POLICE DISCRETION

Abstract

This study closely examines the complexity and professionalism involved in police officer's decision making powers. With specific focus on level of judgments and how they are effecting community. This paper will highlight the importance of discretion and its involvement in different police departments and discovers the variables that can contribute in its treatment through different ways. This study would retrieve information insight from occupational culture of the police.

Introduction

There is dissimilarity between the administration and ministration of justice. No one is looking for an agency which provides justice, which religiously follow each regulation and rule to its letter spirit in an assembly-line, recurring, and mechanistic way. Instead, they want accountable administer officers who demonstrate exercise discretion and good judgment through analyzing the background of each condition. As per definition, discretion is the making of choices among a number of possible courses of action (Davis 1969). This definition is a modified version of what Kenneth Culp Davis actually interpreted as "free to make choices".

Inefficiency, Discretion and Uncertainty are essential / rampant in criminal justice. No one is expected to achieve perfection. It is a generous occasion where fair performance is more vital than winning. Law endorsement, administration and enforcement all occupy adapting the likelihood of best possible options for protection against the worst scenarios. Providing police service is the most observable element, workforce on the lower level has to face more decisions based on judgment than workforce on the upper level. It can be termed as symbolic bureaucracy (Manning 1977).

An officer encounters several situations during the field which are not purely covered by the Law. They encounter a variety of situations and a wide range of behaviors that still are not considered by the law. Most incredible thing about these people is not how many they hold, but how many they do not hold (non arrest option, under reaction or lenience). Also, task of policing is unsafe, and policemen often consider non crucial circumstances more crucial than reality (deadly force, over reaction, over zealous, brutality). During 1956, an American Bar Foundation study "discovered" police discretion before that it is known as taboo. Before that, the approach of administrators of police was that any divergence from conventional actions was most likely a source of dishonesty and extralegal. That is now known as an essential evil, if structured properly can be put to good use. Implementation of judgment isn't an issue: while its abuse is. Community police department deals with allowing officers additional discretion for efficient service for the needs of the community.

If Discretionary powers being abused

In case, police officers administer abusive use of their discretionary powers. Then it would result in a situation of chaos and in the form of more civilized crime. Imbalance occurs in the overall law and order situation in a community. People start following such practices with which they can play with law. Level of trust will decrease from law enforcing agencies and rate of crime would increase and committing crime will be considered ...