Police Discretion

In most situations that police officers have to deal with, they are given a certain degree of discretion to decide not only when to use force, but also about which type of force to use. No matter what the situation is or what it seems to be at the moment, it requires the officer on the scene to analyze that particular situation and apply his or her training and moral values when choosing how to react. Police officers and law enforcement personnel hold the lives of each and every individual that they come into contact with in their power every day.

When it comes down to it, there is no doubt that the field of law enforcement is a difficult one indeed; one which deserves much admiration and respect. Nonetheless, police officers, as it has been determined, have the ability to injure more people than almost any other occupation in the country; not just because of their training, but because of the situations they are sometimes cast into. It is because of this that they must deal with a slew of, sometimes false, accusations of excessive force. In order to combat the recent rise in accusations and to calm the swell of media back lash that has been a result, officers must continue to be trained appropriately in order to ensure that they are using these powers that have been given to them in the best interests of the community.
Police officers safety is paramount; therefore law enforcement organizations must do everything they can to protect their police officers.
The goal of every organization is to have their employees be productive and content. Therefore, having policy to ensure their safety will not only increase morale, but also increase productivity. Our goal should be protecting our police officers, regardless of cost, not chastising them or inciting violence and hatred towards them. Their job is to protect us and they put their lives on the line every day to do just that. Maybe it is time we to more; maybe it is time we do our part and protect
them.

Body cameras are without a doubt the future of policing, even though there is still a lot of work to be done in addressing the concerns of privacy, camera costs, and video tampering. At this point it is up to state legislatures to agree on policies and procedures in order to successfully implement the use of body cameras by their police departments. Body cameras alone will not solve the issues that have materialized, but they present the means to a good start showing that police departments want to be transparent and to fully start holding themselves accountable for their actions. Accountability is the key word here. Whether it is due to body cameras or two-officer units, officers need to be held accountable for their decisions.