The Reasonable Arm of the Law?

A study of environmental health officers and their enforcement of the law, focusing on their approach to work, the constraints and principles guiding their decision-making and the legal context of enforcement.

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The employment of the criminal law to regulate business and industrial activity is a relatively recent and controversial phenomenon. This book uses an empirical study of environmental health officers and their enforcement of the law to address the issues involved. The study concentrates upon the officials' approach to their work, the legal context of enforcement, the principles that guide their decision-making and the way in which they employ discretion. The author examines the organizational and political restraints upon officers and the impact of varying social environments upon their enforcement methods.