Inadequate local enforcement

Local enforcement of laws is a complex and difficult set of interactions between law enforcement agencies, including the police, judicial systems and legislative systems; the general public and the criminal. Detection of crime is, for the most part, the responsibility of the victim and the general public. The police are not present when crimes are committed. Traffic offenses are one exception. The discovery and apprehension of the criminal depends on how long and how hard the police will search for an offender which in turn depends upon the chances of finding him, the gravity of crime, the speed with which the police arrive at the scene of the crime, the ability of the victim to identify the criminal, and the willingness of the public to provide information. The ability of the police to recover the criminal's benefit depends on the type of crime, i.e. impossible in the case of violent crimes; and in the case of crimes against property whether or not it is damaged. Deterrence of crime depends on a number of factors; many of which are beyond the scope of the police and include: allocation of police resources, level of budgetary resources, which neighbourhoods are more closely patrolled, which crimes are more rigorously investigated, the balance in allocating resources between detection of crimes and apprehension of criminals, and the balance in allocating resources between manpower, vehicles and communications.