Ethical Police Discriminatory Practices

The police are the frontlines to investigate and determine if a crime has been committed before it can enter into the criminal justice process. It is up to them to protect, investigate, and respond to various service calls. Therefore, police discretion is the very essence in deciding the best course of action to take that will allow for the most desirable outcome in each unique situation to support community goals. For example, discretion is exercised when an officer pulls over a traffic violator and must decide whether or not a ticket or warning is in order. When used properly, discretion can result in a positive outcome. On the hand, when used improperly, it results in unethical and discriminatory practices. Police officers are held to very high standard and ethics, and are not above the law or have the right to abuse the rights of others. Civil liabilities hold officers legally accountable for inappropriate behavior and violations of an individual’s rights. Consequently, officers are confronted with situations where there is no clear solution because they are dealing …show more content…
Citizen review boards were created to get an outside perspective in maintaining effective discipline, citizen resolution, and as a mediator between administrators and citizens due to police misconduct (Gaines & Keppeler, 2011). In other words, both the Internal Affairs and the external citizen review boards partake in investigations to get an independent observation of the complaints against officers and their departments. Under the legislative branch, discretion can be controlled through the enactment of laws, legislative oversight and funding (Gaines & Keppeler, 2011). For example, the enactment of laws that cannot be misinterpreted is evident in domestic violence cases in making it mandatory to arrest the primary aggressor instead of leaving it up to police discretion to make that