Four Types Of Police Discretion

Law enforcers are individuals of a society who have been given special authority to help maintain social order. They are the civil force empowered by the national or local government to implement laws, protect property, and limit the civil disorder. Law enforcers, such as police officers are available 24 hours, 7 days a week. Police are available to handle civil complaints, burglaries, accidents, traffic stops, and even dangerous situations. There are no rules or laws to every encounter that they endure, so this is where discretion comes into play. Discretion is “defined as an official action by a criminal justice official based on that individual’s judgment about the best course of action.”(Walker & Katz, 2013, p351).
An individual’s discretion
(Gül Z, Hekim H, & Terkesil, 2013, p3). Chemical agents are less likely to cause permanent danger and are less costly as well. Batons are seen to be less dangerous than firearms, but Gul, Hekim, & Terkesil (2013) believe that officers should be trained appropriately, because these could cause serious harm if misused. Police dogs can cause physiological and physical damage. According to the article, Controlling police (excessive) Force: The American Use, Robinette v Barnes, 1988 a suspect was killed by a dog and in another Chew v. Gates, 1990, the dog injured the suspects arm. (p4). Finally, there is the ramming of a vehicle into another when on a pursuit. This can be deadly and research suggests that the pursuit of an escaping vehicle should be done for public safety, security purposes, but not done arbitrarily. (Gül Z, Hekim H, & Terkesil, 2013,
In a survey of 370 officers, younger officers’ were more likely to use force and make arrests, than older officers, but there was no relationship between age and number of citizen complaints. (Chapman, 2014, p3). The number of arrests and force were related because officers may have been in situations that caused immediate action. When it came to the race or ethnicity of officers and shootings. It was reported that Geller and Scott (1992) found that black officers were more likely to shoot civilians than white officers, based upon the black officer feeling threatened from living in a higher crime neighborhood. (Chapman, 2014, p4). On the other hand, a 2008 study was done that concluded that based on an officer’s gender, education, and age, white non-Hispanic officers were more likely to shoot than Hispanics or blacks. (Chapman, 2014, p4). This is why the use of force is so controversial. There is no sure way to determine if force was used inappropriately. If a neighborhood has high crime rates, then officers are likely to be present more frequently, and on negative