Police Discretion

955 Words2 Pages

Control of Police Discretion
Being a police officer comes with an immense amount of responsibility. Officers play a very important role that encompasses duties concerning the enforcement of laws, keeping order, and preventing crime. Through these obligations officers have to continually interact with the community and are expected to respond to all situations that may arise while on duty. When officers carry out these responsibilities, individuals expect them to have morals, values, and principles when making decisions regarding the enforcement of the laws. The environment is constantly changing which influences the conduct of individuals and how officers will respond to that behavior (Gaines & Kappeler, 2015). Police officers are considered …show more content…

In most situations, officers have to make instant decisions which allows for the use of discretion. Police discretion is defined as an official action taken by an officer in which they use their own judgment to make the best possible decision. Police are trusted and granted a great deal of discretion when doing their job (Abdullah & Wells, 2011). Discretion is an unavoidable part of the job that encompasses many facets of policing, which is used at all levels within the agency. Although, police discretion is absolutely necessary it comes with great potential for abuse. Officers are given a freedom and flexibility to enforce a great deal of circumstances that are not always clearly defined by the law. If police discretion is not somehow controlled then it can create great difficulties for officers, departments, and civilians. These difficulties that can arise regarding discretion, requires an understanding of specific control mechanisms that are designed to …show more content…

If an officer fails to report any kind of abuse by another officer, then they will be held accountable and disciplined. There should also be proper protection put in place for the reporting officer so there is no form of retaliation taken (Gaines & Kappeler, 2015). Only delivering rules of these policies is not enough, officers must be trained and provided guided mechanisms to guarantee that these policies are applied properly. Officers should receive some type of training regarding procedures as soon as they begin the academy, but this training should be consistently reexamined to truly ensure that these rules are understood and must be

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