Police Discretion And The Control Mechanisms - 2646 Words

Police discretion is a highly debated topic among many different groups, not only in the United States but internationally. It is imperative to understand police discretion, and the various control mechanisms available such as internal control mechanisms, external control mechanisms, control by the citizens, legislative control, and control by the courts. Each control mechanism plays a vital role in how officers of the law handle various situations. Not only do these mechanisms control police discretion they also provide a form of checks and balances to make sure the officers are policing humanly and not violating constitutional rights. While some controls within each mechanism may be repetitive they each have significant influences over the use of police discretion and the validity of an officers belief that they made the best judgment call. Police discretion: Police discretion commonly is used in crimes such as domestic violence, traffic violations, and potential hate crimes or crimes involving an individual who is mentally ill. While, police officers have been trained in many different scenarios it is impossible to determine what situation may arise. â€Å"The degree to which police officers are free to make discretionary decisions plays a role in defining crime control and due process models of the criminal justice system† (Abdullah, 2011.) It would be easy if there were only two types of crimes in the world, than police would not be forced to actually make any decisions onShow MoreRelatedPolice Brutality And Modern Law Enforcement1635 Words   |  7 PagesThe purpose of this paper is to describe the problem of police brutality in modern law enforcement. Despite all of the advancements in contemporary policing, there are still flaws in the system. Many of these problems are found in civil rights, corruption, police-community relations, and police brutality. Even though all of these items are closely related, police brutality is currently the biggest issue throughout the United States and continues to shower the news headlines on a continual basisRead MoreEssay Police Culture1335 Words   |  6 PagesPolice Culture Marissa Efros, Lysa Lawson, Awele Meju, Makita Walker, Joseph Washington CJA/214 May 24, 2012 Jesse Banks Police Culture The history of policing can be traced back to the beginning of time. When looking at the subject of police work there is a large culture and history that follows along with it. There are many topics that can be analyzed when identifying, and describing the elements and the significances that are associated with policing. A largeRead MorePolice Discretion1418 Words   |  6 PagesPolice 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 discretionRead More Police Discretion Essay1354 Words   |  6 PagesPolice Discretion 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. â€Å"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, peopleRead MorePolice Department And The Law Enforcement2143 Words   |  9 PagesThe police department and the law enforcement sector as a whole has been thought of having myriad challenges with regards to situations of the breaking of law. This is mainly because an officer is not always aware of what type of situation he/ she is going to encounter next in the course of maintaining law and order which is their basic mandate; having said that, it is an all too familiar situation to the law enforcement office rs that any particular situation is entirely different from another. WithRead MoreSocietal And Organizational Factors Within The Creation Of A Police Subculture1535 Words   |  7 PagesBoth societal and organizational factors come into play in the creation of a police subculture. The hierarchy structures of law enforcement agencies vary. These variations determine the attitudes and behaviors of the officers working within these locations. Lower level police officers spend the majority of their time investigating crime and fretting over the pitfalls of current crime policy. Overtime, some officers may begin to view members of the public as untrustworthy or even potentially hostileRead MoreDiscretion Within The Criminal Justice Process1667 Words   |  7 PagesDiscretion in policing and the court system is a necessary and unavoidable facet of criminal justice work, yet it is still very controversial. Discretion exists when courtroom actors (police officers, attorneys, judges) have the flexibility to choose an appropriate response to a situation. Police discretion is defined as â€Å"The opportunity of law enforcement officers to exercise choice in their daily activities† (Nowacki, 2015). This means that actors with a great deal of discretion at their disposalRead MoreTrying Juveniles as Adults Essay1312 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"transferred† to adult court. In this paper I am going to discuss the three primary mechanisms of waiver to adult court: judicial waiver laws, statutory exclusion laws, and prosecutorial discretion or concurrent jurisdiction laws. Furthermore, I will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each type of mechanism that waives juveniles over to the adult court system. Finally, I will conclude by discussing the different mechanisms and how effective they are in relation to the principles and ideals that theRead MorePolice Methods And Strategies For Police Officers1505 Words   |  7 PagesPolice Strategies Police officers often employ various methods and strategies not only to combat criminal activities but also to ensure that the public is safe. These strategies entail beyond response to calls as a traditional method in the provision of service. In fact, they usually aim at crime intervention, prevention, as well as, effectiveness through the mechanisms such as efficient distribution of resources, community outreach, collection of criminal data, mapping of crime and location of suspectRead MoreThe Case Of The Palm Island Death1739 Words   |  7 Pagesaccording to the court documents, was for being a public nuisance after swearing at Police Liaison Officer, Lloyd Bengaroo. Mulrinji was intoxicated at the time of his arrest, with post mortem results showing a blood alcohol concentration of 0.292% (Hurley v. Clements Ors (2008). The lengthy legal battle that ensued was attempting to answer two legal questions. Firstly, was the arrest of Mulrinji for swearing at Police Liaison Offic er, Lloyd Bengaroo warranted and lawful; and secondly, did the arresting