A British police officer is subject to the law and may be sued orprosecuted for any wrongful act committed in carrying out duties.Police discipline codes are designed to prevent any abuse of theconsiderable powers enjoyed by a police officer, lo ensure theimpartiality of the service in its dealings with the public and to maintainpublic confidence. Statutory procedures, including an independentelement, govern the way in which complaints from the public againstthe police are handled. The establishment in 1985 of the independentPolice Complaints Authority, with powers to supervise the investigationof any serious complaint against a police officer, substantiallyreformed the complaints system in England and Wales. In Scotlandcomplaints against police officers involving allegations of any form ofcriminal conduct are investigated by independent public prosecutors.In Northern Ireland the Independent Commission for PoliceComplaints is required to supervise any case involving death or seriousinjury and has the power to supervise the formal investigation of anyother complaint if it so wishes; in certain circumstances the Secretaryof State may direct the Commission to supervise the investigation ofmatters that are not the subject of a formal complaint.Police work ranges from the protection of people and property,road or street patrolling (the trend is increasingly away from the carpatrol and back to 'community' policing on foot) and traffic control tocrime prevention, criminal investigation and arresting offenders. Inurban areas, particularly, police officers have to deal with socialMost forces have community liaison departments to co-ordinatetheir efforts to produce good relations with the community. ThePolice and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 requires arrangements to bemade for obtaining the views of people in the area about the policing ofit and for obtaini
