Police Discretion

Police Discretion
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There are numerous cases in the US history where members of the public or the police department questioned police discretion. In a 1914 case of Weeks v. the United States, Fremont Weeks was arrested and convicted for transporting lottery tickets via mail. The police seized documents which were used to facilitate the transportation in his house although the search was unwarranted. The court ruled that unwarranted seizures violate Weeks’ constitutional rights. The fourth amendment of the US constitution exempts all Americans from gratuitous searches and seizures (Palmiotto & Unnithan, 2011). In the 1961 case of Mapp v. Ohio, police conducted an illegal and unwarranted search in the home of Dollree Mapp. During the search, the police managed to confiscate obscene materials and therefore convicted. However, Justice Tom C. Clark ruled in favor of Mapp after declaring that evidence collected through searches and seizures which violates the fourth amendment is inadmissible in a court of law (Palmiotto & Unnithan, 2011).
Nowadays, major police departments in various parts of the world delve on community policing where law enforcement officers are trained in how to interact with members of the public. Police are deployed to various regions primarily to familiarize themselves with the locality and the local inhabitants. The relationship between members of the community and law enforcement agencies is vital in deterring crime (Cordner, 2014).

Members of the public can approach police officers and offer insight or any other information that can help prevent crime in a neighborhood. Police are trained how to create a good rapport and win the trust of the members of the public. They are also taught how to apply intelligence to dredge information which can lead to the arrest or conviction of a criminal. Nowadays, each police department has an outreach training program meant to boost the relationship between police departments and community members. Police are also trained how to handle confrontations with members of the public.
References
Cordner, G. (2014). Community policing. The Oxford handbook of police and policing, 148-171.
Palmiotto, M. & Unnithan, N. (2011). Policing & Society: A Global Approach. Clifton Park, NY: Delmar Cengage Learning.