The ability of police to exercise discretion was originally designed to allow officers to maintain the peace by allowing certain types of crime to remain unpunished in certain circumstances. This essay will aim to explore the issue of police discretion that suggests that the application of discretion works against the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. In drawing this conclusion, this essay will examine the relationship between policing ideals and the use of discretionary powers and the relationship between policing attitudes and the use of discretionary powers. A discussion regarding the use of police discretion towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples can scarcely be mentioned without making reference to arguably the greatest failing by a police officer since indigenous Australians were formally recognised as citizens. Further to this, the case of Mulrunji Doomadgee (Cameron) will be examined from the point of view of officer discretionary powers. The penultimate point to be made will involve the Anglo Australian response to this case as well as the ongoing relationship between indigenous Australians and the institutions that govern them. As mentioned, the first point will involve policing ideals and their relationship to discretionary powers.
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...
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...saying through their actions to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, that causing the death of a human being wasn’t a crime. All of this happened because of a police officer’s discretionary decision, which further illustrates that discretionary decisions harm the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The last point that this essay raised was one that has been valid for over two hundred years. The attitudes of the state towards aboriginal people is reflected in discretionary decisions made by police officers and will continue to be the case until those in power stop trying to do the popular thing and start trying to do the right thing. When all of the evidence is weighed and considered, there can be little doubt that discretionary decisions made by police officers harm the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander peoples.
The idea that indigenous Australian communities are underprivileged and do not receive the same justice that the white community accrues is represented through Jay Swan and his interactions with the corrupt white police officers and the indigenous locals of the town. My empathetic response to the text as a whole was influenced directly by way the text constructs these ideas as well as my knowledge of the way indigenous Australians are represented in the mainstream media and the behaviour of the police force as an institution. These contextual factors and the way Sen has constructed ideas influenced me to empathise with the indigenous
During the late sixteen century, when the first fleet arrived to Australia and discovered the free settlers or known as Australian Indigenous inheritors (The Aborigines), the community of aboriginal inhabitants since then have experienced vast levels of discrimination and racism against their gender, race, colour and ethnicity. The term over representations refers to the presents of minority or disproportionate ethnic aboriginal groups represented in the criminal justice system (CJS). This essay will further explain the relationship between aboriginal communities and policing discussed in Blagg (2008) and Cunneen (2007, the three major sources of concern in association to aboriginal over representation in CJS which include; systematic bias,
The duties of a police officer are to ensure that there is maintenance of public peace and order. In order to perform their duties and obligations they require certain powers, authority in order to perform their duties and this extends the power to arrest. This paper focuses on the decision of the court in DPP v Carr, the amendments on Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act (LEPRA) section 99 and a critical evaluation of statements made by Sentas and Cowdery.
The incident in which Colten Boushie was shot by Gerald Stanley is an example of an interaction of 2 different groups in society and their behaviour towards each other. In “[exposing] racial tensions”, that examines the racial discrimination which might have created a bias for members the jury to find the man of a similar social class or background not guilty. As a minority, Indigenous people are small in number compared to the rest of society and as a result are seen as a lower class on the social hierarchy. This case displays the idea that when minorities face sociological problems within the legal system or in general, society, they are less able to ensure the justice being served. A sociologist would be interested in studying the response to Boushie’s death and what general patterns of human behaviour arise from the Indigenous
Since early colonisation, relations between indigenous and non-indigenous communities have been the cause of much tension within Australia. Historically, relations between indigenous communities and the police have been particularly volatile and unstable, and with the death of indigenous man Cameron Doomadgee in police custody in November 2004, this relationship only suffered more. Drawing from various resources, this paper will critically analyse the factors surrounding the death itself, and both the legal and social implications of the incident in order to gain and understanding as to the impact Cameron Doomadgee’s death had on indigenous/police relations within Australia.
Police officers have a great amount of discretion. Since they are not always supervised and on patrol they choose which cases should be process and which one should just be not. Police discretion is the most important part because it determines the outcomes of the interaction between the police and the juvenile. Krisberg and Austin noted that police have five basic options in deciding what course of action to pursue with juveniles. The first one would be release, accompanied by a warning to the juvenile. The second one would be release, accompanied by an official report. The third one would be Station adjustment. Which include release to parent accompanied by an official reprimand, referral to a community youth agency, or referral to a public or private social welfare or mental health agency. Fourth would be Referral to juvenile court without detention and last referral to the juvenile court with detention.
Comack, E. (2012). Racialized policing: Aboriginal people's encounters with the police. Black Point, Nova Scotia: Fernwood Publishing.
