... the police officers involved in the case. Studies by Cain (1973) into how the police exercise their discretion show a wide variety of circumstances that can affect the decision to arrest. For example, the officer may feel that Mark's offence is relatively minor. He may be at the end of the shift and does not want to be delayed by paperwork or the extra workload. Conversely, the officer may make an arrest as it is a cold and wet night and he would like to return to the comfort of the police station. (Cain 1973 cited in Davis et al 1996: p107) Studies by McConville, Sanders, Lang (1991) identified that the police have informal "working rules" that can influence decision making. Whether a suspect is arrested or charged can be based on several premises. Firstly, if Mark is, known to the police he is more likely to be arrested ...

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