Police and Policing (Week 1) 2024-2025 Lecture Notes PDF

 SI0601 Welcome to Police and Policing! Week 1 – 3rd Oct 2024 Professor Amanda Robinson  Police Discretion and Decision-Making Overview To define police discretion and explain why it exists. To discuss the impact of discretion on police decision-making. To un...

 SI0601 Welcome to Police and Policing! Week 1 – 3rd Oct 2024 Professor Amanda Robinson  Police Discretion and Decision-Making Overview To define police discretion and explain why it exists. To discuss the impact of discretion on police decision-making. To understand the problems associated with uncontrolled police discretion. Definition of Police Discretion “The unwritten rule that police officers have the right to be selective in how they do their jobs as long as they stay within widely prescribed departmental guidelines.” Key Elements Deciding which rules to apply to a given situation Deciding whether to apply them  Lord Scarman (1981)* “The exercise of discretion lies at the heart of the policing function. It is undeniable that there is only one law for all; and it is right that this should be so. But it is equally well recognized that successful policing depends on the exercise of discretion on how the law is enforced. Discretion is the art of suiting action to particular circumstances.” https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118663202.wberen102  Goldstein (1960) “An officer’s decision, however, not to investigate or report adequately a disturbing event which he has reason to believe constitutes a violation of the criminal law does not ordinarily carry with it consequences sufficiently visible to make the community, the legislature, the prosecutor, or the courts aware of a possible failure of service.”  Police Discretion Is THE defining feature of police work Is concentrated in the lower ranks of the police organisation ‘Street-level bureaucrats’ (Lipsky, 1980*) https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7758/9781610447713  Sources of Discretion Nature of criminal law Vague definitions, conflicting expectations Law used for social and medical problems Police work environment Limited supervision of officers Private encounters Limited police resources Myth of full enforcement  Police discretionary decisions Recording crime Stops and searches Collecting evidence Making arrests Proactive investigations Case finalization *Read 3 examples Factors Influencing Discretionary Decisions - 1 Situational features of the incident** Seriousness of the crime Strength of the evidence Victim preference Relationship between victim and suspect Suspect demeanour and condition Victim characteristics Numbers, volume or aggression ** Most important determinants of police behaviour Factors Influencing Discretionary Decisions - 2 Immediate work environment Location Time Force characteristics Specific/formalized policy Professionalism/bureaucratization (Wilson) Officer characteristics Race Gender Education  PROBLEMS WITH UNCONTROLLED DISCRETION Denial of equal protection under the law Poor police-community relations Poor personnel management Poor planning and policy development  Concluding thoughts How can we best deal with these problems? Abolish discretion? Enhance the professional judgment of officers? Implement written policies?