Police Misconduct Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Police Misconduct - Research Paper Example However, it is indisputable that police have used their privileges to take advantage of the public, becoming more of a threat than a source of security to the public. Discretion provides the police with an opportunity to design their own courses of action, and at times the right to abuse the law. The matter of police discretion has been a hot topic in the area of criminology as researchers seek to identify the best approach to streamline police actions. Discretion gives the police the chance to make ethical decisions depending on the complexity of the situation that they encounter to reinstate order in the most appropriate way. One advantage of police discretion is that it saves the public from the agony of harsh police treatment if the law was followed to the letter. However, Dempsey and Forst (2013, p. 140) states that police discretion with the opportunity to abuse their powers in a manner that favours their course of action. Arguably, the police can pursue private interests in the cover of police discretion. Such â€Å"private interest can take several forms, such as direct financial or material profit, receiving services, or psychological profit† (Terry, 2010, p. 617). For instance, a police will decide to take bribe rather than incriminate a careless driver, hence predisposing the public to road accidents. In such an instance, the police will apply discretion to make a decision that is selfish and ignores the plight of the public (Terry, 2010). Although this may benefit one public, it is a wrong decision that puts the life of other drivers at danger. In this light, discretion allows the police to make selfish decisions that only benefit a few and hurt the community welfare. Discretion gives the police the right to bend the law and the consequences of bending the law may be too severe. In their duties, the