Introduction
Officer Discretion is defined as “the freedom to decide what should be done in a particular situation” (dictionary). Therefore, in the police department, the term “officer’s discretion” is one that allows a police officer to make a judgment call during several situations. It is an officer exercise that is used a lot more than citizens think. Officer
Discretion is not something that can be explained in one simple definition. Officer discretion is variable, depending on the officer and the situation. For instance, an officer who feels as though spending eight days in a court room a month just on traffic tickets is ridiculous, might just let a speeding car go by if no harm is being done. On the contrary, an officer who feels traffic laws are very important and should be strictly followed, will most definitely ticket an individual who is only slightly speeding. The interpretation of officer discretion is different among officers and varies depending on a situation. Officer discretion is an action that has been among the police force for many years; though there are down sides to the exercise, there is plenty of evidence that proves officer discretion is necessary for policemen and women to do their jobs.
History of Officer Discretion
Officer discretion was discovered by the American bar Foundation in 1956. The foundation conducted a survey that would discover that discretion was happening and did occur “at all levels of the justice system” (Halliday). It was not a popular topic among most people when it first arose, because people did not understand how someone could be punished differently for committing the same crime as someone else. They called it corrupt, unjust, and unfair. However, when the survey was taken by low-...
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... a harmful limit or are having severe trouble driving. His alternative is to throw them in a cab and send them home. This explanation was a prime example of an individual letting their own personal experiences and past history influence their discretion in every day job situations.
Works Cited
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"Do Police Officers Have Too Much or Too Little Discretion?" PoliceOne.com. N.p., n.d.
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Halliday, Gemma L. Issues Paper: Police Discretion. N.p., n.d. Web.
"Lowering the Bar." : Police Discretion. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.
"Police Chief Magazine - View Article." Police Chief Magazine - View Article. N.p., n.d.
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Decision Making – Police officers have considerable decision making powers at their own discretion. This is true for low ranki...
How prevalent is police discretion and why does it exist? Can discretion be eliminated? Should it be? Due Date March 11 2005
The important question every officer should ask themselves is if the method used to resolve a problem or the outcome more important to them. This is an ethical dilemma that tests every officer because of their influence on society — both the legal and anarchic. How an officer deals with a predicament says whic...
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
In my opinion police are officers are not allowed too much discretion. Just as citizens can decide to obey the laws or not, police agencies and their officers can decide which offenses to actively seek to control and which offenses to simply ignore, which services to provide and what level. The ability to use discretion is, indeed, a vital element of contemporary American policing. 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. The less serious a crime is to the public, the less pressure is placed on the police for enforcement. Police discretion is frequently at the center of issues involving discrimination, racial profiling, use of force and pursuit. (Page 397-399)
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.
In the mandatory training for police officers, there should be different mock scenarios where police officers take action as if it was a real crime and get assessed and evaluated on their behavior. Although it is difficult, police officers need to be trained to shoot to wound the arms or legs instead of shooting directly in the chest.
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).
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 ...
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
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).
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).