Police Discretion Research Paper
Police discretion
Police discretion can be defined as actions undertaken by law enforcers in which they exercise their individual judgment in order to determine the best course of action (Gaines & Kappeler, 2003). Before deciding whether a certain action should be pursued against a suspect, the police take into account many factors, at least in theory. As Kleinig (1996) stresses, discretion also gives law enforcers “a permission, privilege, or prerogative to use judgment about how to make a practical determination” (p. 3). In other words, criminal justice officials cannot freely decide on any action without facing consequences because they have to comply with laws when exercising discretion.
Interestingly, according to Kleinig (1996), we …show more content…
Yet, in reality, law enforcers representing various units of their organization exercise discretion in diverse situation (Walker & Katz, 2005). It is not an overstatement that the line-patrol officers have the most discretion. This is largely attributed to the fact that they serve as the primary law enforcers, who tackle crime on a daily basis. But in general, it is fair to say that every policeman uses discretion every day. It can happen when he takes a decision to patrol an area with more vigilance or when he decides on adopting a more community oriented policing …show more content…
Such factors include, among others, situational and offender components, as well as organizational and environmental factors (Gaines & Kappeler, 2003).
In exercising discretion, police officers certainly display a degree of interaction with citizens and offender characteristics. For example, when using discretion, law enforcers rely on the circumstances of the situation in which they end up and on the behavior of a suspect. These factors include the offender’s prior criminal record, the seriousness of the suspected crime, as well as his race, ethnicity and gender (Gaines & Kappeler, 2003).
Organizational factors also play a role in police discretion. They are normally represented by the official policy enforced by a law enforcer’s department and informal organization culture (Gaines & Kappeler, 2003). Last but not least, environmental variables also represent part of the equation when it comes to police discretion. In this respect, it should be noted that local political culture does not have that much influence given that all policed communities have different characteristics. Because their size and demographics vary, policies and police practices will also be
Police discretion can be defined as actions undertaken by law enforcers in which they exercise their individual judgment in order to determine the best course of action (Gaines & Kappeler, 2003). Before deciding whether a certain action should be pursued against a suspect, the police take into account many factors, at least in theory. As Kleinig (1996) stresses, discretion also gives law enforcers “a permission, privilege, or prerogative to use judgment about how to make a practical determination” (p. 3). In other words, criminal justice officials cannot freely decide on any action without facing consequences because they have to comply with laws when exercising discretion.
Interestingly, according to Kleinig (1996), we …show more content…
Yet, in reality, law enforcers representing various units of their organization exercise discretion in diverse situation (Walker & Katz, 2005). It is not an overstatement that the line-patrol officers have the most discretion. This is largely attributed to the fact that they serve as the primary law enforcers, who tackle crime on a daily basis. But in general, it is fair to say that every policeman uses discretion every day. It can happen when he takes a decision to patrol an area with more vigilance or when he decides on adopting a more community oriented policing …show more content…
Such factors include, among others, situational and offender components, as well as organizational and environmental factors (Gaines & Kappeler, 2003).
In exercising discretion, police officers certainly display a degree of interaction with citizens and offender characteristics. For example, when using discretion, law enforcers rely on the circumstances of the situation in which they end up and on the behavior of a suspect. These factors include the offender’s prior criminal record, the seriousness of the suspected crime, as well as his race, ethnicity and gender (Gaines & Kappeler, 2003).
Organizational factors also play a role in police discretion. They are normally represented by the official policy enforced by a law enforcer’s department and informal organization culture (Gaines & Kappeler, 2003). Last but not least, environmental variables also represent part of the equation when it comes to police discretion. In this respect, it should be noted that local political culture does not have that much influence given that all policed communities have different characteristics. Because their size and demographics vary, policies and police practices will also be