Patricia Mendoza

Mrs. Thomas

UWRT 1103-1004

Annotated Bibliographies

Annotated Bibliography 1

Delattre, Edwin J. "Discretion: Judgement and Rules." Character and Cops: Ethics in
Policing. 3rd ed. Washington, DC: AEI, 2011. 45-50. Print.

Author Edwin J. Delattre is professor of philosophy and education emeritus at Boston

University, president emeritus of St. John's College, and an adjunct scholar at the American

Enterprise Institute. He is a frequent lecturer at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, and at

police academies and law enforcement seminars and conferences worldwide. Dr. Delattre is the

author of another two books, Education and the Public Trust (1988; 2nd edition, 1992) and

Character and Cops: Ethics in policing (1989; 2nd edition,1994) and of numerous newspaper

and magazine articles on ethics in daily private and public life. He has also published articles on

excellence in humanities and liberal arts education; on the governance of educational institutions;

and on illegal narcotics, organized crime, urban gangs, and related domestic and international

policy issues. Because Dr. Delattre has previously written books on policing and police conduct,

it is clear that he has plenty of research to back up his claims and cites all of his references,

making his works credible. The target audience for Delattres work could be the police force

itself or simply the general public in order to educate the public about policing more in depth

than what they may already know.

Chapter 4, Discretion: Judgment and Rules begins with Delattre explaining what discretion is, he

defines it as the authority to make decisions of policy and practice (45). Delattre explains how
cops often practice discretion due to the fact that because police often have several different

circumstances every day while they are on the job, there is no possible to way to make specific

guidelines and rules for every single experience they may acquaint on a daily basis. Discretion

means that cops often rely on their own judgment in particular situations, as Delattre emphasizes

discretion is a special kind of liberty-the freedom to make decisions that affect the lives of

others, which other citizens are not empowered to make. Special liberties entail special duties

(45). This chapter also discusses the pros and the cons of discretion among police officers.

Delattre uses an example in this section in which he states that according to Professor Herman

Goldstein, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School, the fear of police discretion

arises from the concern over the awesome power of the police, their reputation for exceeding

their legal authority, and their abuse of existing discretion (46). Delattre believes that

although there obviously have been cases in which police officers abuse their power and show

corruption, if police did not practice discretion and could not make such judgments,

enforcement would be unconditional, and therefore unjust. It would offend public sentiment and

thus render police ineffective (48). This chapter overall claims that discretion comes along with

the job of being a police officer but that the character of the cop is what will determine how this

discretion is used. Discretion can be positive and beneficial so long as it is used properly and that

its limits are known; which isnt always the case among police.

Other quotes:
 Many high-ranking police in America say in private that police themselves have

brought on such criticisms. The history of policing in America does include disregard for

the limits of discretion, violation of civil rights, brutality, and arrogance. Some police

know of the problems of sadism among their fellows as well (46).

Command personnel must establish departmental policies in writing to avoid

discriminatory performance by subordinates. They must make policies that take into

account the facts of daily enforcement, and they must have the courage to say what they

mean. The policies cannot be false, tongue-in-cheek, or so unrealistic that they cause

disbelief, such as one that requires total enforcement of all criminal laws. Limited

manpower and budgets, proper use of informants, public sentiment, and policies of

prosecutors and judges must all be taken into account in deciding what a department

should enforce (49)

As with enforcement, truthful policies within which officers can responsibly

exercise discretion are a basic obligation of command. Fulfillment of this obligation

enables openness and obstructs corruption by increasing the possibility of acting on the

words the department says it lives by (50).

In policing, as in all public service, the place where discretion ends must be

known and respected. Two factors are involved. A person can know he is not allowed to

go beyond a certain point, respect that limit, and still show bad judgement when he has

the authority to decide. And a person can know how to handle difficult situations and still
 be contemptuous of limits. The challenge is to achieve respect for the limits and wisdom

in acting within them (50).

Analysis:

I want to start off by saying that I found this chapter as well as others in this book very

helpful. Police discretion is a topic that I was definitely planning on including in my thesis paper.

The chapter itself was a simple read but extremely informative at the same time. I found it very

clever that the author chose to include not only one perspective on the topic but also chose to

include the opinions and reasonings of those with different views on police discretion. I also

liked that he included many of his own resources within his work because not only is his

personal work a resource for me to use but I can also look at the references that he decided to use

as well. In this chapter, it is clear that the author believes that police officers should practice

discretion and their own judgment in particular circumstances in order for the flow of justice to

run more smoothly and for it to actually be just but Delattre also touches on the fact that not all

police officers have the correct character to practice discretion in the correct manner and

mentions that there are corrupt cops. I agree with Delattre in the sense that of course not all cops

are corrupt cops but unfortunately we cannot ignore the fact that they exist and in my paper, I

will be discussing both sides. Overall, this chapter was very helpful and now that I have analyzed

it, I have a better understanding of what pieces I will include in my thesis paper.