Composition of the Judiciary

Category	Men	Women	Ethnic
			minorities
Law Lords	12	0	0
Appeal Court judges	31	1	0
High Court judges	97	7	0
Circuit judges	512	30	5

The Conservative government's Lord Chancellor from 1987 to 1997, Lord Mackay, was remarkable for two reasons. He was the son of a railwayman, educated within the state system. As a Scottish advocate, his whole professional career had been outside the English Bar. His appointment caused a considerable stir. Disturbed by the narrowness of intake into the judiciary, he introduced advertising and modern selection methods in 1994 in order to encourage a wider range of barristers into applying for the judiciary. However, he probably recognised it would take a long time to transform the elitist character of the judiciary.

In 1988, Labour advertised for the very first time for the job of High Court judge, with the words 'the Lord Chancellor will recommend those who appear to him to be best qualified regardless of ethnic origin, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, political affiliation, religion or (subject to the physical requirements of the office) disability'. But an applicant was required to have been a circuit judge for at least two years and a barrister for 10 years. It is therefore bound to mean that women and ethnic minority groups will remain severely underrepresented in the senior ranks of the judiciary for many years to come.

The legal system of Scotland

The Scottish legal system is similar to the English one, but is more influenced by Roman law, like other systems in Europe. Its main courts are the Sheriffs' Courts (like Crown Courts) for civil and criminal cases and the Court of Session for civil cases. The Court of Session is divided into an Outer House (a court of first instance) and the Inner House (a court of appeal). The Inner House has two divisions of four judges respectively, one under the direction of the Lord President, and the other under the Lord justice Clerk. Less serious criminal cases are tried in the Sheriff's Courts (like Crown Courts) and District Courts, but more serious ones go to the High Court of justiciary. Juries in Scotland are made up of 15 rather than 12 citizens. Minor offences are dealt with in District Courts (the equivalent of Magistrates' Courts). The senior law officer in the High Court of justiciary and in all Scotland is the Lord justice General, and the Lord Justice Clerk is second in rank.

In Scotland, the Lord Advocate is responsible for all prosecutions, a much older arrangement than England's Crown Prosecution Service. The work is carried out on his behalf by his deputy, the Solicitor General for Scotland, and by local officials, known as 'procurators fiscal'. The Secretary of State for Scotland, always a Scottish MP, but usually also one who is a lawyer by profession, is responsible for the appointment of most judges.

The police

In early 1990 a major feature article in one of Britain's leading papers was entitled, 'What's gone wrong with the police?' It referred to the frequency of scandals during the 1980s involving the police. These scandals concerned the excessive use of violence to maintain public order (urban riots in 1981, the miners' strike in 1984-85, the anti-poll tax riots in 1990); violence in the questioning of suspects (particularly, but not exclusively, in connection with Northern Ireland); the fabrication of evidence and the extortion of forced confessions (the 'Guildford Four' and the

'Birmingham Six' (see p. 55); and corrupt practices, for example the falsification of records concerning the successful solution to crimes. It also commented on the severe loss of morale among the police, and the high number of police who resign from the force on account of stress.

Certainly until the 1960s, the British police force. was a source of pride. Unlike police in almost every other country, the British police officer enjoyed a trusted, respected and friendly relationship with the public. The 'bobbies on the beat' made it their business to learn about their neighbourhood. In return, the public placed a high level of trust in their integrity. This was probably a rosy, idealised view of the police, but it was a genuine source of pride that almost alone in the police world, the British bobby was unarmed. As Ralf Dahrendorf says, 'It is hard to exaggerate the significance of the fact that the British police did not, and very largely do not, carry weapons.' The British police are probably still among the finest in the world, but clearly there are serious and growing problems. A survey commissioned by three authoritative police associations at the end of the 1980s reported that one in five people believed the police used unnecessary force on arrest, falsified statements, planted evidence and used violence in police stations. It also reported that only 43 per cent of white people interviewed and only 29 per cent of blacks believed the police treated all people fairly. In such circumstances there is clearly a critical need to rebuild public confidence. But what should be done? The problem is partly structural. In 1997 there were 52 separate police forces operating in different parts of the country. There is a debate here between the demands of efficiency and of local democratic control. In practice there is a high degree of coordination between police forces, particularly with the increasing use of the Police National Computer which can rapidly provide every police officer in communication with his own police station details on anyone with a previous criminal record or, for example, the details of the owner of any vehicle he or she might see in the street. Coordination also occurs at the highest level through the Association of Chief Police Officers.

