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Sheeva Aboutaleb
CJ 1010
Due: August 1, 2014
Police Discretion: A Constant Struggle
Judgment is not upon all occasions required, but discretion always is.
-Philip Stanhope, 4
th
Earl of Chesterfield
Introduction
Discretion has long been called upon as a fundamental characteristic that police officers
should uphold. It allows for difficult decisions to be made in a split second. But also maintains
the individuality of each case that presents itself. Without an officers ability to exercise
discretion dangerous situations would have to be approached with a much more limited scope of
options to respond with. There is a caveat to the means discretion provides. Working in the field
creates a certain proclivity towards forming preconceptions/misconceptions about a particular
race, gender, age group etc. because of the correlation that may occur between said group and
certain criminal behavior. According to a publication called Reality of Racial Profiling on
civilrights.org, discretion can become clouded by judgment. This piece provides statistics on the
staggering rates of discrimination in traffic stops/violations. It found that African-American
(Black) drivers were two times more likely to be pulled over than white drivers. This begs the
question as to whether or not discretion is being exercised healthily or not. Civilrights (2014)
Background
According to J. Hirbys Police Discretion Definition, there are four main areas that
police employ discretion. First, domestic violence. In situations where police are called upon to
respond to a violent situation at home they must use their deductive reasoning abilities to
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differentiate the parties involved and their stories. For instance they may respond to an
occurrence in which a neighbor observed a child being yelled at and called for abuse. When they
arrive, they find out that it was merely the child not listening. They must listen and asses the
situations from multiple views, then formulate their own conclusion and act.
The second area is traffic violations. This may be one of the most popular situations that
falls into speculation and becomes obscure as to whether or not discretion or discrimination was
used. If we look back at the information provided in Civilrights (2014), there is an abundance of
statistics that would lead you to believe cops have a tendency to lean more towards
discrimination. For example, there was a study done in Arizona between 2006-2007 in which the
race of people pulled over by highway patrol was examined and compared. They found that
African Americans and Hispanics were far more likely to be pulled over than whites on every
highway that was studied.
Third, is hate crimes. These crimes may be some of the most difficult to use discretion
properly and discern whether or not hate has been committed.
Last, crimes that are committed/involve mentally ill persons. The lighter side of police
response may occur for those that are not at 100% mental capacity.
Review
Understanding the vast variation that police encounter on a daily basis allows one to
justify the great need for individual discretion. We have to consider that every single person is
extremely diverse. Police must differentiate every situation and apply a unique response. To
achieve this one must have the approval of society to exercise tact, vigilance and wisdom. So we
move into the discussion of juvenile specialization. Is it important to have a department that
specializes in handling crimes of minor? Would those employed in such a department exercise a
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different level of discretion? According to a research article written by Jennifer L. Schulenberg
and Deirdre Warren, children that are introduced to the criminal justice system and not shown
any slack or understanding are more likely to become indifferent and offend again. Discretion
takes many forms. And to have a specialty focus that allows you more room to exercise that
gives the perpetrator a more individualized approach and encourages the ability to rehabilitate
the undesired behavior.
Opposition
We can definitely see that discretion can be abused. It takes the mind, heart, and actions
of each individual to ensure that society does not suffer from the poor decisions of our police
force. The statistics that show us there is potential for discrimination should be considered and
evaluated to the context of the situation. For example, according to James Kilpatricks Give
Police More Discretion in Making Arrests he explores the fact that in most discriminatory
cases police can be illuminated in their way of thinking. There are many statistics that allude to
the idea that police pull over ethnicities other than whites far more frequently, but if we evaluate
Kilpatrick(1996) we find that African Americans may have been targeted more often because
they were more prone to unpaid traffic violations, child support, etc that attracted the police to
pull them over and arrest. This correlation could be skewed to reflect racial profiling, but in
reality it was the individual offenders repeated behavior that lead to the traffic stop/arrest.
Conclusion
Discretion is a key requirement of policing. The right to exercise such keeps many of our
police officers alive and the streets safe. If we limit their abilities, we run the risk of inhibiting a
cops reasonable response. We have a criminal justice system to maintain checks and balances.
The police exercise discretion in the field, and the courts validate these.
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References
1. Hirby, J. (2014, January 2). Police Discretion Definition. The Law Dictionary. Retrieved July
19, 2014, from http://thelawdictionary.org/article/police-discretion-definition/
2. The Reality of Racial Profiling. (2014, April 29). The Leadership Conference on Civil and
Human Rights. Retrieved July 19, 2014, from
http://www.civilrights.org/publications/reports/racial-profiling2011/the-reality-of-racial.html
3. Warren, D. Police Discretion With Apprehended Youth: Assessing The Impact Of Juvenile
Specialization. Police Practice and Research, 3-16. Retrieved July 16, 2014, from the
academic search premier database.
4. Kilpatrick, J. Give police more discretion in making arrests. Human Events, 52, 11. Retrieved
July 16, 2014, from the academic search premier database.