What is police discretion and why is it important?

The principle of police discretion allows a law enforcement official to make effective decisions while on the job when clear solutions may not be available. That means each officer has the flexibility to handle a situation in the manner that they feel best meets the needs of the individual and their overall community.

What do you think about police discretion?

Discretion means the power and ability to make decisions. This is somewhat vague, but so is the concept of police discretion. In the context of policing, discretion means that officers are given some leeway on which they can rely as they make choices that impact the people they are policing.

Is police discretion a good thing?

Police discretion allows law enforcement officials to effectively make decisions in the field when no clear-cut solution is illuminated by law or a handbook. This trend in police work has many advantages such as allowing officers the flexibility to handle each situation in a manner that best fits its individual needs.

What are the disadvantages of police discretion?

A concern with police discretion is the doubts of the proper use of discretion. Some Cons of discretion were community distrust, police using their own beliefs and views to determine what’s serious and not, and leniencies for one person versus another, consistency.

What is police discretion essay?

The criminal justice definition of discretion is Police discretion discusses the authority given to a police officer that allows him or her to decide how to best handle a certain situation. This is designed at increasing the flexibility of the criminal justice system.

What factors influence police discretion?

Terms in this set (6)

  • Five Factors of police discretion. nature of crime.
  • nature of crime. the less serious crime to public, more freedom officers have to ignore it.
  • relationship between criminal/victim.
  • relationship between police and criminal/victim.
  • race/ethnicity, age, gender, class.
  • departmental policy.

Which is a positive aspect of police discretion?

Which is a positive aspect of police discretion? Police are able to devote attention and resources to truly significant offenses.

How is police discretion used?

An example of police discretion is when a car gets pulled over for speeding. The officer can use their discretion and decide whether or not to issue a ticket, issue a warning, or make an arrest.

Is it possible or desirable to limit police discretion?

Police are authorized only to enforce the law; their use of discretion in other areas is not authorized, but the elimination of discretion is neither possible nor desirable.

What are the four human behaviors that influence an officers discretion?

Legal Factors.

  • Administrative Factors.
  • Organizational Cultural Factors.

    • What factors affect police discretion?

    What would happen if the police did not have any discretion?

    Officer discretion is a powerful, basic tool in policing. Removing officer discretion by creating “must arrest” offenses would result in too many unnecessary arrests, while creating “can’t arrest” offenses would result in people ignoring the existing laws.