Police Discretion: The Ideal Versus the Real* By HERMAN GOLDSTEIN ExecutiveA ssistantt o the Superintendent Chicago Police Department pARKING metersa re a commons ourceo f irritation to both the public and the police. They were a particular source of annoyancet o a citym anager-friendof mine whose council membershipi ncluded one man whose sole concern in life appeared to be those vehicles parked alongside meters on which the time had expired. After repeated criticismo f the police departmentf or its fail-ure to achieve a greaterd egree of compliance and enforcement,th e citym anagerw as moved to speak on the issue. He offeredt he council-man a choice from among what he referred to as levels of enforcement. He suggestedt hat the city could assign one police officert o en-forcinga ll of the meterst hroughoutt he city. If this was done, he anticipated that the fre-quency of checks would be low and the num-ber of overtimev iolationsa nd red flagsw ould increase. On the other hand, he could assign one police officer to each parking meter in the city. With such extensive coverage, there would be reasonable assurance that a summons would be issued at the moment the meter expired. The city manager then sug-gested that the council determine through its appropriation, just how many police officers were to be provided and what level of en-forcementw as desired as between the two extremes. The point was well made. Without full recognition on his part, the citym anagerw as addressingh imselft o one of the very basic problems in law enforcement today. We need only substitute people for * This article is adapted from a paper delivered to the National Institute of Police and Community Rela-tions, Michigan State University,M ay 22, 1963. > Very often one of the misconceptions about the administrator's job is that the administrator has very little discretion in the execution of the law. Here is a clear illustration of the discretion the ad-ministrator actually has, within the framework of law enforcement administration. Here, also, the author clearly indicates that, more often than not, the real problem lies in the avoidance of the tough job of determining, at the policy level, what goals are to be achieved and then furnishingt he where-withal to achieve those goals. parking meters and the broader categories of crime for red overtime flags. Given the total amount of criminalityi n a communitya nd the resourcesw ithw hich to cope with it, what is the position or policy of the local law en-forcementa gency? Is the agency committed to a concepto f "full enforcement" of all laws, or is it committedt o somethingl ess than full enforcement? A policy of "full enforcement"im plies that the police are required and expected to en-forcea ll criminals tatutesa nd cityo rdinances at all times against all offenders.It suggests that the police are withouta uthorityt o ignore violations,t o warn offenders when a violation has in fact occurred,o r to do anythings hort of arrestingt he offenderan d placing a charge against him for the specificc rime committed. It views the police functiont o be thato f relat-ing the provisions of the law to a fine meas-urement of the quantum of evidence. Out of this cold and somewhat mechanical calcula-tion evolves an answer which provides the basis for police action. The exercise of discretion, on the other hand, suggestst hat the police are required,b e-cause of a varietyo f factors,t o decide overtly how much of an effortis to be made to en-force specific laws. It recognizes that actions short of arrest may achieve the desired goal. 140 This content downloaded from 223.206.118.234 on Mon, 29 Jun 2015 12:20:13 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
POLICE DISCRETION 141 It implies that a police officer may decide not to make an arrest even in those situations in which an offense has been committed and both the offendera nd the evidence are at hand. It tends to portray police officersa s somethingo ther than automatons-as reason-able men whose judgment is essential in de-terminingw hethero r not to invoke the crim-inal process. To date, this dilemma has been of principal concernt o those interestedi n the total system for the administrationo f criminal justice-those interestedi n the workingso f the prose-cution, the courts,a nd the correctionala gen-cies as well as the police. To understand how the systemf unctionsi n its entirety, these stu-dents of criminall aw have necessarilyf ocused theira ttentiona t that point where it is most commonlyd eterminedw hethero r not a per-son is to be subject to the system-on the initial screening function performed by the police. If a person is arrested,h e enters the systema nd the path which he takes,i n large measure, is established. If he is not arrested, the action of the police terminatest he case be-fore the person enterst he systema nd the ac-tion is not subject to furtherr eview. The bibliographyo f thinkingo n this sub-ject is rapidlyi ncreasing. This body of thought and analysis is of more than academic interest to the police. It has some very practical im-plications. What is the position of the average police administratori n these deliberations? He is most likely to support the view-somewhat hesitatingly-thath e is committedt o a policy of full enforcement.It is, aftera ll, the policy mostc ommonlye nunciatedb y police agencies. In contrast,t he mere suggestiont hat a police administratore xercisesd iscretioni n fulfilling his job may be taken as an affront-an attack upon the objective and sacrosanct nature of his job-that of enforcing the law without fear or favor. Here too, there is a little hesita-tion-an awareness that discretion must be and is exercised. But like planned parent-hood, it may be somethingy ou practice; it is not somethingy ou admit or even discuss. This awkward position, in my opinion, places the average police officialin a most em-barrassings ituation.W hat are the facts? Do we have full enforcement,as the term is defined here? Obviously, we do not. How often have law enforcement personnel re-leased a drunk and disorderlyp erson without chargingh im? released a juvenile offendert o his parents?w arned a driverw ho had clearly committed a violation? ignored the enforce-ment of some cityo rdinances?a rresteda n in-dividual known to have committed fornica-tion or adultery?a rrangedf or the release of a narcotic addict in exchange for information? dropped chargesa gainsta n assailantw hen the victim failed to cooperate in the prosecution? ignored Sunday blue laws or simply been in-structedn ot to enforcea specificl aw? And yet,i n acknowledgingt hat some or all of these practicese xist, police officialsf eel a sense of guilt; that these actions were not quite proper; and that they had no basis in law. Why, then, do police officialsd o these things? Because they are, consciously or un-consciously,a cknowledgingw hat theyd o not wish to proclaim-that the police must exer-cise discretion. The Exercise of Discretion Why must discretion be exercised? Let us take a look at some of the laws under which the police operate, some of the procedures whichm ustb e followed,a nd some of the pres-sures which exist in the typical community which the police serve. Examine, for example, the criminal code of any one of our states. By its action, the leg-islatureh as attemptedt o establisht hosef orms of conduct which its members desire to be declared criminal. But this action, as reflected in the statemento f the criminal law, is often expressed in such broad terms as to render a clear interpretationo f the legislature'si nten-tions most difficult. Ambiguity may be in-tentionals o as to provide greaterf lexibilityin enforcement;it may result from a failure to envisage the day-to-dayp roblemse ncountered by the police; or it may simply be a result of language limitations.W hatever the basis for the broad statemento f the law, the need for resolvingt hese ambiguities frequentlyp laces the police in the position of having to deter-mine the forms of conduct which are to be subject to the criminal process. The State of Illinois has a typicallyb road statute defining gambling. Under its provi-sions,t he flipo f a coin to determinew ho shall purchase coffeeo r the playing of penny-ante poker must be considered a violation. As a general policy, the Chicago Police Depart- This content downloaded from 223.206.118.234 on Mon, 29 Jun 2015 12:20:13 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
142 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REVIEW ment devotes its effortst o seeking out gam-bling activitiesw hich are part of an organized operation. We do not devote manpower to ferretingo ut social card games conducted in the privacy of a home. But, upon complaint, we have an obligation to conduct an investi-gation of any alleged gambling activity. In March of this year, the departmentr e-ceived a complaint of gambling in the base-ment of an American Legion Post. Three po-lice officersw ere sent to investigate. They quickly established that the affairw as being run by the post auxiliarya s a benefita nd that a variation of bingo was to be played with the proceeds going to the men at a veterans' hospital. The officers politely warned against any activityw hich would be consideredg am-bling and left. The patrons of the social, how-ever, got panicky, grabbed their hats and coats and fled. The expected flurryo f letters and newspaper articles followed. One such articlec oncludedw itht hiss tatementa ddressed to the Superintendent: "Most of the people of Chicago don't want you or your men to raid a women's social. They want you to go chase some crooks and leave the good people alone." Both state statutesa nd cityo rdinancesm ay be expliciti n definingc onductt o be considered criminal, but there may be little expectation on the part of those who enacted the laws that theyb e enforcedt o the letter.T he statuteo r ordinance may be stating the ideals of the community;t hat adulterous ac
ตำรวจพิจารณา: ห้อง Versus จริง * โดย HERMAN GOLDSTEIN ExecutiveA ssistantt o metersa จอดรถกรมตำรวจชิคาโก Superintendent กำลังระคายเคือง f ourceo คอมมอนส์ทั้งประชาชนและเจ้าหน้าที่ตำรวจ พวกต้นทางเฉพาะของเหมือง o การ citym anager-friendof annoyancet membershipi สภา ncluded คนหนึ่งกังวลแต่เพียงผู้เดียวในชีวิตปรากฏ ว่ารถที่จอดข้างเมตรที่หมดเวลา หลังจากทำซ้ำ criticismo f departmentf ตำรวจหรือความล้มเหลว-ure ให้เกียรตินิยมอันดับ greaterd ปฏิบัติตามกฎระเบียบ และบังคับ th อี citym anagerw ที่ย้ายมาพูดคุยในประเด็น เขา offeredt เขาสภาคนเลือกจากอะไรเขาเรียกว่าระดับของการบังคับใช้ เขา suggestedt หาดใหญ่เมืองอาจกำหนดหนึ่งตำรวจจะน้ำ forcinga o officert ของ meterst hroughoutt เมืองเขาได้ ถ้านี้ทำเสร็จแล้ว เขาคาดว่า จะเป็น quency ฟรีเช็คต่ำและ num-ber ของ nd สีแดง overtimev iolationsa flagsw ould เพิ่มขึ้น บนมืออื่น ๆ เขาสามารถกำหนดให้เจ้าหน้าที่ตำรวจหนึ่งมิเตอร์จอดรถแต่ละแห่ง ด้วยความครอบคลุมดังกล่าวอย่างละเอียด มีจะประกันที่สมเหตุสมผลที่จะออกหมายเรียกในขณะนี้วัดหมดอายุ จัดการเมือง แล้ว sug gested ที่คณะกำหนดผ่านการจัดสรร เพียงจำนวนตำรวจที่มีและระดับของน้ำ-forcementw เป็นต้องระหว่างสุดสอง จุดดีได้ ไม่รู้ทั้งในส่วนของ anagerw citym เป็น addressingh imselft o หนึ่งปัญหามากในกฎหมายปัจจุบัน เราเพียงต้องการทดแทนคน * บทความนี้จะดัดแปลงจากเอกสารส่งไปสถาบันตำรวจแห่งชาติและมหาวิทยาลัยชุมชน Rela-tions มิชิแกน ay M 22, 1963 > บ่อยความเข้าใจผิดเกี่ยวกับงานของผู้ดูแลอย่างใดอย่างหนึ่งได้ว่า ผู้ดูแลระบบมีการพิจารณาน้อยมากในการดำเนินการของกฎหมาย นี่คือภาพที่ชัดเจนของดุลพินิจ ministrator โฆษณาจริงได้ ภายในกรอบของกฎหมายบังคับจัดการ ที่นี่ ยัง ผู้เขียนชัดเจนบ่งชี้ว่า มากขึ้นมักจะไม่ ปัญหาแท้จริงอยู่ในหลีกเลี่ยงงานยากกำหนด ที่ระดับนโยบาย เป้าหมายที่จะต้องได้รับ แล้ว furnishingt เขาที่-withal เพื่อให้บรรลุเป้าหมายเหล่านั้น เมตรที่จอดรถและประเภทกว้างของอาชญากรรมในสถานะทำงานล่วงเวลาสีแดง กำหนดจำนวน n criminalityi nd communitya ใด ithw resourcesw จะรับมือกับมัน ตำแหน่งหรือนโยบายของ gency en forcementa กฎหมายคืออะไร หน่วยงานที่ทำให้ f concepto "บังคับเต็มรูปแบบ" ของกฎหมายทั้งหมด หรือเป็น committedt o somethingl ess มากกว่าบังคับใช้เต็มรูปแบบ นโยบายของ "บังคับใช้เต็มรูปแบบ" im plies ว่า ตำรวจต้องการ และคาดว่าน้ำ forcea จะอาชญากร tatutesa nd cityo rdinances ตลอดเวลากับผู้กระทำผิดทั้งหมด แนะนำตำรวจ withouta uthorityt o ละเว้นการละเมิด t o เตือนผู้กระทำผิดเมื่อมีการละเมิดจริงเกิด r o ทำ hort anythings ของ arrestingt d offenderan เขาวางค่าธรรมเนียมเขาสำหรับเด้นท์ specificc มุ่งมั่น มันดูโอ functiont ตำรวจจะ thato f relat-อิงบทบัญญัติของกฎหมายให้เป็นดีส urement ของควอนตัมหลักฐาน เย็นนี้และค่อนข้าง calcula-สเตรชันกลอยู่เสมอคำตอบที่ให้ข้อมูลพื้นฐานสำหรับการดำเนินการของตำรวจ ออกกำลังกายของดุลพินิจ คง suggestst หมวกตำรวจจำเป็นต้องใช้ อีบีสาเหตุปัจจัย varietyo f, t o ตัดสินใจ overtly จำนวนของ effortis ที่จะทำน้ำบังคับกฎหมายเฉพาะ รู้จักว่า การดำเนินการขาดจับอาจบรรลุเป้าหมายที่ต้องการ 140 เนื้อหานี้ดาวน์โหลดจาก 223.206.118.234 เมื่อจันทร์ 29 2015 มิถุนายน 12:20:13 UTC ทั้งหมดใช้ภายใต้เงื่อนไข JSTOR POLICE DISCRETION 141 It implies that a police officer may decide not to make an arrest even in those situations in which an offense has been committed and both the offendera nd the evidence are at hand. It tends to portray police officersa s somethingo ther than automatons-as reason-able men whose judgment is essential in de-terminingw hethero r not to invoke the crim-inal process. To date, this dilemma has been of principal concernt o those interestedi n the total system for the administrationo f criminal justice-those interestedi n the workingso f the prose-cution, the courts,a nd the correctionala gen-cies as well as the police. To understand how the systemf unctionsi n its entirety, these stu-dents of criminall aw have necessarilyf ocused theira ttentiona t that point where it is most commonlyd eterminedw hethero r not a per-son is to be subject to the system-on the initial screening function performed by the police. If a person is arrested,h e enters the systema nd the path which he takes,i n large measure, is established. If he is not arrested, the action of the police terminatest he case be-fore the person enterst he systema nd the ac-tion is not subject to furtherr eview. The bibliographyo f thinkingo n this sub-ject is rapidlyi ncreasing. This body of thought and analysis is of more than academic interest to the police. It has some very practical im-plications. What is the position of the average police administratori n these deliberations? He is most likely to support the view-somewhat hesitatingly-thath e is committedt o a policy of full enforcement.It is, aftera ll, the policy mostc ommonlye nunciatedb y police agencies. In contrast,t he mere suggestiont hat a police administratore xercisesd iscretioni n fulfilling his job may be taken as an affront-an attack upon the objective and sacrosanct nature of his job-that of enforcing the law without fear or favor. Here too, there is a little hesita-tion-an awareness that discretion must be and is exercised. But like planned parent-hood, it may be somethingy ou practice; it is not somethingy ou admit or even discuss. This awkward position, in my opinion, places the average police officialin a most em-barrassings ituation.W hat are the facts? Do we have full enforcement,as the term is defined here? Obviously, we do not. How often have law enforcement personnel re-leased a drunk and disorderlyp erson without chargingh im? released a juvenile offendert o his parents?w arned a driverw ho had clearly committed a violation? ignored the enforce-ment of some cityo rdinances?a rresteda n in-dividual known to have committed fornica-tion or adultery?a rrangedf or the release of a narcotic addict in exchange for information? dropped chargesa gainsta n assailantw hen the victim failed to cooperate in the prosecution? ignored Sunday blue laws or simply been in-structedn ot to enforcea specificl aw? And yet,i n acknowledgingt hat some or all of these practicese xist, police officialsf eel a sense of guilt; that these actions were not quite proper; and that they had no basis in law. Why, then, do police officialsd o these things? Because they are, consciously or un-consciously,a cknowledgingw hat theyd o not wish to proclaim-that the police must exer-cise discretion. The Exercise of Discretion Why must discretion be exercised? Let us take a look at some of the laws under which the police operate, some of the procedures whichm ustb e followed,a nd some of the pres-sures which exist in the typical community which the police serve. Examine, for example, the criminal code of any one of our states. By its action, the leg-islatureh as attemptedt o establisht hosef orms of conduct which its members desire to be declared criminal. But this action, as reflected in the statemento f the criminal law, is often expressed in such broad terms as to render a clear interpretationo f the legislature'si nten-tions most difficult. Ambiguity may be in-tentionals o as to provide greaterf lexibilityin enforcement;it may result from a failure to envisage the day-to-dayp roblemse ncountered by the police; or it may simply be a result of language limitations.W hatever the basis for the broad statemento f the law, the need for resolvingt hese ambiguities frequentlyp laces the police in the position of having to deter-mine the forms of conduct which are to be subject to the criminal process. The State of Illinois has a typicallyb road statute defining gambling. Under its provi-sions,t he flipo f a coin to determinew ho shall purchase coffeeo r the playing of penny-ante poker must be considered a violation. As a general policy, the Chicago Police Depart- This content downloaded from 223.206.118.234 on Mon, 29 Jun 2015 12:20:13 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 142 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REVIEW ment devotes its effortst o seeking out gam-bling activitiesw hich are part of an organized operation. We do not devote manpower to ferretingo ut social card games conducted in the privacy of a home. But, upon complaint, we have an obligation to conduct an investi-gation of any alleged gambling activity. In March of this year, the departmentr e-ceived a complaint of gambling in the base-ment of an American Legion Post. Three po-lice officersw ere sent to investigate. They quickly established that the affairw as being run by the post auxiliarya s a benefita nd that a variation of bingo was to be played with the proceeds going to the men at a veterans' hospital. The officers politely warned against any activityw hich would be consideredg am-bling and left. The patrons of the social, how-ever, got panicky, grabbed their hats and coats and fled. The expected flurryo f letters and newspaper articles followed. One such articlec oncludedw itht hiss tatementa ddressed to the Superintendent: "Most of the people of Chicago don't want you or your men to raid a women's social. They want you to go chase some crooks and leave the good people alone." Both state statutesa nd cityo rdinancesm ay be expliciti n definingc onductt o be considered criminal, but there may be little expectation on the part of those who enacted the laws that theyb e enforcedt o the letter.T he statuteo r ordinance may be stating the ideals of the community;t hat adulterous ac
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