The system of police cautions, warnings and fixed penalties allow the police to administer punishment with none of the due process that a court would provide.
The idea of a "police caution" is a misnomer that implies it's just harmless warning, when in fact it can affect the course of someone's life many years later.
Furthermore, people are blackmailed into accepting these cautions under the threat of going to trial and potentially receiving a more severe punishment after conviction.
Even more outrageous is the retention of records from the PREVENT programme and "non-crime hate incidents". These are people who have not even committed a crime or been arrested.
The whole system stinks, and given that most people manage to avoid interaction with the police it is sadly unlikely to get the scrutiny it deserves.
The outrageous behaviour of (some of) the police during recent lockdowns actually gives me a little hope, as it as drawn widespread attention to the way they routinely abuse their power.