Police Department Roles and Functions Paper University of Phoenix Shannon Eldridge CJA214 December 4‚ 2012 Raymond Smith Police Department Roles and Functions Have you ever wondered what the purpose of having police patrol in every city is? They are here to help prevent and solve crimes as well as protect and serve the people within the community and their jurisdiction of law. All law enforcement agencies work together in various aspects of enforcing laws due
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1. Discretion is foundation of the criminal justice system. Discretion is when the effective limits on a public official’s power leave him or her free to make a choice among a number of possible courses of action (Gaines‚ 2011 p.219). Police discretion is the power or authority that is given to a police officer to act officially in a manner that appears to be just and proper under the presented circumstances. Discretion is not doing as you please. Discretion is bounded by norms (professional norms
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Police Discretion Police discretion is freedom or the power of state officers to exercise various alternative actions towards a person. A police officer may choose to give a warning‚ issue a ticket of violation or arrest an offender. Not all circumstances allow police to have discretion. According to a research by Carrington and Schulenber (2004)‚ various factors affect police discretion. These factors include the seriousness and the nature of the crime‚ prior contacts with the police‚ injury to
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Police discretion by definition is the power to make decisions of policy and practice. Police have the choice to enforce certain laws and how they will be enforced. "Some law is always or almost always enforced‚ some is never or almost never enforced‚ and some is sometimes enforced and sometimes not" (Davis‚ p.1). Similarly with discretion is that the law may not cover every situation a police officer encounters‚ so they must use their discretion wisely. Until 1956‚ people thought of police discretion
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Running head: POLICE DISCRETION Police Discretion CJA/342 University Of Phoenix Police Discretion Police discretion is an important tool in police work due to the law sometimes being too vague or ambiguous. Police officers are trained on different scenarios that one may come across while they are at the academy. The problem tends to arise when a police officer comes across a situation that they were not trained for‚ and since the academy cannot cover every possible scenario that
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In this paper‚ I will be writing about Police Discretion. I will start by defining Police Discretion then briefly discuss the use in domestic disturbances‚ minor misdemeanors‚ and traffic enforcement. I will also discuss the application of police discretion‚ the provisions it uses and how it is currently practiced. At the end of these brief descriptions‚ I will then present the myth that exists in regards to police discretion. And finally‚ I will end this paper with my personal opinion as well
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Policing Essay Police discretion poses an interesting paradox in our democratic society. As Ramirez et al (2000) explains‚ we entrust the police to enforce the law‚ to maintain order‚ and to use legitimate force if necessary ’. Not only do we expect police to complete this rather demanding task‚ but we also expect them to accomplish these tasks by treating the public in a fair and even-handed way ’. Thus a major problem is the over policing ’ and stereotyping ’ of marginalized groups such
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Police Discretion Jocelyn Golphin University of the District of Columbia Criminal Justice System 2/21/2014 Golphin 2 Police discretion is a very important approach in matters concerning criminal justice. There has been a consistent problem between enforcing the law and the spirit of the law. Discretion in the broader sense can be defined as the individual’s ability to make a decision basing on the principle of courses of the action. During training‚ police
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Police Discretion David Gonzalez University of Phoenix Introduction to Policing CJA/370 Professor John W. Feltgen June 23‚ 2005 Abstract In this paper I will discuss police discretion and the use of these discretionary powers in the law enforcement workplace. I will explore the mythical aspects of police discretionary powers and the source of this myth. I will further discuss the control of discretionary authority. I will name instances of law enforcement officials using their discretionary powers
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#2 Police discretion is issued to officers for the purpose of maintaining a just society. Discretion is defined the ability to form decisions based on their own judgment. These decisions are concluded through copious reasons such an officer’s experience or through their own individual backgrounds. Police discretion has the ability to dismiss minor crimes‚ yet laws exist where discretion is invalid and officers must accomplish whatever means legally to punish the criminal. Discretion gives police
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