Discretion Plays in Important Role in Balancing the Rights of the Community with the Rights of the Victim and Offender

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Discretion plays in important role in balancing the rights of the community with the rights of the victim and offender. Discretion is judgement which is exercised in criminal investigation by people in authority, such as police, the director of public prosecutions (DPP) and in the trial process by magistrates and judges. In Australia the role of discretion within the criminal investigation system and trial process has many advantages and disadvantages in the way authority deals with achieving justice for individuals. Police powers play a crucial role in the criminal investigation process as they have discretionary legal powers of arrest. The NSW police force is given special legal powers under the law which enable them to carry out their duties effectively, majority of these powers are contained in the law enforcement (powers and responsibilities) act 2002 in order to investigate crimes, make arrests, and gather evidence against the accused. The police are not allowed to detain a person unless they have good reason to do so and during the course of an investigation, police may use their discretion to decide whether they wish to arrest someone for a crime. Occasionally police may request a warrant from the local court magistrate for an individual’s arrest. The document authorises police to apprehend an offender using discretion and bring that person before a court. Although the challenge for all communities is to balance the extent of powers required by police against the rights of ordinary citizens. In the eyes of justice and to ensure fairness is reached offenders have personal rights that the NSW police need to adhere to, if the offender feels that their rights have been breached or not correctly followed by authority they have the right to complain and report the circumstance to an NSW ombudsman or the police integrity commission, as they will investigate the

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