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Police Discretion and its effects in the Juvenile Justice System
Stephanie E. Guzman
Juvenile Law and Procedure
Ron Reid
May 15, 2016
Abstract
Police discretion plays a major role in the criminal justice system. Police officers are faced with having to use their own beliefs to act upon situations they are faced with.
In 1956 police discretion was discovered by the American Bar Association and since then it has been an important problem in the criminal justice system. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary discretion is defined as “the power of free decision or latitude of choice within certain legal bounds, the power to make his or her own individual judgement, and responsible decision making.” In the criminal
The organizational theory suggests that the organization itself including supervisors, rules and procedures influence behavior. The sociological theory suggests that the officer’s behavior is influenced by the situation at hand, and other things such as race, demeanor of the suspect or even how many other officers are present. The psychological theory suggests that the behavior of the police are actions that are influenced by their own outlooks and backgrounds. Police behavior varies, and when officers use police discretion it permits them to decide if they want to pursue procedure protocol or to just let someone off with a warning. Common examples of police discretion are if someone were to be pulled over for speeding, sometimes you might get a ticket or be let off with just a warning. In a domestic disturbance case the officer must use his discretion based upon the situation before him. The officer will need to make the best decision that both parties involved will be content with. Domestic disturbance cases are difficult when it comes to police discretion, because the decision he ultimately comes up with effects one party with a better or worse
There has been research conducted that the influence of a suspects demeanor amd cooperation has produced evidence that this influences police behavior. According to Myers (2002) police researchers have consistently found support for the expectation that citizens who are disrespectful toward the police are more likely to be arrested and more likely to have force used against them than those who are respectful or simply deferential (Myers, 2002, p.64). Juveniles who are disespectful towards police are more likely to be arrested and have other authority used against them than those who are respectful. Though it is not clear on if a persond gender effects police disccretion. There are those who might think that because of how society views felames vs. males that police might take more of a protectial approach. Females are just as likely to be arrested as males. Neighborhoods might also haave an effect on discretion when officers confront juveniles. The socioeconomic status of juveniles might create for a biased opinion on police
fact that there would have to be considerable respect given to officer discretion in light
Decision Making – Police officers have considerable decision making powers at their own discretion. This is true for low ranki...
These outcomes are determined by the community and states. At times the community supports the police officers and at times they do not which that also depends on the state and the budgeting. The police discretion can also be limited depending on economic hardship, social services agencies for youth. Another important part that plays an important role in discretion would be changes in political climate and public
Police officers have a significant level of discretion when ethical decision making is incorporated in deciding how to respond to a domestic violence call. For example, officers exercise discretion by deciding how to respond to domestic violence when a situation involves a fellow officer. America is a country in which many believe in privacy within the household and often choose not to be involved in a domestic dispute because families should resolve their own problems. However, discretionary powers abused by an officer are used to dissuade the victim from filing charges against the officer’s colleague. Officers often do not choose to arrest in a domestic dispute because they believe the family, not the justice system, should resolve the problem. If the police officer abuses his discretionary power by persuading the victim to not file charges, then he is going against community policing. This is because, he is not serving the interests of the community, but rather the code of silence within a police department. This discretion is exercised even more when the domestic violence situation involves an off duty police officer. When police officers commit domestic violence against their spouse it is usually explained by the fact that police officers deal with difficult citizens on a daily basis on the streets and as a result of the high levels of stress on the job bring their frustrations home and spouse becomes the scapegoat for his feelings (Wetendorf, 1998:3).
Undoubtedly race and ethnicity plays a key role in whether perceptions of law enforcement is positive or negative. Most of the research presented finds that police contact with white’s vs blacks shapes their attitudes. Although contact with police plays a role, it is not the only component. Perceptions of police not only come from contact with police officers but from hearsay and media portrayal. As stated by (Callanan & Rosenberger, 2011) “most citizens are probably not likely to establish their opinions of law enforcement solely based on an occasional encounter, but also from other sources of information about the police, which for most members of the public is chiefly derived from the media.” Also, minorities are more likely than whites to believe that minorities are treated worse by police, and minority communities receive inferior police services (Graziano, Schuck & Martin 2010).
