Practical obstacles to efficient criminal law enforcement

With numerous examples (mostly from Europe), this chapter describes the character of law enforcement failures along the criminal justice value chain—from inadequate law formulation and crime definitions to obstacles in investigation and prosecution, and eventually, criminal law sentencing and further consequences of sanctions. Enforcement challenges can be the result of inadequate organization, insufficient resources, a lack of competence, and a lack of authority. In some settings, however, the problems are the result of corruption within the judiciary itself, a problem to which no country is immune. Self-seeking tendencies (or clear-cut corruption) among elected politicians is another problem impeding law enforcement. This chapter explains how such problems come to light when they occur.