Police Discretion

To: Carson Earnest
From: Victoria Smith
Subject: Assignment #2

Police discretion is issued to officers for the purpose of maintaining a just society. Discretion is defined the ability to form decisions based on their own judgment. These decisions are concluded through copious reasons such an officer’s experience or through their own individual backgrounds. Police discretion has the ability to dismiss minor crimes, yet laws exist where discretion is invalid and officers must accomplish whatever means legally to punish the criminal. Discretion gives police officers the ability to handle crime and punishment as it is seen fit. It is not compulsory that police officers enforce the law equally in every situation. Circumstances may vary amid different situations. The following scenarios can be taken into consideration. If a husband rushes to the hospital to be in time when his child is born and in the act he runs through a stop sign, police discretion may be used to dismiss the husband with a warning. In a case of assault betwixt two teenage boys, if one beats the other in self-defense, he can avoid punishment if no weapons were used on his part. Situations in which police officers are allowed to not enforce the law are traffic violations, comparatively driving one mile over or under the speed limit or running a stop sign, disorderly conduct being loitering in areas which prohibit it, being drunk in public, or self-defense cases when the victim performs acts of violence in order to protect themselves. Situations in which police officers are required to fully enforce the law include cases of domestic violence, obstructing a peace officer, extreme careless driving in which citizens may be harmed, and felony cases similarly murder, rape, arson, or theft. Discretion is granted to police officers in order to maintain an upright society. If discretion did not exist and every single crime required a punishment, suddenly the population of jails and prisons would exceed. The overpopulation of these government institutions would require extra money to maintain them. The money would be delivered through taxes, forcing government to create additional taxes the community will pay. Police discretion allows officers to have an enhanced relationship with citizens. If discretion is used to waive punishments in minor cases, citizens will develop a restored judgment of peace officers. Discretion upholds strengths and weaknesses. The strengths of discretion includes keeping the population of jails and prisons relatively lower and developing an enhanced relationship betwixt officers and the citizens. Weaknesses of discretion may be a lack of apprehending criminals. Due to discretion, officers may believe they can avoid dealing with any crimes simply because the idea of filling out paperwork is tedious. They may also ignore crimes that involve individuals they know being fellow officers, spouses, or relatives, even if the crimes classified are severely erroneous compared to misdemeanors. The relationship betwixt police ethics and discretion is evident. Discretion is influenced through ethics. How an officer judges a scenario is determined through whether he believes the causes of the crime were lawful or not. Without any form of ethics, police officers could be deemed useless. An officer without upholding ethics would look pass any crimes committed, even if the circumstance may put citizen’s life at risk.