The Pros And Cons Of Discretion

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Discretion is a useful tool within many situations within society; however, it can also act as a double edged sword. Dictionary.com (2017) identifies discretion as the power to decide or act based on one’s own judgement. Where the difficulty exist is having no discretion can handcuff organization or staff into only being able to follow exactly what is outlined with no ability for adjustment based on different situation. Conversely, having too much discretion provides little to no guidance for individuals and give the subjective nature, the outcomes could vary greatly. Within the Urinalysis Testing CD, there are element of protocols and procedures where the use of discretion is present, as well as absent. Where discretion is absent is within the procedures of random selection testing, as a specific list is generated and the staff must abide by the procedures exactly. There are however exceptions to straying from …show more content…

As previously illustrated, reasonable grounds are subjective to the individual and their interpretation, which then instills their judgment. This sampling process is based off of the formulation of reasonable grounds to believe that a offence has or is being committed. Discretion is absolutely essential within this procedure as the staff must make decision on whether to act or not based on whether the elements of reasonable grounds were met or not. Given the inability to establish a foolproof illustration on every situation of what does or does not constitute as reasonable grounds, the concept can be vague. Due to this, is it up to the discretion of the staff to decipher whether the elements are met and can lawfully demand this sample. In addition, they must utilize discretion when deciding there is inadequate evidence and demanding a sample would greatly violate the offenders Charter Rights, whether this violation would be apparent or

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