After reading this chapter, you can see that discretion is a large part of an officers job. Officers must constantly think on
their feet and make decisions, frequently without their supervisor or anyone else assisting them.
In this assignment, you will be focusing on officer discretion and placing yourself in the shoes of officers. Think about the chapter and lesson as you do this assignment.
Use the below questions to complete a reflection paper.
1. What is officer discretion? Why do citizens often view it as placing too much power in the hands of officers?
2. For the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Amendments, what are situations in your area which officers may find
themselves having to use discretion? Give real-life examples of how officers could positively use discretion and
protect a citizens rights in your area and provide an example of how they could negatively use discretion and violate a
persons rights.
3. Analyze how officers’ rights can be violated, according to the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments.
4. Then, are there exceptions or protections to officers use of discretion? What about in the above amendments?
Your paper should be in APA style with in-text citations and a reference page. It must be at least two pages in length. The
reference page does not count toward the two-page requirement.
