...Honor Societies. Ms. Halliday has worked with and studied criminal justice issues in Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Her current research interests include transnational sex and drug trafficking, and police fitness testing and standards. LEJA 518 - Issues paper: Police discretion. Gemma L. Halliday Western Illinois University “Enforcing the law without fear or favor” (Goldstein, 1963, p. 141). The very nature of police work is extremely complex in today’s society. Police officers play an important role comprising of many different tasks concerning; actually enforcing the criminal law, performing order maintenance and other miscellaneous services. It is through these duties and services that police are constantly intersecting and interacting with the community on a daily basis. Thus, they hold a very prominent and powerful position in society that requires them to protect these people’s morals, principles and values. And, the way in which police officers go about their duties and enforcing the law should reflect these morals, principles and values in an evolving, dynamic, and complex society (Jones, 2000; Gaines & Kappeler, 2003). Discretion plays a role in nearly every...
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...Law enforcement profession especially the police is a profession like no other when it comes to the use of discretion on daily basis. Discretion means is the authority of someone to make decision between two or more choices (Pollock, 2014 p. 2). In policing, discretion is a privilege given to police officers to use their individual judgement when performing their duties. The special privilege is given to every police officer because most of the time a police officer is working alone when situation arise where the use of discretion is required. The use of police officer’s discretion while doing his/her job depends on different reasons like factors involving the offender, the situation and the system. Although police officer has a privilege of using individualized judgement, it is not absolute because he/she still must follow the ethical standard of his/her police department but some police officer does bend the rules and use an unethical behavior when using discretion. In police, police discretion can mean two things: enforcing the law or letting an offender off the hook. There are various factors where a police officer uses his/her discretion. One of the reason will depend on an offender variable. An example is, John while patrolling the community one night, he saw a car swerving on the road and an obvious DUI. He...
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...Controlling Discretion in the Criminal Justice System Discretion in the criminal justice system is becoming a rising problem. Criminals aren't being arrested when they should, police are using deadly force when it may not have been needed, prosecutors have too much leeway when it comes to which cases they prosecute, judges are given lots of room when it comes to bail and sentencing, and corrections aren't given enough guidelines and rules when it comes to correctional decisions. There needed to be a change to control the overall discretion and there was. Numerous factors played into this change and it proved to be mostly effective. Discretion issues have decreased since the new changes. The issues came in many shapes and forms. Discretion is used by police, prosecutors, and judges. Police use it to decide whether to make an arrest or not. Prosecutors can either accept or reject a case given to them. Judges decide on sentences of convicted criminals. All three of these put together make the entire justice system based on discretion. Police have the most influence discretion wise on the justice system. Goldstein stated in "The Criminal Justice System: Politics and Policies" that "the police define the ambit of discretion throughout the process of other decision makers." Discretion is also stated as "the means by which actors of the criminal justice system substitute their own judgments, interests, or objectives for formally specified statutory punishments in order to influence...
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...In the modern police world the ideas of discretion and decision making are crucial. Discretion in police terms refers to the actions taking by an officer or any member of the justice system based on their judgements about what the best action is. Police discretion is crucial as no two situations are the same. Police work is often a grey area balancing between a control and support type of work. In this grey zone is where police work must be done and discretion is vital. As most police activity occurs in private, away from the public's view, there is a lack of immediate help or reference from a supervisor or peers. Meaning that most officers need to be able to form their own actions quickly based on the current situation. Most times an officer will his discretion in either stopping or detaining someone....
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...I chose Chapter 9, Policing Discretion and Behavior, to summarize. I chose this subject matter because my main goal of taking this course (I am not a Criminal Justice major) was to understand when, why and where an officer can search my possessions and how officers use their discretion to be objective in their line of duty and how not to be subjective when making their decisions. In my personal opinion the world is a corrupt place in many ways. I want to avoid corrupt officers at all costs and I feel as a citizen having the knowledge of police tactics and the way justice is served is the most important step in doing so. I am not saying I do not trust police officers, I have immense respect for their line of work; but I am not naive to the world and I know that everyone cannot be trusted. The Role of Discretion in Policing. Unlike any citizens outside their profession, officers have the right to use force against someone. Another important characteristic of the policing profession is the amount of discretion given to individual officers. The senior police management officers make decisions about department policies, police strategies, and distribution of police resources; this is also called command discretion. Surprisingly, day to day decisions like whom to stop, whom to arrest, and who to question are made by everyday officers. These officers also decide how to deal with public complaints. There is much public concern and the media and policy makers take great interest in...
