Police Discretion April 20th ‚ 2008 One aspect of the criminal justice system that has been debated for many years is that of police discretion. Police discretion is defined as the ability of a police officer‚ a prosecutor‚ a judge‚ and a jury to exercise a degree of personal decision making in deciding who is going to be charged or punished for a crime and how they are going to be punished. This basically is saying that there are situations when these law enforcement officers have to use their
Premium
The use of force by police in the discharge of their duties can both be reformed and controlled without compromising the capacity of the police to maintain public safety and enforce the law. Violence in the United States has reached epidemic proportions. Violence is most typically an outgrowth of conflict when peaceful dispute mechanisms fail. The use of force by police frequently occurs in situations that are characterized by violence prior to the arrival of police. Crime‚ particularly violent crime
Premium Police Police brutality Law
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
Premium Police Law Criminal law
Police Discretion Case Analysis Albeiro E. Florez Law Enforcement Administration CCJS 340 Due by 13 October 2013 Author Note Albeiro E. Florez‚ Department of Criminal Justice‚ University of Maryland University College. This report is a response to Professor Jeffrey B. Bumgarner’s project 2 directives. Correspondence concerning this report should be addressed to Albeiro E. Florez‚ Department of Criminal Justice‚ University of Maryland University College‚ Adelphi eCampus‚ Adelphi‚ MD
Premium Constable Police
1. Should police officers enforce the law equally in all situations? Why or why not. No‚ as there are different circumstances in the same crime‚ take Murder for example. A sadistic murder deliberate without motive. A violent husband who kicks his pregnant wife repeatedly‚ until she grabs a knife in desperation and stabs him to death. Two very different circumstances of the same crime of murder. 2. In what types of situations should police officers be allowed NOT to enforce the laws?
Premium
Discretion refers to the authority granted to a police officer that allows him to decide how best to deal with a certain situation. This is aimed at increasing the flexibility of the justice system as punishment may not always be the appropriate mode of dealing with crimes. Discretion may empower a police officer to overlook a minor offense giving the offender a warning. Police discretion is a very important aspect in matters concerning criminal justice. There has been a constant dilemma between
Premium Police Law Criminal law
Police Role & Discretion By Dr Jacqueline Azzopardi PhD What is a “role”? Role = RIGHTS & RESPONSIBILITIES linked with a particular position in society Role expectation = the BEHAVIOUR & ACTIONS that people expect from a person in a particular role Role conflict = Trying to perform 2 or more INCOMPATIBLE responsibilities (STRESS!) Eg: Police Service Vs P Force What is the Role of the Police? “Anyone attempting to construct a workable definition of the police role will typically come away with old
Premium Police
Patrol officers use discretion each and every time while on shift. They will respond to a variety of calls and have to make a decision on scene whether to charge a subject or arrest them. Patrol officers also work traffic and enforce moving violations and equipment violations. Try to imagine if officers did not have discretion and had to fully enforce the law each time a violation occurred. This would have a negative impact on community relations and would also completely saturate our court systems
Premium Police Constable Police officer
Police officers in the United States and around the world have an extremely hard job both physically and mentally. Police discretion is a tool that officers use every day on their jobs (Odom 2009). It is a decision making process where the officer deduces from the situation and observation the best solution. For example‚ an officer pulls over a driver for running a red light. The officer must decide whether or not to issue the driver a citation. If the officer feels the driver isn’t intoxicated
Premium Police Law Crime
When I was young‚ I thought police officers were super heroes. From the television I watched‚ police officers were always catching criminals. However‚ as I grew older‚ I saw police officers do everything but catching criminals. As I was reading Police Discretion and Boredom: What Officers Do When There Is Nothing To Do by Scott W. Phillips‚ I came to understand that‚ as the author theorized‚ an officer’s discretionary decision making can minimize the boredom that may be associated with down time
Premium Police Crime Constable