Cj505 Critical Issues In Criminal Justice Research Paper
Critical Issues in Criminal Justice: CJ505
Professor: Dr. Ronald Glensor
Unit One Assignment: Issues Related to Law Enforcement Agencies
(Police Discretion)
By
Edward M. Hobbs
August 11, 2014
Introduction In this unit it is asked that writer analyze one of the listed issues that were provided in the instructions. The paper will attempt to describe the pros and cons of the effects of Police Discretions have on law enforcement. In law enforcement the general public see’s act of an officer showing his discretion as a favor or the officer just picking on that particular person. In today’s society things have changed drastically over time in law enforcement to the point that a shown act of kindness by an …show more content…
Research shows that discretion can be when an officer uses legal sanctions. This can be when an officer is on a traffic stop, giving a ticket or making an arrest. The time when an officer is most at odds to use discretion is in a case of use of force: weather the amount of force or weather to use any at all. (Hunter 1985; Terrill et al. 2002.) One other broad use could be when an officer has to make a decision on dividing the amount of services or various duties that are to be performed. (Engel 2007). A prime example would be when on patrol and answering a call, assisting a stranded motorist, the amount of time spent assisting , and a third would be non-sanction, and non- service that an officer will perform such as community …show more content…
In his work he says that officers operate in an environment that on a frequent basis where officers are alone in a community where there are citizens their presence is needed, Research in communities show that officers must make quick decisions and usually without input from other sources. Although there is a chain of command these acts of discretion must be done without going up the chain of command. Goldstein (1977) and Walker and Katz (2002) also point out that the very nature of “the law” is such that, in many cases, officers discretion extends to interpreting the meaning of the statutory text. It becomes, therefore, impossible to enforce the law equally due to the wide interpretation that can be a particular law”.
Other benefits from the use of discretion may be based on economics and the resources that a department may have. In many cities to make a long story short there are just not enough officers, jails, prisons, courts, or community based programs to handle the amount of people that are processed through the criminal justice system. Goldstein says that officers must use discretion on a daily basis in their work place because if an officer did not use discretion when answering calls then they would be completely occupied all the
Professor: Dr. Ronald Glensor
Unit One Assignment: Issues Related to Law Enforcement Agencies
(Police Discretion)
By
Edward M. Hobbs
August 11, 2014
Introduction In this unit it is asked that writer analyze one of the listed issues that were provided in the instructions. The paper will attempt to describe the pros and cons of the effects of Police Discretions have on law enforcement. In law enforcement the general public see’s act of an officer showing his discretion as a favor or the officer just picking on that particular person. In today’s society things have changed drastically over time in law enforcement to the point that a shown act of kindness by an …show more content…
Research shows that discretion can be when an officer uses legal sanctions. This can be when an officer is on a traffic stop, giving a ticket or making an arrest. The time when an officer is most at odds to use discretion is in a case of use of force: weather the amount of force or weather to use any at all. (Hunter 1985; Terrill et al. 2002.) One other broad use could be when an officer has to make a decision on dividing the amount of services or various duties that are to be performed. (Engel 2007). A prime example would be when on patrol and answering a call, assisting a stranded motorist, the amount of time spent assisting , and a third would be non-sanction, and non- service that an officer will perform such as community …show more content…
In his work he says that officers operate in an environment that on a frequent basis where officers are alone in a community where there are citizens their presence is needed, Research in communities show that officers must make quick decisions and usually without input from other sources. Although there is a chain of command these acts of discretion must be done without going up the chain of command. Goldstein (1977) and Walker and Katz (2002) also point out that the very nature of “the law” is such that, in many cases, officers discretion extends to interpreting the meaning of the statutory text. It becomes, therefore, impossible to enforce the law equally due to the wide interpretation that can be a particular law”.
Other benefits from the use of discretion may be based on economics and the resources that a department may have. In many cities to make a long story short there are just not enough officers, jails, prisons, courts, or community based programs to handle the amount of people that are processed through the criminal justice system. Goldstein says that officers must use discretion on a daily basis in their work place because if an officer did not use discretion when answering calls then they would be completely occupied all the