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Writing a thesis on any topic can be a daunting task, but when it comes to a complex and

controversial subject like police discretion, the challenge becomes even greater. Police discretion
refers to the authority given to law enforcement officers to make decisions and use their judgement
in certain situations, rather than strictly following set rules and procedures. This can be a difficult
topic to research and analyze, as it involves not only legal and ethical considerations, but also societal
and cultural factors.

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the time. It can be overwhelming to try and keep up with all the current events and scholarly
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one perspective, making it difficult to form a well-rounded and objective analysis.

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Legal standards: The laws officers are sworn to uphold, due process establishes means officers can
use. They favor people who are nice to them or who live sleek lives. Police discretion in other words
is the choice the officer has on the way he or she. Not in every situation is good it has ups and its
downs, police officers should be able to make a good judgment calls on the scene. The use of police
discretion repeatedly comes under inspection. Arresting someone is not always the best solution for a
situation they need to analyze how they could fix the situation with discretion. This new provision
brings to mind the major possibility of discriminatory practices against ethnic minorities, one which
is even supported by the law. Police encounter people with mental sickness because of their
upsetting behaviors and in a range of other situations including provision of transport for emergency
hospitalization, response after the commission of crimes police-instigated contact, or enforcement of
court orders. Rokeach, Miller and Snyder (1971): police hold similar political values and share values
of authority with professional fulfillment. Violence is NOT evenly distributed on any social or
geographic dimension. Police officers often justify racial profiling by using probabilities. These plans
are founded on the basis that preceding police behavior has been insufficient and are intended to
improve police reaction to the population. Decisions made by front-line officers on patrol, as well as
higher-level policy decisions, involve an evaluation of different types of crimes and allocation of
limited resources. Or the police can assist the individual by taking them home or release them to
another individual who will then claim responsibility for them. Meaning they will encounter
situations differently, therefore exercising their discretion differently. The police officers can also
help the victim by given them support pamphlets as well as suggest counseling for both couples to
attend. As a department we have our own set of policy and procedures but it is up to the officer to
understand them and utilize them. Reciprocators: compassionate but not comfortable with authority.
This legislation often makes the police officers to receive resistance from them. Although Police have
long considered themselves to be professionals, they have lacked two crucial elements: adequate
training and freedom of discretion. (Pratt) They have been trained to make few decisions on their
own and are trained to perform in accordance with prescribed standards to ensure they treat
everyone the same. An abuse of discretion occurs when a decision made is: unacceptable. Type of
offense. Police more likely to arrest in felony situations. Discretion plays a vital role in a police
officer’s ability to do his or her job, because there is not always a law for all situations that one may
come across. Seeing as there is a positive way to use discretion and ways to abuse discretion, there
are factors limiting patrol officer discretion, and also factors influencing discretionary decisions.
Discretion also assists the department in prioritizing certain situations in which one needs. Begin
developing critical thinking and analytical skills. Permitting people to yell at the police in public
threatening them with political phone calls, as well as to ridicule their abilities cannot become
ordinary. These can conflict with each other—e.g., formal dept. standards may conflict with peer
expectations. There is much risk for stereotyping, an act which is likely to cause an alienation of
affected individuals. However, as much as mass media plays an important role in our society, it.
If not supervised the house could burn down which would lead to detrimental effects to the person’s
household as well as neighboring homes. This leaves the police officer with very hard decisions to
make. In effect, many police officers opt to refer these incidents to social workers and social
scientists. Rokeach, Miller and Snyder (1971): police hold similar political values and share values of
authority with professional fulfillment. Moreover, their discretion may be affected by factors which
include the inappropriate use of subjective and demographic factors to impact on their decisions as
police officers. It is also noted that people in the middle to upper income groups obtain more and
better service from police. Doing as one pleases is not what makes up discretion; rather, discretion is
bounded by norms, which includes society norms, proficient norms, ethical norms and legal norms.
