Discretion-Related Validity

Discretion refers to the freedom to decide what should be done in a particular situation. This can be seen in both a positive and negative light as the police and court can both use discretion which can be damaging to either party in court in terms of achieving justice. The role of discretion within the criminal justice system has many advantages and disadvantages in the way it deals with achieving justice for individuals. This issue is explored in the case of R v Loveridge.

Abdullah and Wells (2011) describe the public idea of discretion as a very misunderstood aspect of police work, therefore making the public’s opinions of police operations negative in some circumstances. Abdullah and Wells (2011) also highlight Packers crime control model saying that “A crime control model places high value on efficiency in apprehending and punishing offenders” and “to operate efficiently the officers must act quickly”. A more concise definition of police discretion is viewed by many law enforcement professionals as an officer’s best judgment in determining whether or not action should be taken in the situation that is presented at that point in time. The best example of this is simply deciding which individuals to stop and what action should be taken against them, if any (Sekhon, 2011). While using discretion is one of the most important tools a police officer has in their line of work, it has not always been concisely known of or defined within the criminal justice system.

The etymology of the word Discretion is rooted in the early 1300’s, stemming from Old French Discrecion or Late Latin Discretionem. Discretion is the noun form of the word Discreet, which is defined as the quality of being careful about what you do and say so that others will not be offended. Discretion’s Latin roots also define it as “to discerne: to separate or distinguish.” In my opinion this sentence refers to having the ability to be prudent, which is a great quality for one to possess because it helps build character. Discretion is also an integral part of developing interpersonal skills, which in turn leads to establishing relationships and shows that you are trustworthy. In this essay, I am going to delve deeper into why discretion is an important value to have, by starting with character composition.

It exposes the hidden story of how and why the Justices from the Supreme Court ruled the way they did in 1973. For instance, when Justice Powell and Justice Rehnquist were being appointed to join the others in deciding this case it made the four liberals, on the Supreme Court already, fearful. This was because they though Justice Powell and Justice Rehnquist were going to side with the conservatives in this case. According to James Simon, who talked with Justice Blackmun, who was the one in charge of the decisions made in this case, stated that on June 1st Justice Douglas, who is a die-hard liberal, delivered a protest letter to Chief Justice Burger. He says that “Douglas refused to withdraw his dissent until Blackmun personally assured

Discretion is the way a person move without being notice. When it comes to this specific aspect we must take it serious because the principle of discretion is not a game or something someone should take lightly, definitely when it is a part of your daily life. One must adopt the actions of being discreet without making any mistakes. It is stated that someone who practice being discreet has the quality of showing good judgement or able to observe wisdom in silence. In addition, with the ability of discretion comes with the aptitude of unrestricted decisions. Discretion is meant to aid the individual not to damage one whose involved. Living a life that nobody can understand or figure out when it comes to your daily lifestyle. Discretion can

Either type of trust may be "discretionary" or "non-discretionary". This aspect refers to the power of the trustees to make decisions about the allocation of trust income to particular beneficiaries, the timing of distribution of that income, or the final distribution of trust property to the beneficiaries.

The Campbell, McHenry and Wise study (1993), demonstrates job performance is multi-dimensional. It consists of many types of behaviors. This model could be used as a way to measure top performers and high caliber talent once a company gets the candidate in the door. The data collected from my survey are complimentary, but do not stretch to the degree the data in this study suggest. My data indicates from the responses, our company is missing out on qualified candidates due to our GPA guidelines. We are unable to consider the prior job experience for many candidates due to the candidate being eliminated for a GPA below company guidelines. The respondents agreed 100%, that GPA should not be weighted higher than experience. If candidates who do not meet the GPA guidelines are hired after being approved by upper leadership, we would be able to measure job performance based on the criteria in the Campbell, McHenry and Wise study (1993).

When it comes to discretion it comes naturally. No matter what type of job an individual have at some point discretion is going to be used. As a parent, we have to use discretion when allow our children to pick and choose their friends. Working in the medical field I personal have to use judgment and discretion on a daily bases. Discretion is just the judgment call of making decisions or chooses that needs to be made in a satiation.

Hiring and training employees is costly and many employers use screening methods to filter out unsuitable candidates that do not meet the assessment criteria. In valid selection systems, there is a match between required job abilities and assessed abilities (Kitaeff, 2011). Cognitive ability tests are widely used in the application screening process and measure how well an individual understands and solves complex problems, applies reasoning to difficult situations, and thinks abstractly. Many organizations use the Wonderlic Personnel Test to assist in recruiting candidates that fit the behavioral, learning and problem solving job criteria. According to Kitaeff (2011),“the Wonderlic test provides a

The first topic within the reading that stood out to me was the concept of professional discretion. Through the use of professional discretion, the client looking for knowledge on the topic that the professional specializes in is given the best means with regards to the needs of the client. There are many different options that may be chosen and the point of professional discretion is allowing the professional to assess these options and help the client choose the best option for them. The examples given in the passage with regards to potential options include the use of surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, or no treatment at the time. The professional would then weigh the listed options with those needs of the client and come up with the best

Cesar, I agree with you. Full enforcement,(Bohm and Haley, 2011) when law enforcement officers are to make an arrest for every violation of the law, is unrealistic. Officers are overworked;using selective enforcement, our resources would be depleted and morale would be low attempting to use the full enforcement.

In every test or procedure, there are various tools or instruments of measure. Some of these are less abstract and are often descriptive. These concepts, when defined, form constructs. Construct validity is the examination of a measure based on various constructs that were applied. According to Markus & Borsboom (2013), this test is equally as powerful as the criterion-based method and more powerful than the face validity. In this case, it is then important in making predictions such as the future potential or performance in a specific job by translating various constructs such as the satisfaction and qualification of employees into operationalization.

When an officer is called out to a call, the way the call turns out will depend on the officer. When approaching a situation there is nothing more than just the knowledge that help was needed. The officer has to take the time to figure out what needs to be done. By using discretion and judgment the officer can help resolve, better or solve the problem at hand. Discretion is the decision making process used to solve a situation.

Cognitive tests will vary to correlate with the requirement of a position; however, they measure critical thinking and problem solving skills, and a person’s ability to learn, apply and comprehend new information. Personality tests is usually based on a model which describes the different personality dimensions and calculates where an individual stand. For example, a person who wishes to be in law enforcement is screened for traits such as impulse control, stress tolerance, courage, and judgement under pressure. Research supports the use of personality tests in addition to cognitive ability measures where both are valid predictors of job performance (Bobko et. al., 1999; Sackett & Ellingson, 1997; Schmitt et. al.,1997). Psychological evaluations before employment can rationalize the hiring process which results in making more informed decisions.

Many organizations depend only on the result of the test without taking the reliability and validity into considerations, which that might lead to in hiring the wrong people. What is the difference between reliability and validity? “Reliability is the consistency and the stability of a selection measurement and validity is the degree to which a measure predicts on-the-job performance” (Green, 2003). For instance, the consistency of a test is made for to measure reliability and what kind of method to use to test the candidate is to measure validity. Since reliability and validity are both important aspects in the selection process, let’s look at several methods that are used in today’s industries.