Critically discuss the notion that the use of police discretion in the uk results, at least in part, from the nature of police organisational culture

Introduction

Virtually each time a police officer functions in the course of his duties he is exercising his discretion . Matters of the police force are expected to take into account such issues are justice , accountability the broader interests of the community at large and fairness . In a 1981 report on the Brixton Diss , Lord Scarman said that ` .the exercise of discretion lies at the heart of the policing function . It is undeniable that there is only one law for all : and it is right that this should be so . But it

is equally well recognised that successful policing depends on the exercise of discretion on how the law is enforced .Discretion is the art of suiting action to particular circumstances

Police discretion invariably involves ascertaining what conduct or situations to manage and control or what situations ought to be ignored Joseph Goldstein submits that police take two approaches in the exercise of their discretion . They are : 1 ) `invocation discretion which involves deciding whether or not to make an arrest 2 `non-invocation discretion ' which involves making a decision to arrest a suspect although grounds exist for making an arrest

Structural and functional characteristics of policing

Police are generally regarded as the state 's most visible agents and they function as enforcers for the state who in turn regulate and control the members of the community . As a result of the police officer 's relationship with the community at large , their success in law enforcement depends almost entirely on the public 's willingness to submit to police authority and the state 's rule as a whole . In general the police are responsible for social control . They have evolved `from direct personal class rule to indirect , institutional class rule

Police are also in a unique position to employ force in the exercise of their discretion . As Maurice Punch observes , the police officer is `a benign bobby . still brings to the situation a uniform , a truncheon and a battery of resource charges . which can be employed when appeasement fails and the fists start flying

A common characteristic of police forces worldwide is its departmentalization and hierarchal structure . Departments are quite often divided in such a way to correlate with the type of criminal complaints that will be regulated within a particular department . For instance , a typical police force will be divided among traffic , juvenile and serious crimes . Despite all this departmentalization , police officers are transferred within the police force from one department to another in an ad hoc manner . These department transfers often take place without training and typically have nothing to do with prior experience

Police are required to use their discretion at all levels of their jobs and since a majority of police work takes place out on the field that discretion is by and large free of supervisory scrutiny . This makes it virtually impossible for some measure of control and regulation of police officers while executing their duties . Moreover police often view their work as individualistic as it invariably involves...