Tryston Taylor
Criminology
Dr. John Hill
4/28/2016
Police Discretion
Discretion is an appropriately vague term and concept attributed to police officers in the field, discretion is the ability of criminal justice professionals making operational decisions based on personal judgment instead of formal rules, laws, or official information. In my opinion discretion is a necessary part of law enforcement, having law enforcement officers evaluate the situation based on circumstance is better than having clear cut laws of “must arrest” and “cant arrest”. Overall discretion does help the practice of law enforcement and public safety; because if clear cut laws are introduced then people know exactly what laws they can break without repercussions, while on the opposite side with discretion an officers judgment is more dependable than clear cut laws. The criminal justice system works much more effectively with the concept of discretion as a primary tool of law enforcement officers, it allows decisions to be made where the law is intentionally vague, thus providing a more secure way of handling the law rather than dancing around specific rules and regulations. Evaluating crimes based on a case by case basis is a necessary part for the law enforcement system to work effectively and efficiently in modern society.
Law enforcement uses discretion to make up for the intentionally vague laws and boundaries that people cross in crimes or minor violations, by using discretion to make up for the vagueness of the law it makes for unpredictable outcomes based on circumstances which fits better in larger societies. Crime is less likely to occur with discretion than clear cut laws because with clear cut laws and regulations people can manipulate the clear cut laws and regulations so they receive the smallest consequence possible while still breaking the law. Discretion provides a vagueness of consequence befitting the crime, whether it is professional courtesy or being arrested. Discretion can have ethical issues of course, because discretion relies on human judgment which can be wrong but is more reliable than clear cut regulations. The criminal justice system is much more effective with discretion than with clear cut laws, no one can outline regulations for every scenario that a law enforcement officer will come across in his career.
Overall discretion is a necessary part of law enforcement, without it officers would have to deal with a lot more regulations and specific laws that won’t cover every scenario and will only cause more problems in the long run. Discretion is a key element to having effective law enforcement and public safety, balancing the two is achievable with discretion rather than clear cut laws. The law is intentionally vague so that discretion can be put to use by law enforcement officers, human judgment is much more dependable in the long run and doesn’t require guidelines for specific scenarios that a police officer may or may not encounter in his career. Ethically discretion has few problems, granted those few problems can be blown out of proportion based on circumstance, but overall discretion has a much more positive pay off than negative. In conclusion discretion is essential to law enforcement, and should not be eliminated at all.
References
Gaines, Larry K., Michael Kaune, and Roger LeRoy. Miller. Criminal Justice in Action. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 2009. Print.
"Police Discretion Definition." The Law Dictionary. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.
"Police Discretion: Definition, Examples, Pros & Cons - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com." Study.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.
Criminology
Dr. John Hill
4/28/2016
Police Discretion
Discretion is an appropriately vague term and concept attributed to police officers in the field, discretion is the ability of criminal justice professionals making operational decisions based on personal judgment instead of formal rules, laws, or official information. In my opinion discretion is a necessary part of law enforcement, having law enforcement officers evaluate the situation based on circumstance is better than having clear cut laws of “must arrest” and “cant arrest”. Overall discretion does help the practice of law enforcement and public safety; because if clear cut laws are introduced then people know exactly what laws they can break without repercussions, while on the opposite side with discretion an officers judgment is more dependable than clear cut laws. The criminal justice system works much more effectively with the concept of discretion as a primary tool of law enforcement officers, it allows decisions to be made where the law is intentionally vague, thus providing a more secure way of handling the law rather than dancing around specific rules and regulations. Evaluating crimes based on a case by case basis is a necessary part for the law enforcement system to work effectively and efficiently in modern society.
Law enforcement uses discretion to make up for the intentionally vague laws and boundaries that people cross in crimes or minor violations, by using discretion to make up for the vagueness of the law it makes for unpredictable outcomes based on circumstances which fits better in larger societies. Crime is less likely to occur with discretion than clear cut laws because with clear cut laws and regulations people can manipulate the clear cut laws and regulations so they receive the smallest consequence possible while still breaking the law. Discretion provides a vagueness of consequence befitting the crime, whether it is professional courtesy or being arrested. Discretion can have ethical issues of course, because discretion relies on human judgment which can be wrong but is more reliable than clear cut regulations. The criminal justice system is much more effective with discretion than with clear cut laws, no one can outline regulations for every scenario that a law enforcement officer will come across in his career.
Overall discretion is a necessary part of law enforcement, without it officers would have to deal with a lot more regulations and specific laws that won’t cover every scenario and will only cause more problems in the long run. Discretion is a key element to having effective law enforcement and public safety, balancing the two is achievable with discretion rather than clear cut laws. The law is intentionally vague so that discretion can be put to use by law enforcement officers, human judgment is much more dependable in the long run and doesn’t require guidelines for specific scenarios that a police officer may or may not encounter in his career. Ethically discretion has few problems, granted those few problems can be blown out of proportion based on circumstance, but overall discretion has a much more positive pay off than negative. In conclusion discretion is essential to law enforcement, and should not be eliminated at all.
References
Gaines, Larry K., Michael Kaune, and Roger LeRoy. Miller. Criminal Justice in Action. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 2009. Print.
"Police Discretion Definition." The Law Dictionary. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.
"Police Discretion: Definition, Examples, Pros & Cons - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com." Study.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.