DISCRETION IN POLICING

 Professional Police Standards – Case Study Understanding Discretion in Modern Policing (my program course is police foundation) Definition of Police Discretion The phrase the thin blue line is often associated with the police. It means that police in their blue uniforms often act as a line between lawfulness and illegal acts. A ‘thin blue line’ also exists with police discretion. In this case, police are given discretion, or freedom to decide, on the job to make decisions, but there is a ‘thin blue line’ that the police cannot cross or they will be in violation of the law. When the police perform their official duties, there is a certain level of discretion they must use. Many times, a police officer is alone when performing his work, so situations arise where discretion must come into play. Consequently, the police officer must decide on his own or with a partner if applicable in the moment what to do. Student(s) will choose from one of the below case studies and complete an individual written essay on the case study they have chosen. Remember, you are in the boots of a police officer and must take on the role of the officer. Remember what you have learned in the chapter on discretion as well as what has been taught in class and apply what you believe to be the best viable option for you, the person(s) involved and the community as a whole. Your essay must be a minimum of 1000 words and a maximum of 1500 words. This may come from material directly from your Discretion Chapter in which you must quote the author of the chapter which is Professor Howie Page. You further may also use newspaper articles or other credible research sites to support your position to your approach relating to the scenario. You are required to use a minimum of three cited research sites to support your argument in the essay. Your textbook would be a good starting point for one such site and the Internet would be a good use for your research. Remember, although you can use Wikipedia as a search tool to take you to other sites, you can’t use Wikipedia itself as a research site due to the lack of credibility issues with the content.