Each force is answerable to a local police authority, whose composition is traditionally one-third magistrates and two-thirds local councillors. Police authorities have limited powers. They can appoint the chief officer (the Chief Constable), subject to Home Office approval, and they may ask questions and advise concerning police work. In 1995 the Home Secretary reduced the largely elected character of these authorities by appointing people to serve in them. Labour indicated it might legislate to ensure that every member was elected rather than selected, and to increase the powers of the police authority. It is not difficult to sense growing politicisation around who controls the police. In the case of London's Metropolitan Police (the 'Met'), the authority is the Home Secretary himself. In practice the Home Office has greater direct influence on each police force than the local police authority has.

Each Chief Constable is responsible for all operational and administrative decisions. The police authority cannot give direct instructions on such matters, nor can the Home Secretary (except in the cases of London and Northern Ireland). In 1966 a judge ruled that a Chief Constable, like any police officer, cannot be told which particular laws to enforce or refrain from enforcing. Traditionally Chief Constables have disliked local attempts to control even more than those of central government. The result is that except in the case of police violation of the law, or a case of gross negligence, it is extremely difficult for elected representatives at the local level to exercise direct control. In the 1984-85 miners' strike, for example, the local police authorities were powerless to moderate the aggressive tactics adopted by the police to defeat the miners.

Until 1987 the police investigated alleged police malpractice themselves. Although a Police Complaints Authority now exists, it does not command great confidence. In 1992, for example;

it received 19,289 complaints of which it considered 9,200. However, only 904 cases, less than 10 per cent of those considered actually resulted in disciplinary proceedings, and only 97 in criminal charges. Many people believe that police malfeasance is much more widespread than these statistics would suggest.

Until 1984 no British citizen had any formal protection against police intimidation except customary ones, the right to silence and the right to see a solicitor. The right to silence was removed in Northern Ireland in 1988, and in Britain in 1993. Since 1984 there have been statutory codes of practice to be followed in the arrest and questioning of suspects, including the requirement to tape-record (for court use) all interrogations. This should improve things but it should be remembered, in the words of one ex-policeman, that 'Cells and detention rooms are known as places where officers can free themselves from legal and formal organisational rules.'

In an age of increasing popular violence and disrespect for law and order, the great challenge for the police is to recapture the respect of the public. Frustrating as this may be for the police, the challenge is to show greater restraint rather than aggression under provocation. It is also to shift the emphasis back from the more exciting image of armed or armoured law enforcement to a softer image of policing in the form of the friendly but firm neighbourhood bobby. In the longer run, the way the public feel about the police is of fundamental importance to police ability to control crime and maintain public order. Unfortunately, neighbourhood policing has far lower status than crime control.

As the challenges of modern society became more complex, the response of the Conservative government was to give the police more manpower and more money. Between 1979 and 1992 expenditure on the criminal justice system (police, courts and prisons) doubled in real terms to Ј9,000 million, of which the police spent Ј5,400 million. However, there is no indication these extra resources had any effect at all on recorded offences which rose from 1.6 million in 1971 to 2.5 million in 1980 to 5 million in 1995 in England and Wales. In other words, the steepest increase in crime coincided with the greatest increase in crime prevention expenditure. Even these statistics, however, are probably only a fraction of the real crime figure. Furthermore, the failure of increased spending on crime prevention to affect crime figures suggests the answer to crime must lie elsewhere.