Sekhon, N. (2011). Redistributive Policing. Journal of Criminal Law And Criminology, 101(4), 57. Retrieved from http://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/jclc/vol101/iss4/2
Police discretion as the freedom to choose the actions to take when faced with a situation. Usually, these choices include: whether to make an arrest, whether to issue a citation, whether to stop and help someone or whether to perform a search this is according to Nirej Sekhon in his article Redistributive Policing. He further states that good police decisions are made based on good training, street smarts, good intuition and hunches based on experiences.
Halliday,G.(2013). Police discretion Retrieved from
http://www.wiu.edu/coehs/leja/cacj/research/documents/past/haliday.doc
According to Gemma, Halliday discretion spans out throughout the whole criminal justice system starting from the lowest level, which is the police whom she describes as the gatekeepers of the law. She defends the use of discretion arguing that it is an essential part of police work which should be applauded and recognized rather than shunned by members of the public as well as the judicial system. She argues that instead of doing away with discretion or reprimanding officers against the use of personal discretion internal and external controls should be put in place to prevent its abuse. These controls would allow the police to perform their duties to citizens while at the same time protect their individual freedoms while dealing with ambiguous matters for which they are not specifically taught to deal with. She like Sekhon recommends that the department should issue guidelines on how police discretion should be exercised as well as clearly state parameters for discretion should be exercised. Gemma also recommends the formation of oversight committees to examine acts of discretion conducted by police officers in the cause of their duties.
Young, B. (2011). Police Discretion in contemporary America, 1-91. Retrieved from https://repository.library.georgetown.edu/bitstream/handle/10822/553420/youngBerniceBrooks.pdf
On the other hand, Bernice Young states that discretion is an important and powerful tool that police use to inhibit the individuals’ rights and liberties in their quest to maintain social order. Therefore, there should be a continuous mandatory and formal training on the exercise of this discretion for every officer, regardless of their rank or station in a bid to prevent its abuse. Young, further mentions that the rules and regulations that govern police discretion should be stated clearly and precisely, they should also be broad enough to leave no room for ambiguity. However, unlike Gemma and Sekhon, young establishes the need for the criminal justice system to establish a good rapport with the public if there is any chance of them excreting any form of discretion. Trust and respect from both sides is an important aspect of the maintaining law and order. The citizens need to trust the police to do the right thing when dispensing their duties.
Bronitt, S., & Stenning, P. (2011). Understanding Discretion in Modern policing. Thomas Reuters. Retrieved from http://sites.thomsonreuters.com.au/journals/files/2011/12/CrimLJ_v35_pt06_Dec2011_offprint_bronnit_stenning1.pdf
In the article Understanding Police Discretion In Modern Policing the authors seek to refine the reader’s knowledge of police discretion by describing its evolution and history. They show that even at its inception there was a concern that the police would exercise their discretion in pursuit of partisan private interests rather than for the benefit of public interest. They argue that discretion must be justified rationally in both its subjective and objective elements. Unlike Young, these two authors argue that discretion is not absolute nor is it unfettered. It has to be exercised honestly and transparently based on valid and reasonable grounds. They state that discretion should be exercised independently of political or executive influence. Police officers should take care not to undermine the legislative objectives or damage public confidence in policing by abusing their discretionary powers.
References
Bronitt, S., & Stenning, P. (2011). Understanding Discretion in Modern policing. Thomas Reuters, 35. Retrieved from http://sites.thomsonreuters.com.au/journals/files/2011/12/CrimLJ_v35_pt06_Dec2011_offprint_bronnit_stenning1.pdf
Halliday, G. (2013). Police discretion. http://www.wiu.edu/coehs/leja/cacj/research/documents/past/haliday.doc
Sekhon, N. (2011). Redistributive Policing. Journal Of Criminal Law And Criminology, 101(4), 57. Retrieved from http://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/jclc/vol101/iss4/2
Young, B. (2011). Police Discretion in contemporary America, 1-91. Retrieved from https://repository.library.georgetown.edu/bitstream/handle/10822/553420/youngBerniceBrooks.pdf
