1 / 12

Police in America

Police in America. Chapter Eleven Police Discretion. Discretion. Definition of discretion Official action By a criminal justice official Based upon that individual’s judgment about the best course of action. Discretion in Police Work.

vianca
Download Presentation

Police in America

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Police in America Chapter Eleven Police Discretion

  2. Discretion Definition of discretion • Official action • By a criminal justice official • Based upon that individual’s judgment about the best course of action

  3. Discretion in Police Work Discretion is involved in several critical decisions made by the police. Consider the following: • Domestic Violence Arrests • Mental Health Commitments • Traffic Tickets • Juvenile Court Referrals • Deadly Force

  4. Potential Problems in the Misuse Of Discretion • Discrimination • Denial of Due Process • Police-Community Relations • Personnel Management • Planning and Policy Development

  5. Legal Factors Supreme Court Decisions State Court Decisions State Law Administrative Factors Departmental Policy Supervision Limits on the Exercise of Discretion

  6. Police Decision Makers • Patrol Officers • Detectives • Police Managers

  7. Seriousness of the crime The more serious, the more likely an arrest Strength of the evidence The stronger the evidence, the more likely to arrest Preference of the victim Relationship between victim and suspect Arrests are more likely when victim and suspect are strangers Demeanor of the suspect Disrespect toward the police means arrest Characteristics of the victim Moral judgment of the officer of the victim Factors Influencing Discretion: Situational Factors

  8. Factors Influencing Discretion: Other Factors The influence of race and gender of the citizen • Black suspect, white victim • Behavior of a female victim Police-citizen Interactions • Citizens reaction to officer request • No resistance • Slight resistance • Moderate or high resistance • Violent or explosive resistance The Neighborhood Environment • High crime or low crime areas

  9. Factors Influencing Discretion: Officers & Organizations Characteristics of the individual officer • Race, Gender, Education Organizational Factors • Official Policies • Informal Organizational Culture • Styles of Policing (James Q. Wilson) • Watchman • Legalistic • Service Local political culture

  10. The Control of Discretion: Enhance Professional Judgment Screening & Training • The impact of education and training remains unknown S.O.P. SOP

  11. Bureaucratic Controls of Discretion • Administrative Rulemaking • Written rules • Policies • SOP • Advantages & Limitations • Civilian Oversight

  12. Pattern or Practice Suits • US Justice Department has sued several police departments for a pattern or practice” of violating citizens’ rights. • Cincinnati, OH Police Department • The Pittsburgh (PA) Police Bureau

More Related