Therefore, it does not seem logical that a police department could exist without at least some form of discretionary decision-making.

Discretion is used at just about every level of a police department, from the officers on patrol to detectives and even management. Another expert notes, "Police encounter a wide range of behaviors and a variety of situations that the law hasn't even thought about yet. One of the most amazing things about policing is not who they arrest, but who and how many they let go (nonarrest options, leniency, underreaction)" (O'Connor, 2004). Thus, discretion lives at every level of a department. An officer lets a speeder go with a warning, a supervisor lets an officer off with a warning about behavior, a detective chooses not to prosecute a domestic violence suspect where an ounce of marijuana is discovered on the premises, and a police chief chooses to suppress information about...
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