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Docx (4) - Copy - Topic: Police Discretion and Use of
Force
Criminal Justice Research and Writing (Liberty University)
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Discussion topic: Police Discretion and Force Use
Thread: In the Police Patrol - You Make the Call 1 exercise, you learned how police officers utilize their
discretionary powers during traffic stops after completing the Reading & Study for this module/week.
Evidence is gathered quickly, after which it is considered before choices are made. Let's now examine a
genuine traffic stop that occurred in 2012. A woman was stopped for using her phone while operating a
vehicle.
To view the relevant article, click the link provided below: LAPD launches an investigation after a woman
accuses them of making an unfair arrest.
1.
List the officer training strategies that you acquired from your field training officer in a brief manner.
Some of the officer training strategies that I picked up from my Field Training Officer were the need for
me to develop my judgment as a police officer. I discovered that I don't always need to ticket or jail
someone for breaking the law. In order to avoid hurting someone who doesn't need to be hurt, I also
need to realize that the proper use of force must be observed. Before I make a final determination on
an arrest or citation, I must review all available evidence. By using discretion, police may present
themselves to the public as dependable people who wish to make the community safer rather than
causing trouble in the area.
2. Use these strategies in this brand-new traffic stop scenario. How can officers use these
training techniques to reduce instances of police brutality and excessive force?
By knowing that the minor offense of using a smartphone while driving does not constitute an arrest,
police officers may avoid difficulties by employing these training techniques. The straightforward
violation of using a smartphone while driving might be stopped with a verbal warning or a simple
penalty. The woman in the video may have suffered significant injuries as a result of the police officers'
smashing her to the ground. Her head injury, which would have destroyed their careers, may have
possibly killed her. In situations like these, they must use judgment and decide what is best. Making
these moral decisions will demonstrate to the neighborhood that we care.
3. What are the benefits of police professionalism and integrity? Refer to the readings and study
resources for this module/week in your replies. To bolster your arguments, you must use ideas from
the essay on Biblical Principles of Criminal Justice.
Police ethics and professionalism are crucial since there is always someone keeping an eye on you. The
greatest standards of competence, fairness, and honesty must be followed by police officers while using
their judgment and exercising their authority (Hendrix, 2013, pg. 175). People with smartphones and/or
cameras are always present everywhere we go. Anyone who is filming them or a surveillance camera like
the one in the incident is there whenever a police officer makes an arrest, pulls someone over, or merely
speaks to them while on a street patrol. We must constantly be aware that as Christians, we must submit
(Fischer, 2015, slide 18). As God's children and as officers of the law, we are obligated to abide by the
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laws. We cannot decide for ourselves to behave contrary to how God wants us to. He wants us to love
our neighbors and to take responsibility for one another (Fischer, 2015, slide 15). As police officers, it is
our duty to always conduct ourselves as is expected of us.
1. Address a classmate whose choices are comparable to your own in your response. Explain why you
think your choices are comparable. Make reference to the texts and study materials needed for this
module/week in your answer. To bolster your arguments, you must use ideas from the essay on
Biblical Principles of Criminal Justice.
2. React to a student whose choices are contrary to your own. Describe the reasons you think your
choices are different. Make reference to the texts and study materials needed for this module/week
in your answer. To bolster your arguments, you must use ideas from the essay on Biblical Principles of
Criminal Justice.
Send in your thread by Thursday at 11:59 p.m. (ET) and your two responses by Monday of the same
module/week.