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...on the police for safety and security because, when confronted with criminal offences or dangerous situations, police officers are often the ones who protect the people. It is also important to note that many Canadians have never had any contact with other components of the criminal justice system, and therefore, the police are all that they know. It is no surprise that policing is considered to be such an important part of the criminal justice system. That being said, people are now becoming aware of the misconduct of some police officers. While...
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...Critique – Police Discretion & Force Professor Coleman Police System & Practices / 2328-51001 El Centro College The degree of force that officers use is heavily influenced by police discretion in real-world situations rather than espoused by a certain agenda. Discretion can be classified into four different categories where administrators, the community, and the individual police officer exercise differing degrees of influence in decision-making. What is needed to help officer discretion is a central ethos that will guide discretion when all other rules fail to help. Normal force is distinct from legal and brutal force (Hunt, 1985). Legal force is taught in police academy. It pertains to being able to subdue, restrain, and control a suspect if the officer is threatened with great bodily harm. Legal force also encompasses the use of deadly force if justified. Normal force is learned when the officer hits the streets and is conditioned to buy more effective weapons, which produce more damage to the suspect. In the academy recruits are taught not to hit a person on the head or neck because of their vulnerability, but on the street officers must hit the suspect wherever they can to control them. Peer approval further justifies this treatment. Thus, when police use the necessary amount of force they are not held accountable for a needed increase, but in fact will be looked down upon by fellow officers if a rookie does not show the necessary aggression. Police use discretion...
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...Discretion is defined as the authority to make a decision between two or more choices. More specifically, it is defined as “the capacity to identify and to document criminal and noncriminal events. Every police officer has a great deal of discretion concerning when to use their authority, power, persuasion, or force. Depending on how an officer sees their duty to society will determine an officer’s discretion. Discretion leads to selective enforcement practices and may result in discrimination against certain groups of people or select individuals (Young, 2011). Most police officer discretion is exercised in situational situations with individuals (Sherman, 1984). Discrimination can lead to legal problems for an officer of the law. If discrimination due to an officer’s use of discretion results in a violation of due process it is a violation of the law (Young, 2010). Due process is the constitutionally mandated procedural steps designed to eliminate error in any governmental deprivation of liberty, life, or property (Pollock, 2010). One of the main concerns with using discretion is the possibility of it leading to a violation of due process by racial profiling. Types of Negative Police Discretion Racial profiling occurs when a police officer uses a “profile” as reasonable suspicion to stop a person with the intent to obtain consent to search their belongings (Pollock, 2010). These stops are usually traffic stops and the officer is looking to obtain consent to search the...
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...a humane source of a military prison was later identified as a prison used to brutally scrutinize detained Iraqis. The torturous acts performed, vile conditions, and weekly executions are difficult to believe to be performed by U.S. soldiers, but it is an individual’s personal choice to act upon poor discretion, which is demonstrated within the prison of Abu Ghraib....
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...Use of Excessive Force by Police Use of Excessive Force by Police Police officers are given a significant amount of discretion simply due to the nature of the job. Officers are faced with many threatening situations forcing them to react quickly, yet appropriately. They have the power to infringe upon any citizen’s rights to freedom and therefore they must use this power effectively. One major concern with the amount of discretion officers have is their power to decide when to use force or when to use lethal force. Manning (1997) argues that it is generally accepted that police should be allowed to use force. He also explains that there are an uncertain amount people who agree on as to what constitutes excessive force. The line between what is necessary and what is extreme is very thin and hard to see. Use of force is no doubt one of the most important aspects in policing; however, force should also be used with great discretion. The community policing style is defined by David Allender (2004) as a philosophy of full-service, personalized policing where the same officer patrols and works in the same are on a permanent basis, from a decentralized place, working in a proactive partnership with citizens to identify and solve problems. The most important factors to community policing include personalization, partnership and problem solving (Allender, 2004). The idea is to create a relationship with citizens that are both trustworthy and honest. When officers begin to use force...
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...The Use of Police Force Police officers in today’s society are given a significant amount of discretion simply due to the nature of the job. These officers are often faced with many threatening situations forcing them to react quickly and properly. They have the power to infringe upon any citizen's rights to freedom and therefore they must use this power within the limits of the law. One major concern with the amount of discretion an officer has is their ability to decide when to or not to use lethal force while apprehending a subject. Manning (1997:295) argues that it is generally accepted that police should be allowed to use force when necessary. He also goes on to explain that there is an uncertainty amongst citizens as to what constitutes excessive force. The link between what is necessary and what is extreme is very marginal. The use of force is no doubt one widely debated aspect in policing; however, excessive force should also be used with great discretion. If officers do not use force on every suspect they encounter, then they may be creating a negative environment for the community. As defined by David Allender (2004:18-19), community policing is a philosophy of full-service, custom-made policing where the same officer patrols and works in the same area on a mandatory basis, from a decentralized place, working in a proactive partnership with citizens of that community to identify and solve problems as a team. The most important factors pertaining to community...
