Police Discretion, Legality and Morality (From Police Ethics Hard Choices in Law Enforcement, P 47-68, 1985, by William C Heffernan and Timothy Stroup, eds. - See NCJ-100351)

• NCJ Number: 100354
• Author(s): J F Doyle
• Date Published: 1985
• Length: 22 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; John Jay Press
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: For microfiche, see NCJ-100351.

Annotation

This paper examines whether police discretion can be reconciled with the requirements of legality and morality.

Abstract

As used in this study, legality is a generally accepted standard of the authority and sometimes the validity of legal regulation of conduct. The moral requirements at issue in police discretion are those of ''critical public morality,' which is a justifiable standard for official conduct distinct from both legality and conventional moralities. Police often have strong discretion in being free to make official choices without being effectively subject to independent standards for such choices. Other forms of discretion are exercised in compliance with relevant standards, such as reasonable suspicion and probable cause. In reconciling police discretion with legality, police must appreciate the limits of legal rulemaking and rule compliance, because these limits explain why discretion is necessary. They must also discern the roles discretion may play, for better or worse, in police decisionmaking. Discretion must also be susceptible to measurement by consistently articulated norms. Critical public moral standards are the most promising basis for morally legitimizing police discretion. 37 notes.