In law enforcement, discretion is left up to each police officer to make responsible and reasonable decisions on situations while in the field. A police officer will have no choice but to use discretion in certain situations and make decisions on what type of force or punishment is necessary for the situations. Many people in the society always believe that police officers can make any decision they wish to at any time while working. This is very wrong because there are situations whereby a police officer or even the chief of police has no other choice, but to follow the law in making decisions. The role of the police administrator is double challenging because, he/she must determine how best to use discretion as well as encourage or dissuade discretion by subordinate members ...
Police discretion is structured and controlled by the kind of situation that the police must deal with (Wilson, 1968). Wilson (1968) delineates four different situations. Police-invoked law enforcement, citizen-invoked law enforcement, police-invoked order maintenance, and citizen-invoked order maintenance.
Officers are able to use discretion in many situations that their morals would guide them in. They have the right to pull a person over with probable cause or a violation and they can choose whether to give them a ticket, a warning, or nothing, depending on the situation.
Discretion is defined as the authority to make a decision between two or more choices (Pollock, 2010). More specifically, it is defined as “the capacity to identify and to document criminal and noncriminal events” (Boivin & Cordeau, 2011). Every police officer has a great deal of discretion concerning when to use their authority, power, persuasion, or force. Depending on how an officer sees their duty to society will determine an officer’s discretion. Discretion leads to selective enforcement practices and may result in discrimination against certain groups of people or select individuals (Young, 2011). Most police officer discretion is exercised in situations with individuals (Sherman, 1984).
Over the years, this country has witnessed many cases of police brutality. It has become a controversial topic among communities that have seen police brutality take place in front of their homes. Officers are faced with many threatening situations everyday, forcing them to make split second decisions and to expect the worst and hope for the best. Police officers are given the power to take any citizens rights away and even their lives. With that kind of power comes responsibility, that’s one major concern with the amount of discretion officers have when to use force or when to use lethal force.
Police discretionary practices vary from officer to officer and every officer is differently trained by departments. Without the proper use of discretion out on the field, police officers are left open for legal suit actions however, if the officers are trained and exercising the use of discretion in a good manner, each individual officer can be held accountable. The second disadvantage of use of police discretion is that it allows the police officers to have too much power on making decisions which can affect the life, safety or liberty of an individual (Bargen, 2005). Police discretion presents a clear danger to society because the average officer can make a poor decision and affect the life of a person or persons. If discretion in law enforcement is used in a wrongful manner, it has great potential for being abused out of the field. Discretion allows police officers to “perform a duty or refrain from taking action” (Gaines & Kappeler, 2003, p. 251). Police officers are supposed to enforce equality under the law, people in society all should have equal rights and should be treated the same. However, discretion allows police officers to misuse it by treating offenders of different genders, race, class, ethnicity, religion, age and more inappropriately (Pepinsky, 1984). Law enforcement officers are
How prevalent is police discretion and why does it exist? Can discretion be eliminated? Should it be? Due Date March 11 2005
“Juvenile Justice and Injustice” New York, New York Margaret O. Hyde, 1977. Johnson, Jason B. Slain Teen’s family: Cops eyeing 7-10 suspects.” Boston Herald. 7 April 1995 Olney, Ross R. Up Against The Law. New York, New York: NAL Penguin Inc., 1985.
Laws and procedures are the most common basis for officers choosing not to allow offenders to remain free based on their discretion, a study by Mendias and Kehoe (2006) has found. The study found that laws or responsibilities were the main reason for a decision to suspend discretion in eighty-two percent of cases involving an arrest. The study also found that keeping the peace and procedural implications were the primary justifications for ex...
Police decisions can affect life, liberty, and property, and as guardians of the interests of the public, police must maintain high standards of integrity. Police discretion concerning how to act in a given situation can often lead to ethical misconduct (Banks 29).