Police discretion is a challenging part of policing the street-level drug trade. The chapter that we read from Peter Moskos’s Cop in the Hood, also mention other challenges including officer’s perceptions of drug dealers, people idolizing criminals, and standards demanded by the prosecutor’s office on drug cases.
Sociologist observe different police behavior in different neighborhoods. Non-punished conduct in one neighborhood could result in criminal sanctions in another. Using proper discretion presents its own challenges. What might be good judgment in discretion for one agency may be criminalized in another. The reading referenced one officer, about to end his shift, asking other officers if they want overtime on a drug arrest. There were