The Need for Police Discretion

“Discretion is the perfection of reason, and a guide to us, in all the duties of life” (Jean de La Bruyère, n.d), this quote epitomises the use of discretion in life moreover in policing. Police discretion is a constant consideration within the law enforcement. Many people are of the view that police discretion is both an essential part of policing as well as a constant source of issues. There has been a constant quandary between enforcing the law to the latter. Police officers are faced with a vast array of situations each day which they must deal with, in which no two circumstances they encounter are the same. Moreover officers are frequently placed in the position of formulating decisions on how to handle a specific matter alone, without immediate supervision or any additional advice. The purpose of this paper is to examine the controversial topic of police discretion. Discretion in policing is an imperative aspect thus herein the benefits of the exercise of discretion will be explored. By firstly defining what the term discretion refers to and how it fits within the context of policing. Next, factors that influence police discretion will be discussed. Finally an examination of explanations supporting discretion will be articulated, which will illustrate why police discretion is essential in policing.

One of the most cited and accurate definitions of “discretion” is that offered by Kenneth Culp Davis (1969) “a public officer has discretion whenever the effective limits on his power leave him free to make a choice among possible courses of action or inaction”. The lack of resources in some situations means that not every infringement on the law will be enforced and that even if the relevant law was precise there would still be...

... middle of paper ...

... he receives the call to the location of the call, it will be impossible. Since the myriad violations that officers will have to enforce on his way to the distress call will be unquantifiable and therefore he would never reach. Furthermore law enforcement cannot arrest everyone who has ever committed a crime and get them ready for prosecution. Limited resources and manpower force officers to use discretion by selective enforcement of the criminal law (Wortley, 2003). Hence, police have to use discretion when making decisions about: enforcing specific laws, allocating their time, investigating which crimes and whether to arrest or detain people (Reid, 2006). Therefore, the impact that discretion has on the police is beneficial, because it can limit the number of cases that go through the courts since the police are responsible for entering most people into the system.