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Four advantages of police discretion
Proper police discretion
Police discretion as an essential part of policing
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Law enforcement officers do not only se laws when it comes to making decisions. They also se police discretion when it comes to doing their jobs. To understand police discretion, we have to understand what it is, how and why it is used, and what factors influence it. Though upholding the law is an essential part of being a police officer, there is also a human aspect that must be taken into account. The law alone is not the only resource police officers use when doing their jobs. First, to know how anything works, there has to be an understanding of what it is. Discretion is simply defined as “the availability of a choice of options or actions on can take in a situation” (Dempsey, J. & Frost, L., 2014, p. 140). It is an officer making a decision …show more content…
The “how” part comes into play with every aspect of a police officer’s job. From placing someone under arrest to using physical or deadly force, the choice on how to handle situations is in the hands of the officer (Dempsey & Frost, 2014). This is done due to the “why” of police discretion. There are seven reasons given by Sheehan and Cordner as to why police discretion is used (Dempsey & Frost, 2014). The first reason given is that “if the police attempted to enforce all the laws all the time, they would be in the station house or court all the time and would not be on the street maintaining order or protecting life and property” (Dempsey & Frost, 204, p. 141)Police officers cannot protect the public if they are not there. The constant back and forth with taking criminals in for every crime the commit and having to constantly be in court, prevents them from holding all aspects of their jobs. The other reasons cover laws that are not to be “strictly enforced all of the time”, “some laws are vague and ill-defined”, “most violations of the law are minor”, enforcing “all of the laws, all of the time would alienate the public from the police”, the courts, jails, and prisons would become overwhelmed, and because “the police have so many duties to perform and such limited resources that good judgment must be exercised in when, where, and how they enforce the law” (Dempsey & Frost, 2014, p. 141-142). There are …show more content…
There are four major factors, as described by Herbert Jacob, which influence police discretion (Dempsey & Frost, 2014). These factors include the “characteristics of the crime, relationship between the alleged criminal and the victim, relationship between the police and the criminal or victim, and department policies” (Dempsey & Frost, 2014, p. 142). Those are not the only factors but they can be considered the most commonly used and relied upon. They give a run down and a starting point on how to gauge and judge what steps they should take when deciding how to handle certain
Decision Making – Police officers have considerable decision making powers at their own discretion. This is true for low ranki...
I think police discretion is very common. Police officers exercise the choice of whether to question someone, arrest a suspect as well as several other duties and each of these decisions are made without the presence of supervision so perhaps this is the reason it exists. Discretion may be decreased but I don’t think it can be eliminated, even with supervision police officers together hold the authority to make discretionary decisions even if the public disagrees with their tactics. I don’t necessarily think police discretion should not be eliminated because, majority of the decisions that are made by them are made in the best interest of the public or victim.
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
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.
As a result of the recent rise of the use of excessive force cases against police and law enforcement, I have chosen to research the definition of that excessive force. When is it considered justifiable? What training do officers receive? What liability issues are there? In an ABC news article, Sascha Segan states there is no specific definition of excessive force. A part of everyday police work is to subdue criminal and suspects. Another everyday task of police officers is personal discretion - making the right decision based on the specific situation. It has been documented in multiple viral videos that law enforcement officer’s discretion is not always favorable in the public eye and is quick to be judged. Yet shouldn’t we be asking if the officer’s actions were justifiable within the court system and if
“But they didn't have to beat me this bad. I don't know what I did to be beat up." Rodney King, March 3, 1991. Police Brutality has been a long lasting problem in the United States since at least 1903 when police Captain Williams of the New York Police Department said the phrase, "There is more law at the end of a policeman's nightstick than in a decision of the Supreme Court." In the 1920's the Wichersham Commission had a number of instances of police brutality. Many of these included the use of the "third degree" (beating to obtain a confession). This is a very effective way to get a confession out of somebody. However, beating the accused could easily elicit a confession from a scared and innocent person. Also, this puts the accused person's life in danger. Police officers must make snap life and death decisions daily. Officers' work in an environment where death (theirs, their partners, and an innocent or guilty person) is one decision away. How does that constant fear effect an officer's perception? Unfortunately, many that are attracted to law enforcement are aggressive and prone towards violence as a solution. Police officers have a lot of power. With this power comes responsibility. Police brutality can be defined as the excessive or unreasonable use of force in dealing with citizens, suspects and offenders.
"Proper use of discretion is probably the most important measure of a police officer or department." -- Rich Kinsey (retired police detective)
The degree of force that officers use is heavily influenced by police discretion in real-world situations rather than espoused by a certain agenda. Discretion can be classified into four different categories where administrators, the community, and the individual police officer exercise differing degrees of influence in decision-making. What is needed to help officer discretion is a central ethos that will guide discretion when all other rules fail to help.
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.
Police discretion. Police discretion is defined as the decision-making power afforded to Police Officers that allows them to decide if they want to pursue police procedure or simply let someone off with a warning. Police discretion can be also defined as the individual’s ability to make a decision based on the principle of courses in the actions. Police officers are usually in the position of having to make decisions on how to handle a specific situation alone, or without immediate supervision. In other words, police discretion is the choice the officer has on how he or she enforces the law. Discretion in law enforcement includes whom to arrest, whom to investigate, whom to talk to, and whom to interview (Pollock, 2014). Use of discretion
Police use their discretion to determine what laws should or should not be enforced. Discretion can be used in most instances; however there are some incidences that a police officer cannot ignore,
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...
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).
There are several ethical issues that surround police corruption and discretion. Police corruption is defined as police misconduct. This occurs when police officers break their social contract by abusing their authority for personal advantages, department advances, or both. According to social contract theory, police officers are obligated to follow the code of ethics and moral standards of the criminal justice system. Police discretion is defined as the power to make decisions as to whether or not to follow police procedure and protocol, or give someone a
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).