Aboriginal communities experience oppression and live in quieter urban and rural areas. Due to this, they are not able to benefit from society’s organizations as the residents in the busy cities do. Therefore, they need more support from the city officials to be safe when experiencing violence. However, the communities they live in are not providing them with the resources to overcome violence. Functionalism explains the members need to benefit more from police forces; this helps emphasize that police officers must develop safer shelters and protocols. Meaning, they can create secure community buildings for the citizens to be protected in by a higher authority. Likewise, the officials are the only individuals who can attempt to stop the murders from reoccurring by solving the murder cases and charging the person. The police influence society’s wellbeing, and by not protecting Aboriginal community’s lives, they contribute to the deaths and society moves away from
The gross over representation of indigenous people in the Australian criminal justice system (CJS) is so disturbingly evident that it is never the source of debate. Rather it is the starting point of discussions centring on the source and solutions to this prominent social, cultural and political issue. Discourse surrounds not only the economic and social disadvantage of indigenous communities, but also the systemic racism and continuing intergenerational trauma resulting for the unjust colonisation of a nation which has profited whites at the detriment to indigenous people throughout history. In respect to the currently CJS, trepidations are raised by indigenous communities around the lack of culturally diverse laws and punishments within the system. The overtly western system does not provide a viable space for indigenous
Crime is a part of society encompases the news and the public. A variety of studies of media content have estimated that as much as 25 percent of the daily news is devoted to crime (Surette 1992) and that crime is the largest major category of stories in the print and electronic media (Chermak 1994, 103). (Lawrence 18). With crime at an all time high, police are constantly having to deal with more and more issues. This can lead to stressed out and fed up officers, which can lead to poor decisions by an officer. The use of force by police is a highly controversial topic as it raises questions about a government’s ability to use force against its citizens (Lawrence 19). Today’s society is caught up on the ideals of civility and equality before the law, making police use of force a touchy
"Proper use of discretion is probably the most important measure of a police officer or department." -- Rich Kinsey (retired police detective)
It would not be inconsistent with the principle of equality before the law that, where members of the Aboriginal race have special needs, those should be recognised by special rules laid down by the law. Further, the law is flexible enough to allow the courts to consider the special situation of an Aboriginal party where that is relevant. As the courts have recognised, the sentencing of Aboriginal offenders presents particular difficulties. Judges, in an attempt to do justice in discharging the difficult role of sentencing tribal and semi-tribal Aboriginal persons, have gone further. Clearly the ordinary criminal law is capable of facing these difficulties. It is neither necessary, nor desirable, to apply to the Aboriginal peoples the rules of their customary law rather than the general law. The attempt to uphold Aboriginal customary law is one aspect of the notion that the Aboriginal peoples will benefit if they continue to be treated as a class separate from the rest of the community, which must necessarily be a dependent and disadvantaged class.
The use of discretion in the profession of law enforcement has shown to be an inevitable practice. Police officers routinely use their own beliefs and judgments to make critical decisions that include the life and liberty of the citizens in the community they serve in. Although discretion has both negative and positive sides to it, discretion is impossible to be eliminated from law enforcement. The best way to use discretion in a safe manner is to practice using discretion while on and off duty as well. While practicing discretion, officers should keep their own beliefs and prejudice to themselves and out of line of duty. When police officers are on duty, they must have knowledge of what is going on around them and eliminate discriminatory factors and use confidence to make a lawful
It is important to understand the cultural tradition carried out by Indigenous Australians because they are still practiced today. A strategy would be running workshops to get an education about policing directly from officers and youths sharing their cultural values and tradition (Grant, H 2015). This strategy provides police officers to learn about the Indigenous youth and their culture, while the youths build a positive relationship with police aiming to developing confidence and becoming a better role model in their community (Cunneen 2001). In regards to the case study if the ingenious children would have been involved in programs like this or had a better relationship with the police they would not have stolen the car or been shot (Cunneen 2001).
Police psychology is broadly defined as the application of psychological principles and methods to law enforcement. With the popularity of television shows like Criminal Minds and Law & Order: SVU, the job of a police psychologist has become more well known and even popular. As seen on these shows, a police psychologist can be helpful in profiling a criminal, but they also provide many other services to the members of a police department. Although the development of this field has a long history, police psychology as a separate entity is still relatively recent and growing. This intimate relationship between psychology and law enforcement can be traced back to almost a century ago.[1] It first developed out of a need for a variety of psychological services in the law enforcement field, including screening applicants and counseling during grief and stress situations. In the time that it has been around, it has proved to be a valuable resource for the law enforcement profession.