Question

Do you believe that police officers should arrest every violator they encounter, discover, or are made aware of? Support your answer. What factors should an officer consider when deciding whether to arrest or otherwise pursue a prosecution

Answer 1

The law requires proper reasoning for consideration of prosecution. It is, therefore, necessary for a policeman to make sure that their arrests are made accordingly. If there is a need to, they should make an arrest wherever necessary. Law is not a consideration, it should be absolute and based on this fact, their conditions should represent their actions. While this should be their main course of action, we can say that the change that every offense or every offender is just as guilty as say a criminal is a false assumption. The need for assessing the situation is, therefore, greater for a police officer as there needs to be some form of evaluation for them to consider if an offense is a serious one which required their actions or one which can be let go with a warning. This should mainly be based on the action of the individuals at fault more than the act itself. For example, while doing stunts on a bike on a public road is an offence, the police officer might let the offender off with a warning based on any prior interactions or the lack of it as well as the intention of the one at fault since most people do not indulge in such activities out of a profound sense of causing public unrest.