What is discretionary power of police?

What is discretionary power of police?

Police discretion. 14.21 Police discretion is an important and necessary feature of our criminal justice system. When a police officer suspects that a person has committed an offence they will exercise judgement (or discretion) as to how best to proceed.

What are the 3 levels of enforcement?

In the United States, there are three general levels of law enforcement: federal, state, and local.

What is a discretionary crime?

Introduction. Discretion is the means by which actors in the criminal justice system substitute their own judgment, interests, or objectives for formally specified statutory punishments in order to influence criminal justice outcomes.

What is the highest level of law enforcement in the US?

The chief of police (COP) is the highest-ranking officer in the police department. As the general manager or CEO of the police department, the COP is responsible for the planning, administration, and operation of the police department.

What is police used of discretion?

Discretion means the power and ability to make decisions. This is somewhat vague, but so is the concept of police discretion. In the context of policing, discretion means that officers are given some leeway on which they can rely as they make choices that impact the people they are policing.

Why do police officers have so much discretion?

Officer discretion is a powerful, basic tool in policing. One of the reasons police have discretion is so they may take the totality of the circumstances into consideration while investigating a particular incident to help determine the need for an arrest.

Why is police discretion such an important concern?

The idea behind police discretion is that the law should be flexible in some ways in order to ensure that the spirit of the law is satisfied. Whenever big bodies of law are passed, it is possible that just sticking to the letter of the law can lead to inequity.

What does enforcement discretion mean?

Enforcement discretion. Selective enforcement is the ability that executors of the law (such as police officers or administrative agencies, in some cases) have to select those against whom they want to enforce the law. The use of enforcement discretion in an arbitrary way is referred to as selective enforcement or selective prosecution.

What is discretion in policing?

Police Discretion Definition. In the world of policing, there is one term that is used quite often by leaders, legislators and commentators. That word is “discretion.” Police officers are given the right and opportunity to act according to their discretion in stopping people, arresting them and using force to bring about an arrest.

What is FDA enforcement discretion?

FDA’s so-called enforcement discretion is a less understood and opaque practice that creates confusion and mistrust in the Agency’s ability to reign in unregulated products. FDA did the same for electronic cigarettes where the long delay in a clear policy led to the popularization of e-cigarettes making it hard to enforce the laws.

What is another word for discretion?

discretion, discernment(noun) the trait of judging wisely and objectively. “a man of discernment”. Synonyms: apprehension, circumspection, delicacy, free will, perceptiveness, appreciation, taste, discreetness, sagaciousness, savvy, judgement, prudence, understanding, judgment, discernment, sagacity.