New Scotland Yard, London 

Policing

Policing in England and Wales operates under specific legal powers set out in statute and common law. These powers are limited, conditional, and subject to oversight. Police actions must be justified by lawful authority, exercised for a proper purpose, and applied proportionately.

This section explains how police powers are intended to work in law, how they are exercised in practice, and how policing decisions interact with other public systems such as mental health services, social care, and the courts. It examines not only legal authority, but the operational conditions under which decisions are made.

Articles in this section also explore how workload, abstraction, system design, and operational pressure shape police decision-making, risk assessment, and the use of discretion, and why these factors matter for accountability, fairness, and public trust.

Where appropriate, the section considers how errors arise, how oversight and complaints systems respond, and how system pressure can affect outcomes even when formal procedures are followed.

Articles here are written as explainers or investigations. They do not provide legal advice and do not comment on individual cases or live proceedings.