LAW

The most famous police station in Britain is New Scotland Yard in London, but there are police stations all over the country.

For most people the police are the face of the law. They can arrest people in the street, but they also give information.
We visited a new police station in Lewisham, an area in south-east London. This is the custody room of the police station. A suspected criminal is being charged with a crime. He must hand over everything he's carrying or has got in his pockets.
Next they take fingerprints to check the person's identity. This machine scans fingerprints electronically and compares them with the national police database. They also take mouth swabas for analysis of DNA.
Next day he went to court. Here three magistrates listen to evidence from the police and witnesses. They then decide if the person is guilty or not guilty.
The evidence that the police collect form a crime scene is analysed in laboratories like this. The people who work here are called forensic scientists. They can examine and analyse material form the crime scene to find out exactly what happened. Fingerprints are a good way of identifying people but DNA is more reliable. The police are the most obvious part of the law in Britain. Their job is to make sure that people don't break the law and to catch them when they do.