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Discretion in Law Enforcement

There are a number of important considerations one must take into account when determining the use and effect of discretion in the part of police work. The fundamental question that any preponderance of the place of discretion in police work has is this: does the exercise in discretion signify a return to "the rule of men (and, now, women)"? Or, is it, rather, an important dimension of the rule of law? (Kleinig, 2008, p. 72). A prudent examination of some of the most eminent factors related to this issue unequivocally finds that all processes of law establishment and enforcement contain innate requirements of discretion to preserve the spirit in which such laws were conceived.

One of the most convincing forms of evidence that reinforces the fact that discretion is an intrinsic part of the rule of law is the place that experience plays in police work. Experience based on working with people and situations in everyday affairs is oftentimes a police officer's most valuable means of understanding and assuaging any sort of confrontational situation. Even an article by Lawrence Sherman, which propounds the usage of scientific evidence to displace police discretion, readily concedes that experience is an essential part of police work. The following quotation demonstrates as much. "…experience is the best teacher and…helps to give…excellent judgment…Experience…is the foundation of empiricism…as a source of truth in the world" (Sherman, 2008, p. 62). This quotation proves that police officers are right to rely on experience as informing their usage of discretion when encountering situations with civilians, and further solidifies the fact that discretion is an integral part of law enforcement.

Moreover, it is important to understand that there are distinguishable and implicit measures of approval for police officers to utilize discretion and their judgment when dealing with people in the public. Both in the written legislation that police officers follow, as well as in the general expectation of the public that relies on police officers for a plethora of reasons, the notion exists that police officers will utilize discretion when working in the community. The following quotation proves this point succinctly. "…we give our consent to the police acting on their own discretion with respect to certain of their activities only because we believe that those making discretionary decisions are competent to make them" (Kleinig, 2008, p. 88). It is important to note that in this quotation, the author cites the importance of competency in the role of utilizing discretion. Police officers should only be hired and maintained if they are competent. It is the implementation of competency as a key aspect of the discretion used by police officers that distinguishes "the rule of men" from the important dimension of the rule of law (Kleinig, 2008, p. 72) that police discretion entails.