Police Chiefs, Discretion, and Community Policing Strategies

Introduction: Discretion in Modern Policing

"Nobody wants a ministerial agency of justice, one that would ritually and religiously follow every rule and regulation down to the letter in a mechanistic, repetitive, assembly-line manner. Instead, we need responsible administrators — officials who show good judgment and exercise discretion by assessing the context of each and every situation;" this is especially true of a modern law enforcement strategy (Stevens, 2004). Essentially, following the letter of the law with absolutely no adaptations based on individual cases and situations only creates an inefficient system that is not flexible enough for modern implementation in law enforcement. Police chiefs need to be able to make discretionary changes as needed in order to keep their departments fluid and flexible enough to handle contemporary challenges in policing efforts.

Defining Police Discretion

Discretion is the ability to make changes or decisions that may not uphold protocol one hundred percent, based on prior knowledge or experience in a particular situation. Essentially, "it brings knowledge, skill, and insight to bear in unpredictable ways… it involves making personal contributions, judgment calls, exercising autonomy, and individual solutions. It's about the courage to make your own decisions, to have personal input, following your conscience" (Stevens, 2004). Discretion empowers police to make decisions based on their best judgment and acute experience in particular circumstances.

Overall, "police work is complex" and "police use enormous discretion," which "is at the core of police functioning" (Kelling, 1999, p. 6). Using discretion in police work has become a more recognized function of contemporary police practice as more research is done regarding its nature and the complexities of crime in the modern world (Kelling, 1999). Yet, "discretion is not doing what you please" (Stevens, 2004). It is still very calculated and tailored to the problem-solving nature of law enforcement in general.

How Police Chiefs Set Standards Through Discretion

Discretion exercised by police chiefs can help set a standard of guidance for other officers to follow. When a police chief exercises discretion, it can have a powerful impact on the department. Therefore, "guidance from police executives and supervisors can be helpful in defining discretionary areas and the array of legitimate and effective intervention methods — that is, the best practices culled from the experience of other officers" (Nila, 2012). As the top leaders of the department, police chiefs can set a tone for the rest of the department to follow. Thus, when they make discretionary decisions that do not always follow protocol exactly, these decisions impact their ability to lead and set that example. The research suggests that "good administrative guidance from the chief and top officers is critical; it can help define the types of situations subject to discretion and the range of possible actions" (Nila, 2012). Discretionary actions by police chiefs help better empower the rest of their departments.

Discretion and Community Policing Strategies

There are a number of types of discretionary actions a police chief can take. Engaging with members of the community through community policing practices often requires discretionary decisions on the part of a police chief. This often includes "trying to engage their community members with the police to jointly address recurring crime and disorder issues through problem-solving efforts" that first gained popularity in the 1980s (Diamond & Weiss, 2005, p. 9). Adhering strictly to protocol often means isolating community members from the law enforcement process. Standard protocol tends to position the department and its officers as a separate entity, one that simply engages the community when necessary. As a result, "for some chiefs, civil service rules and collective bargaining agreements may constrain the executive's latitude in decision-making in areas such as hiring, promotions, and assignments" (Diamond & Weiss, 2005, p. 21). Under this model, power remains isolated within the department, which can also isolate individual officers and make police work less effective within an untrusting community.

Justification for exercising discretion to promote community policing rests on the fact that reaching out to communities has a powerful impact on the productivity and success of field officers in particular locations (Fridell & Wycoff, 2004). Discretionary decision-making occurs often in community policing programs where community members are seen to augment underlying police strategies. It is clear that "community-oriented policing partnered the police and communities to promote innovative problem solving with a particular focus on prevention through education and through changing the environment of crime-prone areas. Discretion, wisely used, was seen as the solution, not the problem" (Nila, 2012). Discretion regarding operating procedures and departmental organizational structure has helped empower efforts to implement community policing strategies. Allowing good judgment to recognize "that enforcing a law" could compromise the underlying mission and the officers set to execute it — "this good judgment — or practical wisdom — demanded certain moral skills such as the ability to truly listen, to empathize, to quickly perceive the particulars of a situation, and to imagine the consequences of alternative scenarios" (Nila, 2012).

There are a number of potential discretionary actions that go a step beyond simply adjusting protocol in how a police chief approaches community policing. For example, in order to allow field officers more intimate access and a greater presence within the community they are serving, police chiefs may grant them considerably more decision-making power within that specified jurisdiction. This essentially allows known officers to take a greater role within the communities they work in, demonstrating their commitment as well as their capacity to serve those communities with an intimate knowledge of their unique needs and demands.

Conclusion

Overall, it is clear that when a police chief uses discretion, it has an impact on the rest of the department. Police chiefs can use discretionary actions to influence organizational structure and individual officer performance. Doing so often requires going beyond protocol, but it frequently leads to more successful law enforcement strategies in an increasingly complex contemporary environment.