Police Chiefs, Discretion, and Community Policing Strategies
This paper examines the role of discretionary decision-making by police chiefs and its impact on law enforcement departments. It defines police discretion as the exercise of informed judgment beyond strict protocol, arguing that such flexibility is essential to effective modern policing. The paper explores how chiefs use discretion to implement community policing strategies, reorganize departmental power structures, adapt officer training, and issue administrative guidance. Drawing on examples including the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department and a Thames Valley police chief in the UK, the paper demonstrates that discretionary leadership by police executives fosters more responsive, community-oriented, and efficient law enforcement organizations.
- Introduction: Discretion in Modern Policing: Thesis: flexibility over rigid protocol in policing
- Defining Police Discretion: Discretion defined as informed judgment beyond rules
- How Police Chiefs Set Standards Through Discretion: Chiefs model discretion and guide department behavior
- Discretion and Community Policing Strategies: Discretion enables community-oriented policing approaches
- Empowering Officers and Adapting Training: Restructuring power and training for community policing
- Administrative Discretion in Practice: Thames Valley chief empowers officers via common sense
- Conclusion: Discretion improves structure and officer effectiveness
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper grounds its argument in a clear definition of discretion early on, then systematically applies that definition to multiple real-world contexts, making the argument logically progressive.
- It balances theoretical claims with concrete examples — including the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department's service-oriented policing model and the Thames Valley police chief case — giving abstract concepts practical weight.
- Multiple scholarly and government sources (Kelling, Meese, Diamond & Weiss) are integrated throughout to support each distinct claim rather than clustered in one place.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective use of extended exemplification. Rather than citing examples briefly, the author develops each case — particularly the Thames Valley and Los Angeles examples — in enough detail to show how the theoretical principle of discretion plays out in practice. This technique strengthens analytical credibility and shows the reader how abstract policy concepts translate to on-the-ground leadership decisions.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a framing quotation and thesis, then defines the central concept of discretion. It moves into how chiefs model discretionary behavior for their departments, then dedicates two substantial sections to community policing — first the strategic rationale, then the operational mechanisms (officer empowerment and training adaptation). A standalone case study of a UK police chief illustrates administrative discretion before the conclusion ties the argument together. The structure is largely thematic, moving from definition to application to example.
Introduction: Discretion in Modern Policing
"Nobody wants a ministerial agency of justice, one that would ritually and religiously follow every rule and regulation down to the letter in a mechanistic, repetitive, assembly-line manner. Instead, we need responsible administrators — officials who show good judgment and exercise discretion by assessing the context of each and every situation;" this is especially true of a modern law enforcement strategy (Stevens, 2004). Essentially, following the letter of the law with absolutely no adaptations based on individual cases and situations only creates an inefficient system that is not flexible enough for modern implementation in law enforcement. Police chiefs need to be able to make discretionary changes as needed in order to keep their departments fluid and flexible enough to handle contemporary challenges in policing efforts.
Defining Police Discretion
Discretion is the ability to make changes or decisions that may not uphold protocol one hundred percent, based on prior knowledge or experience in a particular situation. Essentially, "it brings knowledge, skill, and insight to bear in unpredictable ways… it involves making personal contributions, judgment calls, exercising autonomy, and individual solutions. It's about the courage to make your own decisions, to have personal input, following your conscience" (Stevens, 2004). Discretion empowers police to make decisions based on their best judgment and acute experience in particular circumstances.
Overall, "police work is complex" and "police use enormous discretion," which "is at the core of police functioning" (Kelling, 1999, p. 6). Using discretion in police work has become a more recognized function of contemporary police practice as more research is done regarding its nature and the complexities of crime in the modern world (Kelling, 1999). Yet, "discretion is not doing what you please" (Stevens, 2004). It is still very calculated and tailored to the problem-solving nature of law enforcement in general.
How Police Chiefs Set Standards Through Discretion
Discretion exercised by police chiefs can help set a standard of guidance for other officers to follow. When a police chief exercises discretion, it can have a powerful impact on the department. Therefore, "guidance from police executives and supervisors can be helpful in defining discretionary areas and the array of legitimate and effective intervention methods — that is, the best practices culled from the experience of other officers" (Nila, 2012). As the top leaders of the department, police chiefs can set a tone for the rest of the department to follow. Thus, when they make discretionary decisions that do not always follow protocol exactly, these decisions impact their ability to lead and set that example. The research suggests that "good administrative guidance from the chief and top officers is critical; it can help define the types of situations subject to discretion and the range of possible actions" (Nila, 2012). Discretionary actions by police chiefs help better empower the rest of their departments.
References
Daily Mail Reporter. (2010). Police chief tells officers: Don't follow the rules…use your common sense! Mail Online. Retrieved from
Diamond, D., & Weiss, D. M. (2005). Community policing: Looking to tomorrow. U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved from
Fridell, L., & Wycoff, M. A. (2004). Community policing: The past, present, and future. Police Executive Research Forum.
Kelling, G. L. (1999). Broken windows and police discretion: National Institute of Justice research report. U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved from
Meese, E. (1993). Community policing and the police officer. Perspectives on Policing, No. 15. U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/139164.pdf
Nila, M. J. (2012). Educating the 21st century cop: Developing blue courage and practical wisdom. Police Chief: The Professional Voice of Law Enforcement. Retrieved from
Stevens, M. (2004). Police discretion. Military Law Associates / California State University Fresno. Retrieved from
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