EPISODE 157
Use it or Lose it:
The Essence of Officer Discretion
There are over 18,000 police Chiefs and Sheriffs in the United States, and every one of them has their own version of what right and wrong looks like. But unless they plan on showing up at every traffic stop, they are going to have to trust that their Officers and Deputies on the front lines are doing the best they can.
Empowering law enforcement officers with discretion to use their best judgment is a necessary part of policing, but there are some serious gotchas that we have to watch out for to maintain that responsibility and the trust of the people we serve.
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