Chapter Four The Actions of the Police and the Courts as Causal in Relation to Crime

It is not uncommon for discussion of the workings of the police and the courts to take place around the issue of whether guilty persons escape punishment because of the requirement that guilt must be proved beyond reasonable doubt; or whether the guilty who succeed in appeals against sentences on technical grounds should escape; or whether the court of criminal appeal should have the power to order a retrial; or whether the police or some other body should have greater powers of interrogation. In this, the actions of the courts or the limitations of the police are clearly seen as causal in reducing crime and the number of criminals. The tenor of the discussion is that this is a ‘bad’ thing.