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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 8 page paper examines several myths about policing and constructs ten scenarios to illustrate how officers might use their own discretion in dealing with them. Bibliography lists 6 sources.
Page Count:
8 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_HVPolDis.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
examines several myths about policing and constructs ten scenarios to illustrate how officers might use their own discretion in dealing with them. Some of the Myths While there are
undoubtedly many more, here are some of the myths that adhere to the profession of policing. One is that the law is fully enforced; that is, that police enforce
all the laws all the time (Implications for implementation of the YCJA, 2005). Anyone whos driven 70 on a 55 mph freeway knows thats not true. Another myth is
that police "are subordinate to due process constraints" and at the same time authorized to keep the peace, sometimes by violating the principle of due process (Sykes). Still another
myth connected to law enforcement is the "gateway" myth with regard to drugs: specifically, that smoking pot inevitably leads to use of stronger drugs (Submission of the British Columbia Civil
Liberties Association to the Special Committee on the Non Medical Use of Drugs (Bill C-38)). Finally, theres another myth that police officers can be constantly supervised or "commanded directly"
(Kelling, 1999). Why do these myths arise and how can they be controlled? Lets take them one at a time. The myth of full enforcement is that "it
is the responsibility of the criminal and juvenile justice systems to prosecute all violations of the law, and ... failure to do so can only be justified by lack of
resources" (Implications for implementation of the YCJA, 2005). This myth is still widely believed, and the reason for its birth and continuation is simple: we need to believe
that wrongdoers will be caught and punished, and that we will therefore be safe-in all cases. Anything else is to suggest that we are unsafe, and in addition, dont
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