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...perspective discretion can be defined as the authority granted by law to agencies and officials to act on their own considered judgement and conscience in certain situations; and each area of the legal system (judges, parliament and law enforcement) has its own discretion. Police discretion is the ability granted by the legal system to police offices, in certain situations, to act in a manner that allows authorities to make responsible decisions and individual choices or judgments, within certain legal bounds. In law enforcement, discretion is left up to each individual officer to make reasonable and responsible decisions out in the field everyday (Beech, 2008). Discretion is used in many situations, such as when an officer chooses to stop a vehicle for a small traffic violation. There are also times when the officer has no choice but to use specific discretion in certain situations and make a decision on what type of force is necessary for certain situations (Elicker, 2007). Society believes that an officer can make any choice he or she chooses at anytime while on the job, which is highly incorrect as there are many situations when an officer has no choice but to follow the law. For the most part every officer has a choice when to use or not to use discretion, and enforce the law, but allowing this choice to be made by individuals, who may seem like an average member of society, can pose a real threat regarding the misuse of such power (Delattre, 2006). Police discretion though it...
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...discretional power to police and others in the justice system without enforcing the limits, we are asking for trouble. Everyone makes mistakes in their lifetime, it’s just a natural part of being a human and sometimes because of those human errors innocent people fall victim to wrongful accusations and end up in prison over a crime that they didn’t commit. Most officers and prosecutors don’t want to put innocent people in jail and there are relatively few officials out there that abuse their discretional power and spoil everything for us all. I agree with the statement that was made but only to an extent. I argue that discretion is more good than bad and is a necessary evil that we need even though there is a chance that it could be abused by the people that control power. Furthermore, I argue that the theories and laws to limit the discretion officers and prosecutors have are useless because they are usually not enforced strictly enough. One of the reasons that we need police discretion is because of how narrow most laws are when they are created. The nature of our laws prevents them from fitting every situation that comes up which is why we have trials to test a man’s innocence. Not every person who commits a crime deserves the full force of the punishment that they might receive. Some criminals deserve more while others deserve less because of the circumstances of the situation. Some proponents of police discretion argue that, without it, many police officers wouldn’t be...
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...Police Overreach For my assignment, I have chosen an article by the Huffington Post from 10/6 outlining a Supreme Court case regarding police discretion. I picked this for multiple reasons; one being that the defendant is claiming that his 4th amendment rights were violated due to the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine, both of which we have covered in class. The other being that it also poses some interesting questions about antiquated laws in my home state of NC that might end with police discretion and the good faith doctrine being severely limited compared to its current state. Nicholas Heien was arrested after an officer discovered cocaine in his car during a traffic stop due to one of his two brake lights being broken. Originally, Heien consented to the search and the case seemed open and shut. However, the defendant is now claiming the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine- saying that the initial stop was illegal because North Carolina law only mandates that one of two brake lights be operational. The state, however, argues that the Good Faith exception applies, as the officer was not aware of this little known law. They are also arguing that the officer could use discretion as to whether the vehicle was safe to operate. On the other hand, Heien’s lawyers claim that just as ignorance is no defense for citizens, it should not be a defense for police officers. We covered the exclusionary rule through Weeks v US and Mapp v Ohio, which made it law for the US and the States...
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...Social Media in Criminal Justice Administration Analysis Leo/593 25 January 2016 The media and law enforcement really seems to have a very dysfunctional relationship. While there are many examples of where both media and law enforcement cooperate very well together, more often than not, the relationship tends to tilt to the negative side. This relationship has even gotten worse as an effect of the most recent events. The textbook says that the media’s main focus is to generate profits. With that mindset of always wanting to make money, the media will sometimes make decisions to reveal things to the general public that are not entirely true. As an effect, that could cause the public to lose respect for law enforcement. An example of this can be seen from the events that took place in Ferguson, Missouri where teen Michael Brown was shot and killed by a police officer and eventually led to riots in the streets. These events happened because multiple media outlets decided to tell the public details about the shooting before any actual investigation could figure out what happened. The media kept spitting out information about the incident that made the Ferguson police department look bad. The police department could not defend themselves from these accusations because they could not give out any information about an ongoing investigation. Furthermore, the rise of technological advancements like social media outlets, i.e. Facebook and Twitter, are potential dangers that are beyond...
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