What are some possible pros and cons of police discretion?
Exactly that. Its discretionary. A bad guy that made a mistake and drew police attention but who then behaved polite and admitted his fault might get away with a warning and an all around good dude who just had a crap day at work, an argument with his wife, and got pulled over for a similar mistake and who mouthed off at the officer because he couldn’t handle what a terrible day fate had dealt him gets jammed with a fine or worse. Is that fair or perfect? No. (And the guy will probably race home to complain about it on Answers.) Discretion in enforcing minor offenses allows an officer to interact with people who are making mistakes, and correct them gently restoring order without disrupting the smooth functioning of every ones lives. Discretion also allows an officer the flexibility to accept that everyone makes mistakes. Discretion also gives everyone the hope that they will get away with screwing up and the means to hate police officers for all eternity for dashing that hope when the
