Britain's Legal System England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all have their own legal systems, with minor differences in law, organization and practice. Criminal Justice Law enforcement is carried out by 52 locally based police departments with about 160,000 police officers. The police are normally unarmed and there are strict limits to police powers of arrest and detention. Firearms must be licensed and their possession is regulated. In British criminal trials the accused in presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Trials are in open court and the accused is represented by a lawyer.
Most cases are tried before lay justices sitting without a jury. Actions brought to court are usually tried without a jury. Higher courts deal with more complicated civil cases. Most judgements are for sums of money, and the costs of an action are generally paid by the losing party. The Lord Chancellor is the head of the judiciary branch of government.