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Mikell Clark
Professor Gregory Butler
Criminal Justice 1010
26 July 2015
Police Discretion
As a police officer approaches the vehicle of a 17 year old boy who was
driving 10 MPH over the speed limit, he needs to make a decision. The officer
must choose if he wants to give the boy a ticket or let him off with a warning.
This is known as police discretion. These decisions are based on personal
judgment rather than following rules and laws. So, we can ask the question:
Does police discretion raise ethical issues?
Police discretion can be used in a number of situations. For example,
domestic violence, hate crimes, traffic violations, and even crimes that
involve the mentally ill. These situations all call for an officer to use their
personal judgment as they decide a fate for the individual.
One area of discretion that can be considered controversial, is the
subject of racial profiling. Police officers are trained using statistics or
perceived statistics, and it can often target those of certain racial
backgrounds. It is often perceived that people of certain races are more
likely to be guilty of crimes, and this may factor into police choices. While

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this is technically illegal, because discretion is not an exact science with

specified, codified rules, it is very difficult to prove this in court. (1)
I believe that police officers have the right to use discretion. Not every
situation calls for condemnation under the law. Warnings are an acceptable
way to teach individuals, and I believe it will make them more aware of their
wrong actions. This way, they are less likely to commit the same action
again. In my personal experience, I would be more careful after receiving a
warning, because I would understand the risk of penalty if I was to commit
the same act again.
While I support police discretion, some see that the officers are holding
too much power. But, rules can only go so far as each situation is completely
different. As an officer is on a scene, he is taking in a lot of information. He is
judging character, looking at the physical evidence, and many other things.
The officer is taking the totality of the circumstance into consideration as he
determines the need for an arrest.
If laws were put into place, requiring that all speeding individuals must
be arrested, would there be any drivers left? There are always stories and
reasons behind certain actions. For example, what if a mother was speeding
to take her child to a hospital? That would be a condition where the officer
could let the woman go. I think that comes down to basic human
compassion. There is no set list of rules that can be used in the field of
criminal justice. Among the advantages of police discretion is the fact that it

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allows the officer to humanely treat people, giving them a second chance,
and improving on the public perception of the police. If the police were to
follow the laws to the latter, they will be perceived to be unfair by the society
and hence rejected. (4)
Just as there is a thin blue line associated with the police, there is
also a line that exists with police discretion. While they are given the
opportunity to make personal decisions, there is also a line that officers
cannot cross or they themselves will be violating the law. There are
limitations to discretion, and I think that ensures it is a good policy. Discretion
is necessary for efficiency in the criminal justice system.

Citations
(1)http://thelawdictionary.org/article/police-discretion-definition/
(2)http://www.policeone.com/investigations/articles/6878880-Do-policeofficers-have-too-much-or-too-little-discretion/
(3)http://study.com/academy/lesson/police-discretion-definition-examplespros-cons.html
(4) http://criminology-articles.blogspot.com/2012/09/police-discretion.html