This is important, because how discretion is used will determine the way the law is enforced on a regular basis. (Scott, 2011) The internal mechanisms establish various policies and procedures as to how discretion is applied
Once this takes place, is when there will be a change in how everyone is interacting with the community and the way they are looking at their job. (Pelovangu, 2010) ("Police Culture," 2010) Stress affects the police force because everyone must endure two different extremes
Subtler clues can also lead to discretionary acts by officers as well, in some areas simply standing on a street corner wearing certain colors or acting in certain ways can constitute the reason for a discretionary decision on the part of an officer. There have been many times in history where police discretion was relatively unchecked and simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time could constitute a reason to detain an individual and charge him or her with a minor crime if no other connection to greater crime was found, "Because almost anything counted as vagrancy or one of the cognate crimes, such as loitering, the police always had the discretion to arrest a suspect, even a law-abiding one," (Miller, 2010, p
How do you feel about the practice? Police discretion is an absolutely essential aspect of policing. There is no way around utilizing police discretion in many instances as short of traffic violations the police are rarely lucky enough to witness a criminal act and therefore police officers are required to build knowledge, both good and questionable that allows them to make rapid decisions about the behaviors of others based on relatively few cues, "policing necessarily and inevitably involves discretion…"(Murakawa & Beckett, 2010, p
Police discretion is often referred to as street-level decision making on the part of officers in the field. The police must be allowed the opportunity to use discretion to a large degree because they, by the nature of their work often face situations that require rapid thought and action to keep the public and themselves safe (Sims, Ruiz, Weaver, & Harvey, 2005, p
Discretion could lead a police officer to target one ethnic group, such as blacks or Hispanics, or to continually ignore activities such as domestic violence or drug activity. In addition, discretionary powers and their misuse can lead to police violence and abuse, such as the case of the New York City police officer that tortured a Haitian suspect and was tried for torture (Banks, 2004, p
In addition, discretion certainly exists between peers in the department, who may consciously or unconsciously influence others by their attitudes and arrest patterns. As another writer notes, "[S]ome law is always or almost always enforced, some is never or almost never enforced, and some is sometimes enforced and sometimes not" (Edwards, 2006)
Another expert notes, "Police encounter a wide range of behaviors and a variety of situations that the law hasn't even thought about yet. One of the most amazing things about policing is not who they arrest, but who and how many they let go (nonarrest options, leniency, underreaction)" (O'Connor, 2004)
On the other hand, the factors that most often contribute to the exercise of discretion in operational policing are very similar, whether in the minds of officers acting autonomously, or manifest in unofficial patrol officer "policy" among officers. Specifically, the factors that generally tend to determine enforcement action on the part of officers include (1) the seriousness of the crime, (2) the degree of intimacy or familiarity between complainant and subject, (3) the attitude and degree of respect shown to law enforcement personnel by the parties involved, and (4) the wishes of the complainant (Black 1971)
As a general rule, proactive police officers engaged in crime prevention-focused administrative strategies encounter more dangerous situations and also come into contact with more minor crimes in dealing with individuals suspected of involvement in serious crimes. Experience (as well as intuition) suggests that officers involved in the more dangerous pursuit of serious crime are less amenable to administrative control where official policy contradicts what the officer perceives to be a matter of officer safety in the field (Klinger 1997)
Speculation of the reasons behind this could go on for some time without actually being resolved. What is clear from studies conducted, however, is that race does affect whether someone is arrested, and this creates undue and unnecessary stress on individuals of color, even if they are not engaged in criminal activity (Harrell, 2000)
These individuals instead argue that race is used as an excuse, and that more African-Americans commit crimes, so it only makes sense that they are arrested in higher numbers. While there may be some truth to this argument in some areas of the country the number of African-Americans, specifically African-American males under 25, that are arrested is still highly disproportionate to the number of African-Americans living in this country today (Smith, Visher, & Davidson, 1984)
Police Discretion The execution of discretion in judgment among police officers has been studied for decades (De Lint, 1998)
He argued that this was the basis for "community policing." (Newfield & Jacobson, 2000) He said that different communities want different kinds of crime made a priority
All of this makes an atmosphere that leaves our police force wondering what they should do, and when, and under what circumstances. The best solution for police forces may be "judgment drills," (Kelly, 2003), where officers consider the set of facts in hypothetical circumstances, consider what actions they might take, and discuss and consider the ramifications of each choice
In addition, the public holds varying views of the police and the actions they take. Generally speaking conservatives tend to have more faith in police and the choices they make, and tend to support policies that give them the greatest amount of discretion, even though that may lead to excesses (Wu
Alternative police responses include arrest, separation, mediation, social service referral, or absolute inaction. Implementation of Mandatory Arrest Laws and Policy In spite of an absence of empirical proof of mandatory policies' effectiveness, 24 states have implemented them (Davis, 2008)
Thus, this increases their possibility of becoming the succeeding generation of abusers and victims. In the year 2010, the NCVS (National Crime Victimization Survey) reported that the estimated domestic violence incidents added up to roughly 509, 230 (Walker and Katz, 2013 page 243)