Police Discretion, and the Various Control Mechanisms (Coursework Sample)

Police discretion
Name
Institution
Police officers encounter various situations every day that they have to resolve. Although they go through the appropriate training meant to aid them in their work, there are situations whereby police officers have to make independent decisions without official guidance. Therefore, their ability to make appropriate judgments is referred to as discretion. For instance, police officers have to resolve whether a suspect needs to be arrested or if a case requires to be investigated. However, the situation in which discretion is applied is important to avoid its abuse. An analysis carried out by Guyot (1991) revealed that police officers require certain qualities to exercise discretion. First, they must be curious to investigate suspicious situations. Second, police officers must possess the ability to perceive danger for it is critical to their safety. However, officers occasionally overact to a situation due to their misinterpretation of the state of affairs. Third, Guyot reports that police officers require a tragic perspective to be empathetic and compassionate in various circumstances. Furthermore, they must also be decisive which enables them to resolve critical situations swiftly. Fifth, they must exercise self-control and lastly officers need to know how to solve unique situations using various techniques (Gaines and Kappela, 2011). Consequently, if police officers exhibit these qualities, they can exercise discretion effectively.
Control mechanisms are used to monitor the application of discretion. Such mechanisms not only regulate officers in what they do, but also it guides officers to tackle difficult situations. There are various internal regulatory mechanisms used to inhibit abuse of discretion. Such mechanisms include; policy directives, supervision and training. For example, an adequate examination of civilian complaints should be applied. Research shows that officers with higher numbers of complaints often use force. Therefore, civilians should be permitted to file complaints using any appropriate form of communication. Officers should not fail to accept claims and civilians are not to follow unwarranted requirements for the submission of their claim. Lastly, complaints should be acknowledged from every person even if they want to maintain their anonymity.
External control mechanisms are enacted by agencies or individuals who may not have knowledge of the functions of the police department. Consequently, this control is attained through legislative oversight, civilian review boards, or the court system. Many civilian review boards were established in the 1960s due to police. The purpose of CRB’s is to provide satisfactory resolution of civilian complaints against police officers. Also, to sustain the discipline of officers, assure citizen confidence in police officers, and influence police administrators based on feedback they receive from citizens (White 2010).
The legislative control of discretion is exercised by the legislature in...