What is the downside of discretion in the criminal justice system?
Discretion begins with the decision to label certain acts as criminal and is followed by a series of subsequent decisions made by police officers, judges, prosecutors, and others. Its major drawback is that such decisions are essentially unreviewable and have a significant potential for being arbitrary and capricious.
Why is discretion used in criminal justice system?
Studies in this literature generally hypothesize that discretion plays one of two roles: either it serves as the means by which changing broad social norms against crime causes changes in sentencing patterns, or it serves as the means by which internal social norms of the criminal justice system prevent the …
How discretion is exercised throughout the criminal justice system?
Discretion is the power of officials to act according to the dictates of their own judgment and conscience. Discretion is abused when the judicial action is arbitrary, fanciful, or unreasonable. If the plaintiff or the defendant thinks that the trial court judge has abused the discretion, the party can appeal the case.
Do officers have too much discretion?
Officer discretion is a powerful, basic tool in policing. Removing officer discretion by creating “must arrest” offenses would result in too many unnecessary arrests, while creating “can’t arrest” offenses would result in people ignoring the existing laws.
Is discretion by criminal justice practitioners a good thing?
The use of discretion allows the police officer the flexibility necessary to perform their job. It also allows the police officer to quickly interpret the applicable statutory law and then act upon the determination.
What is discretionary decision making within the criminal courts?
Discretionary decision making is a formal process within the criminal justice system. Discretionary decision making involves judgments by professionals based on unwritten rules, their training, and their experience.
Which of the following policing styles is least amenable to discretion?
Which of the following policing styles is least amenable to discretion? Legalistic style.
When is discretion used?
1 : care in not attracting attention or letting out private information Use discretion in dealing with the situation. 2 : the power to decide what to do I’ll leave it to your discretion.
Are police officers allowed too much discretion Why is discretion a necessary element of policing or is it?