Police Discretion Research Paper
Police discretion
Police discretion can be defined as actions undertaken by law enforcers in which they exercise their individual judgment in order to determine the best course of action (Gaines & Kappeler, 2003). Before deciding whether a certain action should be pursued against a suspect, the police take into account many factors, at least in theory. As Kleinig (1996) stresses, discretion also gives law enforcers “a permission, privilege, or prerogative to use judgment about how to make a practical determination” (p. 3). In other words, criminal justice officials cannot freely decide on any action without facing consequences because they have to comply with laws when exercising discretion.
Interestingly, according to Kleinig (1996), we …show more content…
knew almost nothing about police discretion before the 1950s. The predominant assumption was that discretion did not exist within the criminal justice field. When policemen suspected that someone committed a crime, they simply wrote a citation or made an arrest. Then it was the task of prosecutors to handle these suspects, while judges pronounced verdicts, which seemed to be inflexible and the same for every perpetrator (Gaines & Kappeler, 2003).
This could be attributed to the fact that police discretion and the criminal justice system were perceived as illegal. The police were simply expected to work “by the book,” meaning that they had to ensure enforcement to the full letter of the law. At the time, graft and corruption were rampant in the criminal justice system. Therefore, acknowledging that discretion had a huge impact on everyday police work was just not acceptable (Kelling & Coles, 1996).
There is a common assumption among citizens that the police use discretion only when it comes to cases of possible arrest.
Yet, in reality, law enforcers representing various units of their organization exercise discretion in diverse situation (Walker & Katz, 2005). It is not an overstatement that the line-patrol officers have the most discretion. This is largely attributed to the fact that they serve as the primary law enforcers, who tackle crime on a daily basis. But in general, it is fair to say that every policeman uses discretion every day. It can happen when he takes a decision to patrol an area with more vigilance or when he decides on adopting a more community oriented policing …show more content…
approach.
These discretionary decisions made by individual law enforcers are rooted in diverse factors, which certainly have an impact on the choice made by a policeman, who needs to make up his mind whether to go by the book or use his own judgment.
Such factors include, among others, situational and offender components, as well as organizational and environmental factors (Gaines & Kappeler, 2003).
In exercising discretion, police officers certainly display a degree of interaction with citizens and offender characteristics. For example, when using discretion, law enforcers rely on the circumstances of the situation in which they end up and on the behavior of a suspect. These factors include the offender’s prior criminal record, the seriousness of the suspected crime, as well as his race, ethnicity and gender (Gaines & Kappeler, 2003).
Organizational factors also play a role in police discretion. They are normally represented by the official policy enforced by a law enforcer’s department and informal organization culture (Gaines & Kappeler, 2003). Last but not least, environmental variables also represent part of the equation when it comes to police discretion. In this respect, it should be noted that local political culture does not have that much influence given that all policed communities have different characteristics. Because their size and demographics vary, policies and police practices will also be
different.
References
Gaines, L. K., & Kappeler, V. E. (2003). Policing in America (4th ed). Cincinnati, OH: Anderson Publishing.
Kelling, G. L., & Coles, C. M. (1996). Fixing broken windows: Restoring order and reducing crime in our communities. New York, NY: The Free Press.
Kleinig, J. (1996). Handled with discretion: Ethical issues in police decision making. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Walker, S., & Katz, C. M. (2005). The police in America: An introduction (5th ed). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies.
Police discretion can be defined as actions undertaken by law enforcers in which they exercise their individual judgment in order to determine the best course of action (Gaines & Kappeler, 2003). Before deciding whether a certain action should be pursued against a suspect, the police take into account many factors, at least in theory. As Kleinig (1996) stresses, discretion also gives law enforcers “a permission, privilege, or prerogative to use judgment about how to make a practical determination” (p. 3). In other words, criminal justice officials cannot freely decide on any action without facing consequences because they have to comply with laws when exercising discretion.
Interestingly, according to Kleinig (1996), we …show more content…
knew almost nothing about police discretion before the 1950s. The predominant assumption was that discretion did not exist within the criminal justice field. When policemen suspected that someone committed a crime, they simply wrote a citation or made an arrest. Then it was the task of prosecutors to handle these suspects, while judges pronounced verdicts, which seemed to be inflexible and the same for every perpetrator (Gaines & Kappeler, 2003).
This could be attributed to the fact that police discretion and the criminal justice system were perceived as illegal. The police were simply expected to work “by the book,” meaning that they had to ensure enforcement to the full letter of the law. At the time, graft and corruption were rampant in the criminal justice system. Therefore, acknowledging that discretion had a huge impact on everyday police work was just not acceptable (Kelling & Coles, 1996).
There is a common assumption among citizens that the police use discretion only when it comes to cases of possible arrest.
Yet, in reality, law enforcers representing various units of their organization exercise discretion in diverse situation (Walker & Katz, 2005). It is not an overstatement that the line-patrol officers have the most discretion. This is largely attributed to the fact that they serve as the primary law enforcers, who tackle crime on a daily basis. But in general, it is fair to say that every policeman uses discretion every day. It can happen when he takes a decision to patrol an area with more vigilance or when he decides on adopting a more community oriented policing …show more content…
approach.
These discretionary decisions made by individual law enforcers are rooted in diverse factors, which certainly have an impact on the choice made by a policeman, who needs to make up his mind whether to go by the book or use his own judgment.
Such factors include, among others, situational and offender components, as well as organizational and environmental factors (Gaines & Kappeler, 2003).
In exercising discretion, police officers certainly display a degree of interaction with citizens and offender characteristics. For example, when using discretion, law enforcers rely on the circumstances of the situation in which they end up and on the behavior of a suspect. These factors include the offender’s prior criminal record, the seriousness of the suspected crime, as well as his race, ethnicity and gender (Gaines & Kappeler, 2003).
Organizational factors also play a role in police discretion. They are normally represented by the official policy enforced by a law enforcer’s department and informal organization culture (Gaines & Kappeler, 2003). Last but not least, environmental variables also represent part of the equation when it comes to police discretion. In this respect, it should be noted that local political culture does not have that much influence given that all policed communities have different characteristics. Because their size and demographics vary, policies and police practices will also be
different.
References
Gaines, L. K., & Kappeler, V. E. (2003). Policing in America (4th ed). Cincinnati, OH: Anderson Publishing.
Kelling, G. L., & Coles, C. M. (1996). Fixing broken windows: Restoring order and reducing crime in our communities. New York, NY: The Free Press.
Kleinig, J. (1996). Handled with discretion: Ethical issues in police decision making. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Walker, S., & Katz, C. M. (2005). The police in America: An introduction (5th ed). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies.