Introduction

• Stop, question, and frisk: This is where officers will stop a pedestrian and question them about any recent criminal activity they will also search them for weapons if needed.

The Role of Discretion in Policing

• Discretion: Officers have the power to choose how they respond to the situation as long as it does not break any laws or violate anyone’s rights.

• Command Discretion: Decisions made by officers who are higher up in rank like a chief

• Individual Discretion: Daily policing decisions that are made by regular officers

• Iron Law of Oligarchy: A theory that suggests even democratic organizations will eventually develop into a bureaucracy ruled by a few individuals.

Defining Police Discretion

• Zero-Tolerance Policing: This is a type of policing that aims to reduce minor offenses by dealing with any and all possible offenses no matter what.

Factors Affecting the Exercise of Officer Discretion

• Type and Seriousness of Offense: The seriousness of the allegation and level of crime that took place

• An attitude of the Suspect: The reaction of the suspect and their behavior during questioning.

  • Contempt of Cop (COP): This term refers to people who are disrespectful to officers.

• Characteristics, Positions, and Preferences of the Victim: Officers may not arrest someone if the victim of the crime is someone they do not like or approve of. (Ex. A homophobic cop may not arrest the suspect in an LGBTQ-related crime because they do not approve of the victim’s sexuality.)

• Relationship Between the Suspect and the Victim: An officer may not arrest the suspect because they believe the complainant wants to teach the suspect a lesson. In domestic violence cases, an arrest is likely to be made because the suspect may harm the complainant by calling the police. Another reason an officer may not arrest a suspect is if they believe they are their family’s only source of income.

• Evidence of the Offense: The more evidence that is presently pointing to a suspect the more likely an officer is going to arrest them.

• Minority Status of the Parties to the Offense: Some officers take into account race or gender whether knowingly or unknowingly officers still do it sometimes.

The Importance of Police Behavior

• Police Personality: Most officers have certain qualities in common and they are usually looked for in the screening process of officers.

• Psychological Theories: The theory that core values are formed before officers join a force.

• Educational Theories: A theory that police training teaches officers core values and beliefs that are needed to be an officer.

• Sociological Theories: A theory that officers learn values while working on the force

• Organizational Theories: The theory that police attitude and values are learned through working with others on the force and the organizational and working culture of the force.

Psychological Explanations: Predisposition and Police Behavior--Police Personality or Culture?

• Authoritarian: People who believe that being obedient to authority is more important than personal freedoms

• Police Subculture: The beliefs, behaviors, and values that are typically associated with those that are police officers

• Thin blue line: Perception that officers are a line between anarchy and order in society

Sociological Explanations: Skolnick's “Working Personality”

• Working Personality: States that there are many elements that create an officer’s personality based on their job usually this includes the amount of danger they face, authority, and suspicion they have.

Organizational Explanations: Wilson’s Three Styles of Policing

• The Watchman Style: Order maintenance-oriented, fewer procedures and policies, individual problem approach, emphasis on curbside justice.

• The Legalistic Style: Policing as law enforcement, legal rules focused, formal problem solving, committed to professionalism.

• The Service Style: Policing as public service, community service oriented, informal problem solving, commitment to public services.

Police Stress

Sources of Police Stress

• Eustress: Stress that is good and can help motivate officers to work harder

• Distress: Stress that is bad and can be harmful if it gets bad enough.

• Internal Stressors: Stress between you and your department officers

• External Stressors: Stress outside of the department, this usually refers to the community or the justice system.

• Work-Related Stressors: This is stress that comes from the day-to-day activities that officers do.

  • Compassion Fatigue: This is specifically a result of helping people with traumatic experiences daily it can lead to burnout.

Effects of Stress

• On-the-job effects: Stress can cause tardiness, an increase in absence, poor performance, termination, low morale, etc.

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event that either was experienced or witnessed

• Family and Relational: Officers may be so stressed it leads them to abuse their own kids or deny them affection. It can also strain relationships between an officer and their friends and family.

Responses to Stress

• Reducing Negative Consequences

  • Pre-screening during recruitment for high-risk factors

  • Stress management training for officers

  • Psychological assessments