This course covers the purpose, function and history of the agencies in our criminal justice sytem - the Police, Courts, and Corrections. Students explore theories, concepts, and methods used to understand, predict and respond to issues of crime in America. This course also includes the history of racial, ethnic and gender discrimination on charging, conviction, incarceration and employment.
Should police officers exercise discretion??
Discretion: 1. the power or right to decide or act according to one's own judgment; freedom of judgment or choice 2. the quality of being discreet, especially with reference to one's ownactions or speech; prudence or decorum
In my opinion I think it all depends on the situation whether a police officials should exercise discretion or not. Police officers know when someone or something is dangerous, they have a way of reading this better than almost anyone else. If they feel like individuals are in danger then why shouldn't they be able to act on it? I know there are laws and rules for a reason but when it comes down to saving someone's life I think the officer should have the choice to do what he/she feels is best in the situation. Now, there are pros and cons to every situation so of course there are going to be consequences that come with their decision, they just have to make sure that the result is better than those consequences. Police officers are already trained to think on their toes, always be ready for anything to happen and how to make quick decisions. I think for them to be able to decide if the pros or cons outweigh each other will not be a hard task for them to complete.
Pros
Cons
Could save someone's life, if the right decision is made
Gives police officers a form of independence aside from all the laws and rules they have to follow
Officers have the chance to build their confidence in making personal decisions
Would give police officers more accountability to their decisions, making them want to make better decisions
Officers have the risk of going against laws or rules that they might not be able to avoid
Sometimes the public has a different opinion, making the decision of the police officer wrong even if it wasn't
Police officer could be called out with using excessive force, even if it was necessary
Giving officers discretion could be viewed as letting police officers do whatever they want without any rules
As you can see there are good and bad things that could happen when allowing police officers to practice discretion out on the streets. I think no matter what you tell an officer in the time and moment of the situation he/she is going to do what they feel best whether you can tell them or not. Sometimes it is hard for us citizens to realize it but officers are there to protect and save us. They are always thinking about those around them and hardly ever thinking about themselves. In a situation where the officer's life or the lives of the innocent individuals around them are in danger I know for a fact that the officer is going to go with their gut feeling and react in the way they think is the best way possible. The only reason a police officer would not go with what they think is best would be because they would be worried about their job. If we give them this right to go with what they think is best they wouldn't have to worry about this as much, making it easier for them to focus in the situation and do what they were trained to do.
I do believe there should be some limits though. Officers shouldn't just be able to do whatever they want when they want. There is always a way to find out if the decision that was made was made correctly. You will know if a police officer starts to abuse their freedom to decide. There should be guidelines and rules set but they should know that if they decide that in a situation something else besides what they were taught would be better that they should be able to go with that decision. I think to help the issue of police officers abusing their freedom to choose would be to make sure they understand that they will have to deal with whatever consequences come with their decision. If I had that sitting on my plate I would really think about my decisions before I made them. They need to understand that just because they have the freedom to do what they feel is best doesn't mean that they aren't going to be the ones in trouble at the end, this will make them only make the move if they are certain it is the right one.