This weeks Topics

Crime Chapter 16 -

Offences Against the Administration of Justice

Crime Chapter 17 -

Offences Arising from Immigration, Asylum and People Exploitation

Welcome to what has been billed as the last formal session in our study guide, all done and dusted; well not quite. Just after I published the study guide for this round, the republished Blackstone’s arrived in the bookshops and there had been a major re-write which threw it all out.

So next week I will pick up on some of the ‘new’ chapters that I missed on the study guide.

So this week there are two chapters and they are the last two chapters in the Crime book. The first of which is Chapter 16 Offences Against the Administration of Justice. This contains a number of offences all of which have been tested in this exam over the years. Starting with Perjury - the key issue here is that the statement must be made on oath, even if it is not made before the tribunal it was intended for, and the false statement must have been made wilfully, not by accident.

To steal a line from a well known advert the Aid and Abet, False Statements, and Perverting the Course of Justice offences all do ‘exactly what is says on the tin’ For me that suggests they are not likely to be tested in your exam. Give them a read but move on.

The two areas I would take time on and really understand are the Assisting Escape offence, and the Wasting Police time offence. The Assisting Escape offence is a really good one for a good question writer. There are so many options taking things in to prison, and so on, but it has to be done with a view to helping a prisoner escape or attempt to escape from a prison. Do not get confused with someone escaping from the journey to or from a prison, that does not count!

The Wasting Police Time offence is one that has to be committed ‘knowingly’ but it must be done to cause apprehension for the safety of a person or property, or tending to show he has information material to a police inquiry.

The second chapter this week is highly topical, and was when your exam was written so give it a good amount of study time. There are a number of options for the Illegal Entry offence, take a look at each, and then see what circumstances you can think of that will fit the law. That way it will stay in your mind fresh should you get questioned about it.

Take some time to have a good look at the Trafficking People for Exploitation offence. This is a very topical area, but although there are three separate areas in the offence, they are very easy to recall, one is entry to the United Kingdom, one is travel within the United Kingdom, and surprisingly enough the third is departure from the United Kingdom.

The only other thing I would look in this chapter is The Gangmasters Licensing law. Don’t give it too much attention, but have a look, it was topical a year or so ago, so it might pop up again.

Top Tip

The study guide has now really run its course, and although I have promised to pick up the bits I have missed, please do not feel you have broken the back of this study and relax. This is the time to re-double your efforts, and work even harder than you have up to now.

Please remember that I do not have any inside track as to the content of your exam, I can only give you pointers. The only sure fire way to pass is to know all four books really well. Hopefully at the end of this programme of learning that is what you will have done. Keep at it, it is worth it when the results are published and your name is on that list.

Finally, keep on keeping on, so far you have invested 23 weeks into your studies, and there are now only 24 days to go to your exam and believe me that will pass really quickly. However when the results are published and your investment pays off it makes all the hard work worthwhile.

If you are having a problem visit my OSPRE Part 1 forum on www.policeoracle.com and if I can help you I will.  You can also e-mail me on osprepartone@executiveguidance.co.uk or use the Contact Me page on that website.

This week’s quote is by Pope John XXIII

Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do.

So now is the time to push on and achieve your hopes and dreams. Go on, go for it.

Phil Waters

The Trainer