Essay on Police Officer Discretion

occupations. This course relates very well to officer discretion, corruption and discrimination. In today’s society police officers are faced with problematic situation each day and although we cannot teach fight or flight in a classroom we can try to learn what not to do in a difficult situation. When observing the different controversial decisions that are being made, you learn that when police officers are faced with critical and life changing decisions officers do not have the convenience of time. The

The role of a police officer can be rather intense at times, but they play a central part in the law enforcement system. Police officers monitor criminal activity, take part in community patrols, respond to emergency calls, issue citations, make arrests, investigate crimes and testify in court as needed. Although officers have a delegation of authority such as their chain of command, they are also given the discretion on which laws to enforce based on their trustworthiness, experiences, situation

I decided to write my research essay on police discretion and behavior since officers often have to alter their power in order to make decisions. Discretion allows the officer the freedom to respond to a situation given by the law procedure. Thus it is vital that the police officer to know how to deal with certain situation when dealing with criminals since they have a substantial decision-making power. When discretion is implemented as a part of the police-public interaction then it must then it

Police discretion is a highly debated topic among many different groups, not only in the United States but internationally. It is imperative to understand police discretion, and the various control mechanisms available such as internal control mechanisms, external control mechanisms, control by the citizens, legislative control, and control by the courts. Each control mechanism plays a vital role in how officers of the law handle various situations. Not only do these mechanisms control police discretion

Police Discretion Police discretion by definition is the power to make decisions of policy and practice. Police have the choice to enforce certain laws and how they will be enforced. “Some law is always or almost always enforced, some is never or almost never enforced, and some is sometimes enforced and sometimes not” (Davis, p.1). Similarly with discretion is that the law may not cover every situation a police officer encounters, so they must use their discretion wisely. Until 1956, people

Fine Line between Police Discretion and Corruption Abstract In today’s law enforcement agencies there is a fine line between discretion and corruption. Imagine that you are a police officer, you pull over a car that you suspect is driven by someone who has had too much to drink. Upon reaching the window you find that it’s an old friend from school. Do you take him to jail or do you take him home? Police officers have the power to make this decision. In the world of the officer this could be a

There are many factors that affect police discretion when they are dealing with juvenile offenders. Before getting into such factors, I first want to define police discretion. “Police discretion is selective enforcement of the law by authorized police agents. Discretion gives officers a choice among possible courses of action within the limits of their power” (Siegel Pg. 337). This gives officers the options and flexibility to pursue a juvenile criminally for an act or divert them into an alternative

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

this assignment we will discuss Police officer discretion. We will give an example of a police officer using discretion in his or her daily task. We will discuss why is discretion important in the realm of a police officer’s job? How can a lack of discretion affect an officer in a negative way? What about utilizing discretion? How does this affect the officer in a positive manner? Schmalleger (2014) defines discretion as an opportunity for law enforcement officers to exercise choice in their daily

Police discretion by definition is the power to make decisions of policy and practice. Police have the choice to enforce certain laws and how they will be enforced. "Some law is always or almost always enforced, some is never or almost never enforced, and some is sometimes enforced and sometimes not" (Davis, p.1). Similarly with discretion is that the law may not cover every situation a police officer encounters, so they must use their discretion wisely. Until 1956, people thought of police discretion