Discretion in Law Enforcement

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses why the discretion of police to make autonomous decisions about whether to initiate enforcement action is integral to the realities of maintaining a police authority. The paper explores the benefits and problems with police discretion and explains how specific policing styles for different communities are conducive to effective administrative control of police discretion on patrol.

Outline:
Understanding Police Discretion
Benefits and Problems Associated with Police Discretion
Controlling Officer Discretion at the Operational Level through Policing Strategies
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Effective police operations requires sound decision making at every level, starting with field contacts between first-line officers on patrol and citizens all the way up the ranks of operational supervision and department administration and policy making. Some of the most important decisions made by every police officer, beginning with his first probationary tour of duty, are the decision to refrain from taking enforcement action where, technically, enforcement is justified. That makes perfect sense: if every minor violation of penal law that allowed enforcement or arrest necessarily required enforcement or arrest, police agencies would be perpetually busy processing enforcement of the types of violations that do not threaten the safety and welfare of citizens and society."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Black, D.J. (1971) The Social Organization of Arrest. Stanford Law Review, Vol. 23, No. 6. (Jun., 1971), pp. 1087-1111.
• Goldstein (1977) Chapter 5: Categorizing and Structuring Discretion.
• Klinger, D.A. (1997) Negotiating Order in Patrol Work: An Ecological Theory of Police Response to Deviance. Criminology, Vol. 35, No. 2. pp. 277-306
• Van Maanen, J. (1978) Practice of Policing; The Asshole, pp. 221-238.
• Wilson (1968) Chapter 4: Police Discretion, pp. 83-139.

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• Term Paper # 95038 : "Discretion in Police Work"

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