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What Is Police Discretion?

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What Is Police Discretion?
In performing their duties, police are allowed to use a wide range of discretion. Police discretion “is defined as the power enjoyed by a public officer to make a choice among possible courses of action or inaction”(Green & Kelso, 2010). Using police discretion, officers can decide whether to make an arrest, and make decisions about the amount of force to use during an altercation. Factors that affect these decisions are race/ethnicity, the seriousness of the offense, the suspect’s demeanor, poverty and social marginality, the desires of the complainant, the rule of law and policy issues and organizational norms, and neighborhood characteristics Police discretion can be harmful as some police officers intentionally use their powers of discretion
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