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Regulating Autonomy: Police Discretion as a Problem for Training

NCJ Number
174386
Journal
Canadian Journal of Criminology Volume: 40 Issue: 3 Dated: July 1998 Pages: 277-304
Author(s)
W de Lint
Date Published
1998
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This paper analyzes two recent examples of police training in Canada to illustrate a new approach for regulating the police use of discretion.
Abstract
Prior to the 1960s, police training in the use of discretion was left to the influence of the occupational culture and "common sense" approaches; subsequently, attention has been given to structuring discretionary decision-making through training. This training has taken two general policy approaches. The first has been to require that police candidates be more educated, thereby influencing police decision-making toward liberal values that tend to characterize more educated people. The second approach has been to use technical training devices that will inject appropriate values into practical training. The latter approach is apparently the preference of most police managers. This technical training tends to portray the police officer as a decision-maker or "chooser," which reflects the neo- liberal policy direction. The implications of the police officer being a "chooser" are discussed, and more research into the nature of decision-making under the auspices of the "chooser" is recommended. 71 references