Criminal justice

Police officers use discretion every day. The use of police discretion is one of the major challenges facing U.S. police today. Discretion is the availability of a choice of options or actions one can take in a situation. Depending on the situation, the police may have wide discretion or very limited discretion. Discretion is not just limited to police as the entire criminal justice system is based on discretion. The idea is that no two crimes are exactly alike, and thus taking the circumstances into consideration is justified. The U.S. system is interested in the spirit of the law in addition to the letter of the law. In Texas, for example, murder is a first-degree felony punishable by 5 to 99 years or life in prison. There is a huge disparity between 5 years and life. What circumstances may warrant a 5-year prison term for murder?

The Assignment:

For this chapter application (summary) paper you will select one of the chapters covered in this module/week and write a paper. The paper is to be between 500-700 words.  Your paper should identify the premise and supporting points of the chapter, a synthesis of the information from the chapter, and a critical application of the premise(s) and supporting points from the chapter as it relates to issues law enforcement agencies face today.  The paper must follow current APA guidelines. The word count does not include the headers, title page, references page, or any extra material. See the grading rubric for additional instructions and guidance.  

Resources: Utilize the assigned text - Chapters 5 or 6 and scholarly journals available through the FTCC Online library. 

Acceptable Length:  500-700 words of content