您在本地街道上行走时感觉有多安全？独自出行时您会担心吗？您的母亲或姐妹呢？外出时，您会担心留在家里的空房子吗？

How safe do you feel walking in the streets of your local area? Do you worry when you are travelling around on your own? What about your mother, or your sister? When you are out, are you concerned about the empty house you have left behind?

如果真是这样,也并不稀奇。犯罪是西方社会的一个重大问题,英国每年官方记录在案的犯罪案件多达560万起。犯罪率持续攀升,以至于人们再也无法安心地保障自己的财产、名誉,甚至生命。事实上,这类担忧已成为日常生活的一部分。

If so, it would not be an unusual thing. Crime is a major problem in Western society, with there being 5.6 million officially reported crimes per year in Britain. It is continually on the increase to the extent that nobody can feel secure anymore about their property, honour or even their lives. In fact, such concerns have become part and parcel of everyday life.

然而，这种危险的倾向也不能任其完全不受约束，否则社会将堕入混乱与失序的深渊。正因如此，司法机构才得以存在，作为处理和根除犯罪的一种手段。那么，您是否有信心，比如英国的法律体系能够有效遏制和规范犯罪呢？

However, this dangerous tendency cannot be left entirely unchecked, lest society spirals into an abyss of disorder and chaos. It is for this reason that the institution of the judiciary exists, as a means of dealing with and eradicating crime. But are you confident with the British legal system, for example, in curbing and regulating crime?

在西方，如果罪犯被抓获，所施加的刑罚由法官自行裁量。他作为一个与你我一样有限的人，评估罪行的严重程度，并参照以往法官的意见，作出他所选择的判决。因此，你可以看到，犯下同样罪行的人，可能会受到截然不同的惩罚。

In the West, if criminals are caught, the punishment administered is at the discretion of the judge. He, a limited human being just like yourself, is the one who evaluates the severity of the crime, and taking into consideration the opinions of previous judges, gives the sentence that he chooses. Thus, you can see that people who have committed the same crime might receive entirely different punishment.

这就是为什么一名15岁的强奸犯只被法院判处罚款500英镑，而一名男子仅仅因为丢弃了一个空薯片袋，却被罚款1200英镑！

This is why a 15 year old rapist was ordered by the courts to pay a fine of £500, while a man was fined £1200 for dropping an empty packet of crisps!.

你设想自己遭遇了较为常见的犯罪之一，例如入室盗窃。假如不太可能发生的情况出现了，犯案者被抓获，你认为自己在起诉过程中会表现得怎样？让我们来考察一些可能出现的情形。

Imagine you were victim to one of the more common crimes, such as burglary. In the unlikely event that the perpetrators were caught, how well do you think you would fare in the prosecution? Let us examine some of the possible eventualities.

理想情况下，一桩案件应由原告、被告、法官和证据构成。整个程序的目的在于查明被告有罪或无罪的事实，并据此予以定罪或释放。然而，在英国司法体系中，还有许多其他因素阻碍这一目标的实现……

Ideally speaking, the case would consist of the plaintiff, the defendant, the judge and the evidence. The purpose of the whole affair would be to ascertain the truth of the guilt or innocence of the accused, and to punish or release him accordingly. However, in the British judiciary there are many more factors which impede this objective....