Factoring the Law out. The Managerial Maneuvering of Police Discretion

The usual sociological description of discretionary police action as verging on abuse of power has often blurred a distinction clearly set up by administrative law. When a judge asserts that an action springs from discretion, he waives the whole of his right to look into the matter, as a mark of respect for the Administration’s freedom. A valuable touchstone, this theory helps highlighting the impact that recent shifts in police management have had on the course of action of police forces. Far from giving rise to any scandalous surge of arbitrariness in policing the new management confiscates the capacity of police agents to make out the most opportune manner of enforcing the law.