Law Enforcement

All societies have rules, or laws, to help them keep order and to protect people. The law is a complex system with many different branches including civil and criminal matters. The police enforce the law. They don't make laws - that is the job of Parliament. Neither is it the responsibility of the police to punish offenders - that is up to the courts. Once a person is arrested and charged, the Crown Prosecution Service decides whether they should be taken to court and prosecuted.

If the crime is a minor offence, it may result in a caution rather than a prosecution. If someone is accused of a serious crime, they have the right to be tried in front of a jury. The jury, made up of twelve men and women, decide whether the accused person is innocent or guilty. A judge presides over the court. It is the judge's job to help the jury understand how the law applies to the case and to decide the sentence if the accused is found guilty.

Powers of Arrest

Although it is possible for members of the public to carry out a citizen's arrest, the law governing powers of arrest is quite detailed. The police have special legal training to support their powers of arrest.

Regular officers and special constables can:

• Arrest a person who is about to commit an arrestable offence
• Arrest a person if there are reasonable grounds to suspect they are about to commit an arrestable offence

An arrestable offence is an offence for which there is a sentence fixed by law, and for which a person of 21 years of age or more may be sentenced to imprisonment.

For example such offences may be against the Official Secrets Act, Customs and Excise, Law, Football Offences and so on.

Magistrates

There are two kinds of magistrate:

Stipendiary Magistrates who are trained lawyers and are paid for their work

and...

Justices of the Peace (JPs), who are local people working voluntarily.

All magistrates are appointed by the Lord Chancellor. JPs sit on the bench usually in panels of three and hear cases relating to two types of criminal offence:

• Summary offences such as motoring offences
• Disturbances of the peace and cases of vandalism.
  These can be tried in a Magistrates Court. If the crime carries a penalty of more than three months in prison, the accused can ask for trial by jury in a Crown Court, for instance, indictable offences such as theft or assault. These are usually transferred from the Magistrates Court to the Crown Court.

Magistrates also carry out committal proceedings. These take place when somebody accused of an indictable offence chooses trial by jury in a Crown Court. The magistrates investigate whether the prosecution has sufficient evidence for a trial.

Sentances

When somebody is found guilty of an offence, they will usually be sentenced. This might involve a fine or a period of imprisonment. Alternatively, one of the following sentences could be imposed:

• Absolute discharge - the accused is found guilty but not punished. This usually suggests the charge was not necessary.
• Conditional discharge - if the defendant appears in court again within a set period of time, they may be sentenced for their first offence as well as the second one.
• Community service order - the defendant performs unpaid community work for a number of hours.
• Suspended sentence - a sentence will only be served if the convicted person commits another offence during a set period of time.
• Deferred sentence - courts can defer a sentence for up to six months. This gives the defendant a chance to turn over a new leaf, after which the sentence may be more lenient.
• Binding over - if the defendant commits another offence within a set period of time, they pay a sum of money to the court.

Capital Punishment

Capital punishment was abolished in the United Kingdom in 1969. The last two people to be hanged in this country were Peter Allen and John Walby, who were convicted of murdering Alan West at Workington. Both men were hanged at exactly the same time on 13 August, 1964.

Near the junction of Marble Arch and Edgeware Road in London is the site of the Tyburn Tree scaffold. It stood there for two hundred years before it was demolished in 1783. It is thought that more than 50,000 people were hanged there.

The last public hanging in England took place in 1868 outside Newgate Prison. Michael Barratt was hanged for exploding a bomb outside Clerkenwell Jail which killed twelve people. His politically motivated crime contributed to the founding of the Special Branch.

Police Authorities

Regions across the country have their own independent Police Authorities. Made up of local councillors, residents and magistrates, the Authority is responsible for ensuring the local constabulary provides an efficient, effective police service.

The Police Authority provides budgets for the constabulary. Funding for this comes from a variety of sources including Council Tax and government grants. The Police Authority also helps to draw up Annual Policing Plans. These set out the priorities and objectives for the year against which the constabulary can measure their performance.

One of the most important roles of the Police Authority is to consult with local people and represent their views on policing. Consultative committees hold regular meetings which are open to the public.

Macpherson Inquiry

The death of Stephen Lawrence Racism has long been an issue under the spotlight, particularly since the tragic death of London teenager Stephen Lawrence on April 22nd 1993. It is widely accepted that Stephen died as a result of an horrific racist attack. This was followed by a high profile public inquiry that resulted in a turning point in police race relations. The original police investigation into Stephens death identified five suspects but did not result in a prosecution. The Lawrence family started a tireless campaign to seek justice. Often frustrated and disappointed by the treatment they received, they launched a private prosecution against the three prime suspects in the case.

This prosecution failed but the outcome brought widespread media coverage and resulted in a public outcry of support for the Lawrence family. Under the present laws of the country, the three prime suspects can never be tried for the crime again. Two others, who were discharged early in the prosecution, cannot be tried on existing evidence because of the publicity and public comment surrounding the case.

At the inquest into Stephens death in 1997, the jury returned a unanimous verdict that "Stephen Lawrence was unlawfully killed in a completely racist attack by five white youths." The Lawrence family made a formal complaint about the way the original inquiry by the Metropolitan Police had been handled. The Police Complaints Authority (PCA) asked Kent Police to investigate the complaint and a team of 19 officers spent a year looking at the case. The PCAs conclusion included criticism of many aspects of the Metropolitan Police investigation.

A public inquiry (and subsequent murder investigation by the Metropolitan Police) began in July 1997, headed by Sir William MacPherson. It was asked: "To inquire into the matters arising from the death of Stephen Lawrence to identify the lessons to be learned for the investigation and prosecution of racially-motivated offences."

The MacPherson Inquiry published its report on February 24th, 1999. Its findings criticised both the Metropolitan Police and the police service nationally. 70 recommendations were made under 12 headings:

• Openness, Accountability and the Restoration of Confidence
• Definition of a Racist Incident
• Reporting and Recording of Racist Incidents and Crimes
• Police, Practice and the Investigation of Racist Crime
• Family Liaison
• Victims and WitnessesVictims and Witnesses
• Prosecution of Racist Crimes
• Training ­ First Aid/Racism Awareness and Valuing Cultural Diversity
• Employment, Discipline and Complaints
• Stop and Search
• Recruitment and Retention
• Prevention and the Role of Education

The police response to the MacPherson Report

The police service promised urgent action to tackle the key areas of concern. Police chiefs issued a statement making a commitment to improvement. They acknowledged that public confidence in the police had been shaken by racism and that the integrity of the police service was being questioned. "Racism can be intentional, unconscious or unintentional. The bigotry of intentional racism has absolutely no place in the police service. It is evil and has to be rooted out. Unconscious and unintentional racism is also unacceptable, but clearly needs to be dealt with differently by means of education, training, positive management and clear leadership.

"We need to look at our policies and procedures, as well as the behaviour of individual staff as part of the process. But we must make sure we support the overwhelming number of staff in the police service who are not racist."

"Every day police officers all over the country show courage and dedication in what are very often dangerous and challenging circumstances. They are committed to delivering a quality service to the public as a whole and their morale and commitment will be threatened if they are constantly in fear of being stereotyped as racist."

"Racism is an issue for society as a whole. Police forces have 200,000 staff, all with roots in a wider society that is, itself, often racist. Society must work together to find a solution. The public sector will be critical to this process and the police service will play an important part in the work."

"The police service is not complacent. Our aim is to renew and enhance public confidence in the police and strengthen our links with society as a whole. The task will be challenging, but no-one should be in any doubt about our determination to succeed."