CJ 230 Module 5 Project 1
docx
keyboard_arrow_up
School
Southern New Hampshire University *
*We aren’t endorsed by this school
Course
230
Subject
Law
Date
Feb 20, 2024
Type
docx
Pages
5
Uploaded by CaptainEagle956
1
Module 5-2 Assignment: Project One
Michaela J. Watts
Criminal Justice. Southern New Hampshire University
CJ-230-Q2962 Discretion in Criminal Justice 23EW2
Professor DeAngelis
11/27/2023
Module 5-2 Assignment: Project One
2
To exercise discretion means that the individual is using their ability to make an
independent and unsupervised choice that will affect the outcome of the situation at hand (Morar
& Cooper. 1983). Discretion plays a crucial role in the criminal justice field as these
professionals are given a great deal of discretionary power. Police officers specifically, use their
discretion quite regularly while dealing with just about each and every criminal or suspicious
situation they come in contact with. Deciding whether to pull over a suspicious vehicle or
whether to arrest someone or let them go with a warning are just a couple of ways officers use
their given discretionary power on a daily basis. Each of these decisions is critical to the outcome
of society as a whole so it is imperative that this discretionary power is used appropriately and
justly at all times.
Other essential elements of the criminal justice field include integrity, authority, and
morality. Without these elements being upheld, a police department or any criminal justice
department will be untrustworthy, unreliable, and unsuccessful. In order for a police officer to be
effective, they must exhibit integrity and morality at all times while using their discretionary
power. Integrity is essential for making sure that decisions are consistently made with honesty
and impartiality, while authority is needed to make sure that decisions are made legally and
within the means of their role. Morality is essential to ensure that each decision is tailor-made to
the needs of each individual situation as no two are the same. If two individuals were caught
stealing, but one was stealing out of greed and the other was stealing food out of a need to feed
her children, an officer treating them and charging them both the same would be immoral. In
addition to this, an officer being abusive to a citizen who is compliant, or an officer who is found
committing illegal acts is one without integrity. For an officer to hold such levels of authority, he
3
or she must maintain integrity and moral behavior at all times, or else the well-being of the
community is at risk of improper justice and the purpose of protecting and serving has been
eliminated. The difference between ethics and morals is that ethics refers to the rules and standards
that guide someone’s actions, such as codes of conduct in the workplace, whereas morals refer to
an individual's own standards of right and wrong. These both affect discretionary decision-
making as an officer must abide by a code of ethical conduct while also displaying behavior that
would be seen as moral by the community. While they both guide discretionary decision-making,
they do so from different perspectives as ethics provide external standards and morals provide
internal standards.
Regarding this specific situation, I decided to let the driver know that what he did was
extremely dangerous and could have cost him his life and the lives of others while I escorted the
couple into the hospital. I withdrew from citing or arresting the driver for his traffic violations as
it was an urgent situation that could have led to health complications for the mother and the
child, therefore it would be immoral to arrest him or ticket him in a situation such as this. I used
my discretionary power and authority to make this decision in a manner that was best fitting for
the circumstance while upholding my integrity and morality by doing what felt to be the right
thing. If the driver had behaved in this manner for fun or attempting to escape due to illegal
activity, the outcome and my decision would have been much different. Both ethics and morals
aligned for this specific situation as internal and external standards proved a harsher punishment
was not fitting for this circumstance.
The decisions made by law enforcement are known to influence the decisions made
within the courts and correctional departments. If I decided to arrest the man or summon him to a
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
4
court hearing, the judge may proceed with disciplinary actions against the man as they would
feel the man's actions were severe enough to cause him to be arrested, therefore they should have
faith in the decision of the officer and continue with the driver's punishment. On the other hand,
if the judge were to feel as though the driver's circumstance was not deserving of a court
summons or arrest, the judge may doubt the legitimacy of the police department which could
cause issues for the department moving forward. If the judge were to decide to incarcerate the
driver, the chosen correctional facility would then treat the man accordingly which would be as a
convict and his time may depend on how he is viewed by correctional officers according to his
sentence. That being said, any of these outcomes in this situation are not ideal, hence why it is so
crucial that every officer and every element of the criminal justice system uses their discretional
power in the best and most proper manner possible.
5
References
Morar, T. & Cooper, J. (1983). Discretion and the Criminal Justice Process. U.S.
Department of Justice. Office of Justice Programs. Retrieved from:
https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/discretion-and-criminal-justice-process