ENFORCING THE LAW

Government has many ways of making sure that citizens obey the law. It makes the public aware of what the law is and tries to encourage social support for law and order. It uses police forces to investigate crimes and catch criminals. It is the government that authorizes courts to complete the investigation of criminal and civil offences and to pass sentences to punish the guilty and deter others. And it makes efforts to re-educate and reform people who have broken the law.

The laws of all countries are to be found in written records – the legal codes of countries with continental systems, the statutes and case judgments of common law countries, warnings on official forms, and notices in public buildings. Many people do not find it easy to read them. But ignorance of the law is almost never a defense for breaking it. Governments usually expect citizens to be aware of the laws which affect their lives. Sometimes this seems very harsh when a law is very technical. For example, if a shopkeeper in England sold books on Sunday, he was prosecuted for that, although he was allowed to sell magazines.

However, there are many laws, such as those prohibiting theft, assault and dangerous driving, which simply reflect social and moral attitudes to everyday behavior. In such cases a person knows he is breaking the law, even if he doesn’t know exactly which law it is.

The police have many functions in the legal process. Though they are mainly concerned with criminal law, they may also be used to enforce judgments made in civil courts. As well as gathering information for offences to be prosecuted in the court, the police have wide powers to arrest, search and question people suspected of crimes and to control the actions of members of the public during demonstrations and assemblies. In some countries, the police have judicial functions; for example, they make a decision as to guilt in a driving offense and impose a fine, without the involvement of a court. In Britain, should someone be found in possession of marijuana, the police will confiscate it and issue a formal warning rather than refer the matter to a court.

The mere presence of the police is a factor in deterring people from committing offences. In Japan, you are rarely more than a ten-minute walk from a small police station. The city of Tokyo has more policemen than the city of New York. If the number of policemen in New York were the same, that would be the reason for a less crime rate there. Comparing the crime figures of different countries is a complex matter. It is necessary to consider not only how many crimes are committed, but how many are detected and recorded. The type of crime is another important factor. Britain has more reported crime in general than Japan but about the same number of murders. Rich countries tend to have more car thefts than poor ones.

A just legal system needs an independent, honest police force. In countries where the public trusts the police force, people are more likely to report crimes, and it seems that they are also more likely to be law-abiding. Because of their wide powers it would not be difficult for corrupt police forces to falsify evidence against a suspect, to mistreat someone they have arrested, or to accept bribes in return for overlooking offences.

Legal systems usually have codes of conduct for the police, limiting the time and the methods which they can use to question suspects and guaranteeing the suspects access to independent lawyers. In Britain, however, the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, and especially the Prevention of Terrorism Act, give the police some powers to delay access to lawyers. The Police Complaints Authority¹ was set up in 1984 to supervise the investigation of allegations of police misconduct.

In some countries, police officers are usually armed, whereas in others they only carry guns when engaged in certain kinds of work. Governments may also make use of the army to enforce the law, but it is only done on a regular basis when there is political dissatisfaction with the government, or a threat from a well-armed minority.

Note:

¹the Police Complaints Authority – управление полиции по рассмотрению жалоб

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