Police discretion, corruption, and accountability in modern law enforcement

Social Science Research

Discussion Question 1- Field of Work

My field of work is Criminal Justice-Law Enforcement. This field of study entails examination of the history and vital functions of modern law enforcement agencies and personnel. The scope of the study deals with the role of the police and history in society thus focusing on modern policing. It also focuses on the structure and functions of organizations in relation to police. During the course, it is also necessary to learn on-the-job experience of the police. This would entail understanding of interaction of police, crime, and criminals according to the justice system. Law enforcement would also study emerging themes in policing for instance discretion, corruption, and accountability. Under module one, area of study focuses on police and society. It also focuses on the history of the American police. Criminal Justice-Law Enforcement (Module 1) majors on police in relation to the society and history of the American police (Walker, 2008).

Discussion Question 2 -- Errors in Human Inquiry

Babbie Earl illustrates on numerous fallacies or errors that undermine the effectiveness and efficiency of human inquiry. These errors include assumed or made up information, overgeneralization, inaccurate observation, selective observation, premature closure, ego involvement, and mystification (Babbie, 2010). In order to avoid these errors, the author suggests accurate measures for each. In one occasion, a friend of mine came to me holding a piece of paper. Instead of checking out what the paper was about, I assumed that he was shedding the tear of joy having passed his test or something. Later it turned out that he was be evacuated from his apartment for failure to pay rent. During this judgment, error or fallacy of made up or assumed information was committed. In order to correct this fallacy or error, it is crucial to focus on the evidence at hand rather than jumping into baseless conclusions. Another incidence of fallacy or error in human inquiry involves making inaccurate observations. For instance claiming that people make incomplete sentences is committing the error of inaccurate observation in conducting research or human inquiry. In order to overcome this fallacy or error in human inquiry, it is necessary to adopt appropriate procedures to widen the scope or field of observation.