English and Card’s (2006) Police Law reviews the general principles underpinning the police as well as the specific nature of police legal powers in relation to the treatment of suspects, traffic, drinking and drug-taking, public order and myriad other criminal matters.

Many of the particular powers reviewed in this chapter are subject to extended discussion in Jason-Lloyd’s (2005) An Introduction to Policing and Police Powers. Zander’s (2005) Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 is in it’s fifth edition and provides an authoritative account of the application of PACE.

Loader and Mulcahy (2001a, 2001b) argue that police power needs to be under­stood in broader terms, deriving not only from the law but also from the institu­tional, political, social and cultural position of the service in general and senior officers in particular. The development of the Association of Chief Police Officers as a corporate voice for the police service, they argue, has greatly extended the power of senior officers to define crime problems and identify the most appropriate solutions to them.

The codes of practice that provide detailed guidance on police powers can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/police-and-criminal-evidence-act-1984-pace-codes-of-practice

Ten years after the introduction of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, the Home Office instigated a review of the impact of the legislation on police practice. A summary of the results of the review can be found at http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110222095814/http://rds.home...

The Police and Criminal Evidence Act regulates the treatment of suspects in police custody. Skinns’ article explored potential changes to the detention period and considered how they might compare to periods before the Act was introduced: Skinns, L. (2010) ‘Stop the Clock? Predictors of Detention without Charge in Police Custody Areas’, Criminology and Criminal Justice, 10: 303–20.

In two companion pieces, Loader and Mulcahy encouraged a conceptualisation of police powers that recognises that they have considerable influence that is only partially based on the legal status and powers of the office of constable. The political, social and ideological power of the police is explored through both articles: Loader, I. and Mulcahy, A. (2001a) ‘The Power of Legitimate Naming: Part I Chief Constables as Social Commentators in Post-War England’, British Journal of Criminology, 41: 41–55; Loader, I. and Mulcahy, A. (2001b) ‘The Power of Legitimate Naming: Part II Making Sense of the Elite Police Voice’, British Journal of Criminology, 41: 22–65.

Bowling and Philips provide a critical review of police stop and search practices, an aspect of powers that are among the most controversial aspects of contempo­rary police work: Bowling, B. and Phillips, C. (2007) ‘Disproportionate and Discriminatory: Reviewing the Evidence on Police Stop and Search’, Modern Law Review, 70: 236–961.