McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Police in America Chapter Eleven Police Discretion

McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Discretion Definition of discretion –Official action –By a criminal justice official –Based upon that individual’s judgment about the best course of action

McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 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

McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Potential Problems in the Misuse Of Discretion  Discrimination  Denial of Due Process  Police-Community Relations  Personnel Management  Planning and Policy Development

McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Limits on the Exercise of Discretion Legal Factors –Supreme Court Decisions –State Court Decisions –State Law Administrative Factors –Departmental Policy –Supervision

McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Police Decision Makers  Patrol Officers  Detectives  Police Managers

McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Factors Influencing Discretion: Situational Factors  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

McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 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

McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 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

McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The Control of Discretion: Enhance Professional Judgment Screening & Training –The impact of education and training remains unknown SOPSOPSOPSOP S.O.P.

McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Bureaucratic Controls of Discretion  Administrative Rulemaking –Written rules –Policies –SOP –Advantages & Limitations  Civilian Oversight

McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 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