Lawyer Simon Farmer, who was falsely accused and tried on charges of indecent exposure, says he is "amazed, exasperated and completely unsatisfied" that the Police Complaints Authority has dropped his case without getting an apology from the Police.

He is right to be annoyed, and that unhappiness should be shared by all members of the public. The PCA, established to ensure that Police procedures are followed properly and that the rights of individuals are respected, has been exposed as a toothless sham by its inability to enforce its finding in this case.

The essence of the PCA's defence for this appears to be that without full-time staff and resources, it is unable to exercise its powers under its Act which, in this case would have meant presenting the Minister of Public Safety with a report or even tabling such a report in Parliament.

But the PCA seems to have no power to enforce a finding, which would appear to be a weakness in its legislation.

It would appear that the Police have taken the view that because Mr. Farmer failed in court to prove that the failed prosecution against him was motivated by malice, that they have no need to apologise for botching the case.

But the PCA never made a finding of malice either. It found that there had been "an abuse of process" and that there had been glaring inadequacies in the Police investigation. That's not the same thing as malice, but it would appear to be grounds for an apology to a man whose life was very nearly ruined as a result of the arrest and prosecution.

It is important to note that people get arrested in investigations and are later released without charge. And there are plenty of times when people are charged with crimes on the basis that there is a prima facie case, only to be proven innocent.

It would be dangerous for the administration of justice if the Police were constantly looking over their shoulders because of the risk of a lawsuit while carrying out their investigations. This would have a severely chilling effect on competent investigators.

But there is a difference between a competent investigation carried out with a determination to find the truth, and an investigation which was apparently incredibly sloppy and in which, it was alleged, at least one investigator had prejudged the suspect.

That leaves open plenty of room for an apology and for disciplinary action against the officer or officers involved. But the Police seem to be bound and determined not to do that.

That speaks volumes about the long-standing bunker mentality at Prospect.

In those circumstances, the apparent inability of the PCA to carry out its mandate is even more worrying. Rather than being able to see justice done in the face of the recalcitrance of the Police, it has surrendered.

That does tremendous damage to the PCA, because what member of the public who has been the victim of an abuse by the Police will now turn to the PCA for help? Its inability to act has been proven.

And what does that mean for people's faith in the Police to protect the innocent and convict the guilty?

Instead, by its actions, the Police seem to think it is acceptable to protect the guilty within and to persecute the innocent without.