DESCRIBE HOW POLICE DISCRETION

AFFECTS CONTEMPORARY LAW

ENFORCEMENT
 So what is discretion anyway?
 By definition, discretion is the making of
choices among a number of possible courses of
action (Davis 1969)
 (Dictionary.com)
the power or right to decide or act according to 
one's own judgment;
 freedom of judgment or choice
 Why Does Discretion Exist?
 Discretion exist because the law does NOT
cover every situation that a police officer might
encounter in the field. So when an officer gets
to that fork in the road they use their own
discretion to make a choice on what to do
based on their surroundings and the certain
situation their in.
 The problem with Discretion
 The main problem with discretion in policing is
not the exercise of it but the abuse of the
discretion.

 It is this way because in policing it is not about

who you arrest it is who and how many people
are let go due to a police officers under
reaction leniency and their option of whether to
arrest or not.
 Other police officers, who sometimes see non-
dangerous situations as more dangerous than
they really are. Such things result in brutality,
deadly force over reaction and being over
zealous.
Use of Force Continuum
 5 Pillars of Discretion
 discretion-as-judgment -- Discretion is the
opposite of routine and habitual obedience. It
brings knowledge, skill, and insight to bear
in unpredictable ways. Police are not soldiers
who must blindly follows orders (Theirs is
not to reason why/Theirs is but to do or die).
Police must be more than competent at
applying the rules; they must adapt those
rules to local circumstances in a rule-bound
way.
 discretion-as-choice -- Discretion is not just a
matter of realizing when you're in the hole of
the doughnut, or a "grey area". It involves
making personal contributions, judgment
calls, exercising autonomy, and individual
solutions. It's about the courage to make your
own decisions, to have personal input,
following your conscience, even if those
decisions are reversed later by a superior.
 discretion-as-discernment -- Discretion is not
just about making "safe" choices, or being
"soft". It's about making good, virtuous
choices by habit or the wisdom that comes
from age (The better part of valor is
discretion). Prudence, foresight, the ability to
size up people, arguments, and situations.
Tactfulness, tolerance, empathy, and being
discreet are all forms of discernment.
 discretion-as-liberty -- Discretion is not where
the law ends, nor is it the same as
intellectually deriving principles from rules.
It's about permission to act as a free and equal
agent, and using that permission in extending
the rights and duties of office (under color of
law) toward a vision of liberty, inalienable
rights, and the kinds of things that no
majority, rule, or principle can ever take
away.
 discretion-as-license -- Discretion is the
opposite of standard expectations. It's the
privilege to go against the rules, disobey your
superiors, be less than optimal or perfect all
the time, all without degenerating the rules or
eroding the trust between you, your
superiors, or the public. License (not
licentiousness) involves a sense of
accountability that does not have to be
formally recognized or structural.
 Discretion is far from doing as you please. There
are many things that keep discretion within
certain limitations, such as professional
norms( what you can do professionally)
community norms( what the community wants or
needs or expects of you) legal norms ( obviously
what’s legal and moral norms( what is the morally
right thing to do?) ANOTHER PROBLEM IS…
some people on certain cases want strict “ by the
book” law enforcement. Others on other
occasions want loose law enforcement .
 Conclusion
 Police discretion is neither a great thing nor a
terrible thing. It all depends on the officer and
how they use it. If only discretion could be
broken down into being right or wrong. Some
officers have bad uses or intentions for
discretions while other cops use theirs for
good.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
 http://
cstl-hhs.semo.edu/keena/police_subculture.ht
m
 http://
apsu.edu/oconnort/4000/4000lect07.htm
 Dictionary.com
 http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/23
232/police_discretion_pg2.html?cat=17