Selective Prosecution

Selective prosecution is the idea that Nick Griffin gets prosecuted because he is a patriotic politician while the National Black Police Association gets away with it because it is run by foreign criminals [ eg Ali Dizaei ] and enemies of England. It is a form of Malicious prosecution just like Selective Enforcement. It is Malfeasance in office, used to pervert the course of justice.

Selective prosecution
QUOTE
 In jurisprudence, selective prosecution is a procedural defense in which a defendant argues that they should not be held criminally liable for breaking the law, as the criminal justice system discriminated against them by choosing to prosecute. In a claim of selective prosecution, a defendant essentially argues that it is irrelevant whether they are guilty of violating a law, but that the fact of being prosecuted is based upon forbidden reasons. Such a claim might, for example, entail an argument that persons of different age, race, religion, or gender, were engaged in the same illegal actions for which the defendant is being tried and were not prosecuted, and that the defendant is only being prosecuted because of a bias. In the US, this defense is based upon the 14th Amendment, which requires that "nor shall any state deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

The United States Supreme Court has defined the term as follows: "A selective prosecution claim is not a defense on the merits to the criminal charge itself, but an independent assertion that the prosecutor has brought the charge for reasons forbidden by the Constitution." The defense is rarely successful; some authorities claim, for example, that there are no reported cases in at least the past century in which a court dismissed a criminal prosecution because the defendant had been targeted based on race.
UNQUOTE
It is clear enough that American law recognises the concept. English law may be different. The Crown Prosecution Service will prosecute or not according to whether it is in the public interest - see http://www.cps.gov.uk/publications/code_for_crown_prosecutors/codetest.html which says
QUOTE
A prosecution is more likely to be required if:

  1. a conviction is likely to result in a significant sentence;
  2. the offence was premeditated;
  3. the offence was carried out by a group;
  4. the offence was committed in the presence of, or in close proximity to, a child;
  5. the victim of the offence was in a vulnerable situation [eg a taxpayer - Editor ] and the suspect took advantage of this;
  6. the suspect was in a position of authority or trust [ eg a Member of Parliament - Editor ] and he or she took advantage of this;
  7. the suspect's previous convictions or the previous out-of-court disposals which he or she has received are relevant to the present offence;
  8. the suspect is alleged to have committed the offence in breach of an order of the court;
  9. a prosecution would have a significant positive impact on maintaining community confidence [ eg getting rid of corrupt politicians - Editor ];
A prosecution is less likely to be required if:
  1. the suspect has been subject to any appropriate regulatory proceedings, or any punitive or relevant civil penalty which remains in place or which has been satisfactorily discharged, which adequately addresses the seriousness of the offending and any breach of trust involved; [ An excuse for letting politicians steal - Editor ]
  2. the suspect has put right the loss or harm that was caused (but a suspect must not avoid prosecution or an out-of-court disposal solely because he or she pays compensation or repays the sum of money he or she unlawfully obtained); [ Eg when a politician pays back fraudulent expenses - Editor ]

UNQUOTE
This has been abused to let politicians steal. So selective prosecution is practice not admitted policy.

 

Selective enforcement
QUOTE
Selective enforcement is the ability that executors of the law (such as police officers or administrative agencies, in some cases) have to arbitrarily select choice individuals as being outside of the law. The use of enforcement discretion in an arbitrary way is referred to as selective enforcement or selective prosecution.

Historically, selective enforcement is recognized as a sign of tyranny, and an abuse of power, because it violates rule of law, allowing men to apply justice only when they choose. Aside from this being inherently unjust, it almost inevitably must lead to favoritism and extortion, with those empowered to choose being able to help their friends, take bribes, and threaten those they desire favors from.

However, the converse can also be true. Police officer discretion is sometimes warranted for minor offenses, for instance where a warning to a teenager could be quite effective without putting the teen through a legal process which also reduces costs of governmental legal resources. Another example is patrol officers parked on the side of a highway for speed enforcement. It may be impractical and cost prohibitive to ticket everyone who is going any amount over the speed limit, so the officer should watch for the more egregious cases and those drivers who are showing signs of driving recklessly. These cases do give the police judicial power to some degree, but it is not possible for an officer not to use judgment at one level or another.
UNQUOTE
A fair article but abuses do happen. Police corruption does too.