Discretion is one of the issues in the criminal justice system. Law enforcement officers and courts among others exercise discretion as per their jurisdictions. Police officers employ discretion significantly in law enforcement. However, problems can arise when ‘discretion’ begins to resemble ‘preferential treatment’ or ‘discrimination.’ As such, there are instances where discretion is legitimate and situations when it is problematic.
Discretion is the exercise of choice by law enforcement officers in choosing possible actions or inactions to take while on duty (Bushway & Forst, 2011). There are guidelines governing discretion, and police officers can decide whether to go along with the instructions or contradict them altogether. Therefore, officers acting in discretion may either practice it legally or problematically.
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The legitimate use of discretion is witnessed in the exercise of legal powers to prevent crime and maintain peace and order (Bronitt & Stenning, 2011). In this exercise of judicial powers, officers are allowed to be guided by intuition when pursuing criminals. This use of discretion is legitimate as it facilitates a safe community. Police officers pursue a possible criminal lead and end up bringing suspected criminals to book, thus maintaining law and order in the city.
However, the use of discretion becomes problematic when it influences discrimination. There exist instances of accepted and unaccepted discrimination, of which there lacks a clear contrast (Bronitt & Stenning, 2011). Unaccepted bias as a result of discretion results in the unfair exercise of powers hence unjust outcomes (Bronitt & Stenning, 2011). Police officers may discriminate against an ethnic minority under the disguise of discretion, thereby alienating the community. As a result, there need to be clear guidelines on the exercise of choice with regards to discrimination.
In conclusion, discretion allows police officers to choose the course of action seen to be most appropriate for a particular case. Its legitimacy is upheld in its role in maintaining peace and order. However, it becomes problematic due to discrimination against the ethnic minority. As a result, clear rules should be set to guide police discretion.
References
Bronitt, S., & Stenning, P. (2011). Understanding Discretion in Modern Policing. Criminal Law Justice , 35 .
Bushway, S., & Forst, B. (2011). Discretion in the Criminal Justice System. Oxford Bibliographies Online Datasets . doi: 10.1093/obo/9780195396607-0083
