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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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...
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)
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 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.
"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.
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).
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.
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...
Police discretionary practices vary from officer to officer and every officer is differently trained by departments. Without the proper use of discretion out on the field, police officers are left open for legal suit actions however, if the officers are trained and exercising the use of discretion in a good manner, each individual officer can be held accountable. The second disadvantage of use of police discretion is that it allows the police officers to have too much power on making decisions which can affect the life, safety or liberty of an individual (Bargen, 2005). Police discretion presents a clear danger to society because the average officer can make a poor decision and affect the life of a person or persons. If discretion in law enforcement is used in a wrongful manner, it has great potential for being abused out of the field. Discretion allows police officers to “perform a duty or refrain from taking action” (Gaines & Kappeler, 2003, p. 251). Police officers are supposed to enforce equality under the law, people in society all should have equal rights and should be treated the same. However, discretion allows police officers to misuse it by treating offenders of different genders, race, class, ethnicity, religion, age and more inappropriately (Pepinsky, 1984). Law enforcement officers are
How prevalent is police discretion and why does it exist? Can discretion be eliminated? Should it be? Due Date March 11 2005
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...
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).