Should Law Enforcement Officers Be Permitted?

First, there are several positive aspects of police discretion. One, “that it allows the officer to treat different situations in accordance with humanitarian and practical goals” (82). Meaning that in certain situation where a citizen is breaking the law the officer will have compassion and not enforce the law. For instance, a husband speeding trying to rush to the hospital because his wife is in labor. Even though he’s speeding above the speeding limit, when

First, having discretion in the police department can have numerous positive attributes. This can lead to a positive outlook from the community. The officer has many chances to use discretion for the people, meaning understanding the situation and acting based on that situation not going straight to the rule book. Rather use the rule book for a stricter guideline. An example would be if someone were to violate the law, the police officer could rather warn them then give them an expensive ticket or arrest them leaving them with a positive idea of the police and giving them a chance to correct their ways without paying heavy court costs. In Matthew Taylor's article “ Police discretion can reduce crimes and save lives” while talking about the positives of discretion he

Exactly what does discretion mean when it comes to a police officer whose job it is to enforce societies written laws and statues? Who decides how much discretion is allowed and when it can be used? What kind of issues concerning an individual officer’s discretion might have an effect on his or her whole department? After answering these questions, I hope to show why discretion is a necessary part of a police officer’s job.

Since policing is a job that is usually done without much supervision and in unexpected circumstances, police officers are often required to use their discretion when it comes to giving and applying the authority given to them. Discretionary use of police authority means that a police officer is acting based on not only the explicit facts of a situation, but also on their own perceptions and judgments of a situation. It is hoped in using this discretion that officers choose the best and most ethical course of action, however, that unfortunately does not always happen. Several factors can influence the decision making process of these officers, from personal to situational factors.

Discretion is defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as “the ability to make responsible decisions, individual choice or judgment, power of free decision or latitude of choice within certain legal bounds.” In law enforcement discretion is left up to each individual officer on the field everyday. Police officers are given the authority to make reasonable and responsible decisions out in the field. Discretion is used in many situations, such as when an officer chooses to stop a vehicle for a small traffic violation. There are also times when the officer has no choice but to use specific discretion in certain situations. Society believes that an officer can make any choice he or she chooses

Given the risks inherent in police work and the grave consequences that can occur when civil rights are violated, law enforcement leaders must be unwavering in holding their officers accountable. Unlike any other profession, the possibility of violating civil rights, or being

The topic of this week had a few questions concerning officer discretion and the amount that officer could exhibit in the course of their job. Where does the line between officer discretion and obligation does began and end? The answer is about as clear as mud and varies depending on the interaction. After reading a post from a fellow classmate I was informed that he had the discretion to asses a warning citation in light of a teenager observed to by the officer breaking many traffic laws. He had the ability issue a warning in the event the teenager informed his father of the incident and his father gave the officer a call to verify. This was in total contrast to the traffic stop that occurred a few months prior that I witnessed. My girlfriend

much discretion is policing (pg.74). Discretion in policing does have it 's own strengths and

When discretion can be utilized officers need to take into

With the right to use force, other characteristics police officers have is the amount of discretion given to them. There's different discretion by different officers. Common discretion is the power of a high-ranking police officer to make decisions about the organization, while individual discretion is the personal decision-making power of any criminal justice official. While there were many attempts to defined police discretion, there's one widely accepted definition that was written by Kenneth Clup Davis: "A police officer or police agency may be said to exercise discretion whenever effective limits on his, or her, or its power leave the officer or agency free to make choices among possible courses of action or inaction. " Discretion is an

Police play an important role in society; their main role is to maintain law and order. However, police sometimes fail at their role, resulting in a pressure to reform how they do their job. Discretion is at the forefront of why a reform within policing is needed. Discretion is the freedom for an officer to decide what should be done in a particular situation. For police these can be things such as deciding to arrest or stop based on their race, the area of the situation, prior record, gender, personal bias, and other factors. Discretion is not always good, with this discretion police are often recorded making unlawful arrest and unlawful stop and first. Sometimes this can be the blame for things such

police officers, and the law. Police officers have more powers than the average citizen; they have

The job of a civil servant can be challenging as there are matters that a law enforcement officer has to do to balance their job in a fair and impartial way. Some circumstances can emerge, and a police officer must proportion these issues evenly to do his/her job in an honorable and objective way. It is vital to appreciate that there needs to be equality between the person’s rights and being able to protect the commonalty good. Likewise, another controversy that can come up in law enforcement is the exercising of compensation and retribution in criminal justice along with some police personnel’s adoption of trickery to complete their task. It is imperative to be mindful that making ethical decisions can help make these matters a little more straightforward for the officer that finds him/her in a position where these conditions come into play. This mentality can assist with making issues barely troublesome for an agent of the law that possibly will find themselves in a situation wherever a problem can materialize.

Rules and regulations are specific managerial guidelines that leave little or no room for discretion (Cordner,2016). They either require or prohibit specific behavior on the part of organizational employees. Whereas policies are guides to thinking, and procedures are guides to action, rules and regulations are mandate to action. They must apply only to specific situations that are essentially unchanging and predictable. These rules should be confined strictly to nondiscretionary matters in which no behavioral latitude whatsoever can be granted. Police laws often mirror constitutional and human rights laws, in that these are often the areas police are likely to stray. For example, an officer who has become frustrated

The first pressing problem that I will be discussing is police discretion. Police discretion is defined as the decision an officer makes if they want to proceed with a police matter or give someone a warning. Mastrofski (2004) described discretion as officers having freedom with choosing different options of performing their daily duties. Officers are expected to go out on the street and respectfully do their jobs. Police officers are trained on when to use police discretion. Officers use discretion in the cases of domestic violence disputes, traffic violations, hate crimes, and mentally ill individuals. An officer will use their discretion to make an arrest. For example, depending on the appearance of the victim the officer will make the choice of arresting the perpetrator or leaving the situation alone. Discretion will take place when an arresting officer must decide on what type of charges to file against a person who was arrested (Walker,