Police Officers

Police Officers are allowed a lot of flexibility so that they can handle the many situations that they come across on a day to day basis. When Officers do not enforce certain statuary laws it creates a very big ethical issue. When you swear in and become an officer you acknowledge the fact that you have to make some hard decisions at times. If as an officer you sometimes do the right thing and at other time don’t how can the public trust you with their safety? This could also be a problem when it comes to putting criminals behind bars. If an officers credibility is questioned in court that gives the criminal a chance to get away with the crime. I believe that the public most definitely does get frustrated when a Police Officer is inconsistent in the application of the law. If I was involved in a domestic dispute and was taking to jail and then the next day my neighbor was also involved in a domestic dispute and did not go to jail I would be very frustrated. I do understand how different circumstances call for different measures but you have to have some kind of guidelines. For example I was visiting a friend and her brother got into a fight with the neighbor in the front yard. The police were called and when they arrived they found that he had cocaine in his car. My friend’s brother was already in trouble with the law and on probation. When it was all said and done the police officer dumped the drugs out on the ground and told the guy to stay out of trouble because he had begged the cop to not take him in. I am sure that if the same police officer pulled a car over and saw a bag of cocaine they would take the person to jail. This is the kind of inconsistency that cannot take place.