serve.

Whilst it explores the experience of victims of many different types of crime, including rape, and complainants including police officers, there is a particular focus on one of the most common areas of police: road death investigations.

Through a series of case studies, de Jonge explores how families have felt that police investigations are often lacking, and how the justice system has failed to treat them appropriately.

Improved investigations and rights of crash victims are long-standing calls for RoadPeace, and we hope that this book raises the profile of issues which affect crash victims.

The book is available to buy here.

Updated on: 28 January 2021