Putting discretion to good use or not dictates the prospect of policing as a profession. Promoting an
environment where the police can do an investigation peacefully and with common respect is in the
shared interest of citizens and police. This used to be occupied by Moscow Metro where non-Slavs
were stopped 21.8 times more than the Slavs. Officers are responsible for making a judgment if there
is enough probable cause or not. This is because the judgments are not always correct. As mentioned
earlier, the officer absolutely knows that he will be accountable to any of the choices that he makes,
which makes him to become very keen in making his choices since they will influence the wider
community. Police officers make decisions on a daily basis on the appropriate application of their
discretion. When eyewitnesses, spectators or the media are present, police are likely to be much
more ceremonial. Alternatively, police officers should be adequately trained in community
development and social work aspects so that they can be fully equipped with skills to solve problems
of domestic violence in their use of discretion (5). Two examples of abusing police discretion are
when racial profiling is used to arrest or make a case, and when there is a set policy within the
department but the officers on the street make decisions that are not consistent with this policy. The
situation is at hand is up to the police discretion on how serious the hate crime is either considered to
be an annoyance or on a larger scale a community threat. When an officer’s arrest results in going to
trial or building a case, they must worry that a defense attorney could challenge the evidence at trial
and have the judge exclude it because of a possible illegal search or something set in stone or
mandated through the supreme court, or through decisions already processed by the state court. We
must always remember that police officer’s are the first responders and are faced with making split-
second decisions. Estimates from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
point out that whites comprise about 70% of drug users, and even as blacks represent only about
12% of drug users, their arrest rate for drug abuse crimes rises up to about 35%41. There are people
in the community who are very stubborn when it comes to police discretion since they are not ready
to accept any decision by the police officers even if it is authorized. As a result, many court
decisions have unfairly targeted racial qualities in considering suspects. In most police calls that
officers respond to the decision making process does not even fall under the lines of discretion. The
differences were largely among the options of, take no action, obtain warrants, or refer to a social
service agency. Certain divisions such as the legal fraternity would perceive the powers of discretion
all but eliminated whilst campaigners of community policing see a requirement to unwind written
directives and permit police a more elastic approach to problem solving within the society. Current
stereotypes already label blacks and other minorities to be more likely inclined to participate in
crimes and other illegal activities. It amplifies the author's voice, reverberating it throughout the
nation, molding the. This is especially true when the police are in a difficult or unfamiliar situation.
On the other hand, police tend to become firm when the city requires income. People’s yelling should
not intimidate police officers.
Along with that the most practiced task on the force is. Since whites were not often stopped and
searched to a similar rate as Blacks, these African Americans account for many arrests leading to
drug encounters. In this framework, discretion is not one decision: whether to arrest or not, but in its
place, is a series of decision points: when to stop a suspect, how to approach the suspect, when to
use power and lastly whether official endorses for instance arrest are essential. They had failed in
using their discretion, and instead, believing in what they saw and heard from Dahmer. They do not
realize the importance of their decision making. Some of these cases include: domestic violence,
public intoxication, trespassing, disorderly conduct, traffic enforcement, hate crimes, mentally ill, use
of force, and prostitution. For instance, they try to do things while intoxicated like cooking a meal in
which would require supervision. As police officer’s we are faced with being held accountability for
every decision that we make. In addition, there are communities with a tendency of resisting any
decision by police officers. Regardless of any factors, there is always room for improvement and
police officer’s discretion should be enhanced. First, all the police officers should be thoroughly
trained on decision making skills so that they can always make competent judgments. There is much
risk for stereotyping, an act which is likely to cause an alienation of affected individuals. The officer
is always obliged to make choices that are for the welfare of the community (Kleining, 91).
