The Report drawn up by Mr. John Rawlinson upon what
happened lately at Vine Street Police Station, when an innocent man was taken there one night on a charge due to mistaken identity, is an excellent piece of work, ably and promptly done after very careful inquiry. It reVeals conditions which must be disquieting to us, who pride ourselves on carrying out in the spirit and the letter the principle that a man is innocent until he is proved guilty. We also believe that, contrary to the Continental practice, our system is so framed technically that it positively helps the accused and protects him, by one device after another, from the grand jury down- ward. The unfortunate man in this case would certainly have suffered greater hardship and indignity abroad in parallel circumstances, but that is of little comfort to our pride in our own methods. The Report illuminates the need for a revision of the police regulations, or the manner of administering them.
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