Police Discretion Essay

reveals how many more stops and searches are conducted against racial minorities than would be the case if they were targeted at the same rate as white individuals. These tests were consistent and show that racial minorities would receive disproportionate police attention compared to the white individuals.

Furthermore, included within this protection of human rights is the use police officer’s discretion to exercise force. Without a strong exercise of control over an officer’s use of force, citizens would be at the mercy of the police able to exercise extreme amounts of physical control over them with little, or no, provocation, or at a level that is not proportional to the situation at hand. The use of police discretion to exercise excessive force, violation of due process and equal protection under the law considerations, and violation of other guaranteed human rights, creates a problem beyond that of the

This is a problem as they are not properly trained for such and as a result it enhances police discretion and leads to police

The best approach to controlling police discretion are found in the establishment of policies and procedures and the enactment of laws that put reasonable restraints on the use of discretion. Elimination of police discretion is not an easily attainable goal. As stated previously there is requirement and circumstances that need the use and exercise of police discretion. However, problems identified with the use of discretion should make use of controlling mechanisms instead, such as procedures on the use of discretion, as operation of departmental policies and laws that restrict and limit officers use of discretion. Establishment of better supervision of patrol officers also serves as a controlling