Discretion And Discretion

So much is to be said about law enforcement and the discretion that is needed to maintain good order, impeccable judgment, and discipline within the ranks. Discretion is a topic that varies from person to person and institution to institution; it holds many different meanings and can be used negatively if sound judgment is not exhibited.

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines discretion as, “the right to choose what should be done in a particular situation; the quality of being careful about what you do and say so that people will not be embarrassed or offended; the quality of being discreet.” (Merriam-Webster’s, 2014) The key factor that is missing, from this definition, is the word reasonable. By adding reasonable to the definition, it limits the outcomes of certain situations. Anyone can make decisions, but outcomes will differ between reasonable individuals and the irrational. “Discretion simply means choice, that’s all. As a police officer, I have to make many choices. We are limited by law and our department policy, but, to be honest, often times real police work becomes an art of tapping into your common sense.” (Nielsen, 2011) James Nielsen, a Minneapolis Police Officer and adjutant faculty member at Rasmussen College, uses the phrase common sense. Common sense is a simple philosophy that many have failed to master.

Common sense is an ability to receive, interpret, and judge a situation reasonably. Common sense has a direct correlation to the discretion a law enforcement officer will utilize throughout their career. This paper will discuss a few aspects of the law enforcement profession that relates to mechanisms emplaced to deal with discretion: internal control mechanisms, external control mechanisms, citizen control m...

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...e to rush over to the robbery in progress. This scenario is not written in black and white but the officer’s discretion is allowed to play out and define the needs over a petty theft versus a felonious assault. If discretion was not allowed, the officer would be forced to deal with the petty theft encounter from start to finish. The officer would have to pass off the call to another officer who may be further out and could allow for that scenario to escalate.

Every action the law enforcement community makes should leave a positive, everlasting effect on the community they serve. The negative view of law enforcement should not be the actions of a few but the unseen actions of many. The bad apples of law enforcement always make the news and the headlines, but the officer who went above and beyond to affect a family for the rest of their lifetime, goes unnoticed.