Prosecutorial Discretion - core principal in law enforcement, hesitantly used in immigration system
Since 2010- issue rose to prominence in immigration. Here an officer has the fundamental choice of
arresting one or both. Mostly, they do this to prevent various consequences that may arise when
these people are left to wander in the city. I think a lot of police officers by using good judgment
they might and they will let some things slide if they are able to. These organizational styles can
include watchman, legalistic, and service. Ironically, it's the kind of policy that's easiest to get
terminated under from the officer's point of view. For the most part racial profiling has become a
major issue in the application of police discretion because many police officers have taken to abusing
their discretion in implementing arrests and stops and searches. For as long as the courts do not order
them to stop for applying racist techniques, they would keep applying this practice. The child could
be fearful to admit what their parent has done to hurt their family. That I am not as vulnerable as I
might seem all the time and that whatever my abuser took from me was perhaps necessary for my
survival. There is not enough protection to make these witnesses feel safe. In instances when
individuals from exclusive neighbourhoods call the police wanting someone stopped, the constables
do so, and their superiors expect them to as well35. If not supervised the house could burn down
which would lead to detrimental effects to the person’s household as well as neighboring homes.
Through these factors it is easier to identify behaviors that can sometimes be corrected before it is too
late. Prior to this, in Ghana, people had thought of corks and bottles only. Therefore, police officers
must use his or her discretion when put into a situation where they need to make a choice on how to
enforce the law. In the first case, citizens will yell bogus arrest while in the second case; some groups
might file a court order of mandamus.
In Louisiana, police were recently caught on video using excessive force against a young black man.
The officer may not want to take the appropriate action but they know they must make the right
choice or weigh the consequences. Please ensure you properly reference the paper if you're using it
to write your assignment. These opportunities also allow me to talk to the officers about their
professionalism and safe practices in a way that shows their current experience levels, their wisdom
and values that go sometimes unacknowledged in police work. Gender Age Class Race Location
Climate Season Any theory of violence should take these disparities into account, although most do
not. COMPSTAT (short form of COMPuter STATistics) is a systematic. If socialization, managers
will have to change the organization. The last of the situational factors are characteristics of the
individual officer. Having been a victim myself in the past I understand that there may be different
types of domestic issues and that not all cases are the same. Contemporary patterns of crime in the
U.S. Why has crime decreased recently. The officers must be able to choose the outcome they want
for their department in order to keep the public’s trust. There are many studies done on police
discretion and most of them have the opinion that discretion should be enhanced. These
organizational styles can include watchman, legalistic, and service. When an officer’s arrest results in
going to trial or building a case, they must worry that a defense attorney could challenge the
evidence at trial and have the judge exclude it because of a possible illegal search or something set in
stone or mandated through the supreme court, or through decisions already processed by the state
court. Darren Wilson MICHAEL BROWN EVIDENCE OPINION State of Missouri vs. This type of
management system has the ability to. Police are given the use of discretion specifically since we
believe that allowing the use of judgment in some circumstances can lead to improved results than
setting up a rigid set of rules, strategies and measures that cannot be changed because of situations.
In this framework, discretion is not one decision: whether to arrest or not, but in its place, is a series
of decision points: when to stop a suspect, how to approach the suspect, when to use power and
lastly whether official endorses for instance arrest are essential. It is believed that most women once
beaten by their husbands run into the hands of police officers to seek justice. This system is against
their principle aim of protecting the interests of the society (Lister, 2). When officers, regardless of
their motivations, fail to do what they should; “discretion” is no excuse. (Metzgar) In a research
study by Criminologist, George L. There are a lot of issues that the management needs to readdress
looking at the attitudes of workers and supervisors on the factory floor. The abuse of police
discretion is also often apparent in instances of domestic violence. Law Enforcement officers are
often first responders to emergencies and threats to public safety. The document also examines how
police discretion is exercised in decisions around investigation, evidence assessment, charging, and
whether to prosecute particular cases. They police them for various crimes ranging from misconduct
crimes to serious aggressive offenses. GOING TO ED!. -This presentation focuses on situations
where the decision to initiate an Emergency Detention has been made. Opportunities, and Challenges
in the Global Community. “Journal of Law and. Dr. Johann Graf Lambsdorff. Literature. Barro, R.
and D. Gordon (1983), A Positive Theory of Monetary Policy in a Natural Rate Model, The Journal
of Political Economy, Vol. 91 (4): 589-610. This was seen among police officers, as well as
prosecutors and other personnel.

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