when i joined in 1988 mate it was the norm. the police and criminal evidence act came into force in 1984 which governed prisoners rights etc, but when i joined the vast majority i worked with were from pre PACE days, these where the guys who showed me the ropes. the attitude was to give them a taste of their own medicine.
like i say earlier in the thread this way worked with some people and they gave up being idiots and behaved themselves. whilst others are not bothered and just carry on regardless.
its a hard one mate, how should they be dealt with? i favour the 'an eye for an eye' approach. let them know how it feels, but sadly some of these people are too dense to even let it affect them