Police Discretion Police discretion is the ability to choose a course of action because of broad limits of power. It "refers to the autonomy an officer has in choosing an appropriate course of action" (The Police In America‚ 113). It "includes authority to decide which of the various means of helping the helpless‚ maintaining order‚ and keeping the peace are best suited to particular circumstances" (www.worldandi.com/specialreport/1989/january/Sa15878.htm). The police need to have discretion
Premium Police Crime Constable
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
Premium Police Police officer Police brutality
Police Discretion Should all police officers of America be advised to enforce the law equally in all situations? Before a justifiable response‚ let’s create a scenario; a full grown man in his early twenties is walking in a residential neighborhood‚ carrying a baseball bat and smashing car windows. Authorities have been called and the man is obstructing both officers that arrived in a squad car- the man is swinging the bat in the direction of the officers and is creating a threat to their lives
Premium Police Criminal law Probable cause
Police Discretion Police discretion is freedom or the power of state officers to exercise various alternative actions towards a person. A police officer may choose to give a warning‚ issue a ticket of violation or arrest an offender. Not all circumstances allow police to have discretion. According to a research by Carrington and Schulenber (2004)‚ various factors affect police discretion. These factors include the seriousness and the nature of the crime‚ prior contacts with the police‚ injury to
Premium Crime Police Constable
Police Discretion Should Be Enhanced Police discretion can be defined as can be examined in many ways. A police officer’s belief system consists of his or her beliefs‚ attitudes‚ values‚ and other subjective outlooks. Regardless of any factors‚ there is always room for improvement and police officer’s discretion should be enhanced. All police officer’s use discretion in every situation they encounter. Officers realize they are constantly in the public eye and every move they make
Premium Police
POLICE DISCRETION There’s a difference between the ministration and administration of justice. Nobody (except mechanical jurisprudence theorists) wants a ministerial agency of justice‚ one that would ritually and religiously follow every rule and regulation down to the letter in a mechanistic‚ repetitive‚ assembly-line manner. Instead‚ we need responsible administers -- officials who show "good judgment" and exercise discretion by assessing the context of each and every situation. By definition
Premium Police Crime
Term Paper Police Discretion Discretion‚ uncertainly‚ and inefficiently are rampant and essential in criminal justice. Nobody expects perfection. That would neither be good nor fair. Justice is a sporting event in which playing fair is more important than winning. Law enactment‚ enforcement‚ and administration all involve trading off the possibility of perfect outcomes for security against the worst outcomes. Policing is the most visible part of this: employees on the bottom have more discretion
Premium Police Crime
The Fine Line between Police Discretion and Corruption Abstract In today’s law enforcement agencies there is a fine line between discretion and corruption. Imagine that you are a police officer‚ you pull over a car that you suspect is driven by someone who has had too much to drink. Upon reaching the window you find that it’s an old friend from school. Do you take him to jail or do you take him home? Police officers have the power to make this decision. In the world of the officer this could
Premium Police Police brutality Constable
Police discretion essentially alludes to the decision-making power/choice that is afforded to police in terms of the handling of a given situation; the fewer rules given to officers and the more individual power they wield‚ the greater the discretion. Alternately‚ with more rules placed on officers concerning the ways in which they should conduct themselves/police business‚ the lower the level of discretion. In many ways‚ police discretion is very important; every day‚ officers are faced with situations
Premium Police Law Crime
“Anyone attempting to construct a workable definition of the police role will typically come away with old images shattered and a newfound appreciation for the intricacies of police work” (Dempsy) Police officers are faced each day with a vast array of situations with which they must deal. No two situations they encounter are ever the same‚ even when examines a large number of situations over an extended period of time. The officers are usually in the position of having to make decisions on how to
Premium Police Constable Tennessee v. Garner