In this last video from Riviera Maya, Mexico, we examine the Five Types of Offenders to make a determination as to their level of character. Having the discernment to see below the surface of behavior into the heart of their character is essential to applying the Discretion Maxim.

NOTE: Regretfully, the battery in my camera apparently died just before the end of the video and cut off the last few seconds. However, I was only making a summary at that point so you don’t miss much…

The Five Types of Offenders gives us a pattern for recognizing the character of criminal offenders, inmates, employees, or even children. Once you determine which level of offender you are dealing with, then you can apply the Discretion Maxim to choose which enforcement action you might take along a continuum of discretionary options.

Discretion Maxim
Let the nature of the offense determine your range of options.
Let the character of the offender determine which option you choose. 

Graphically, it looks something like this:

Five Types of Offenders

Each progressive level of offender reflects a further step out from under authority and demands a more severe enforcement option.

Here are the characteristics of each type of offender:

The Simple Offender (more…)

Now at last we are getting to some of the more advanced principles contained in Series 2 of the  Police Dynamics training program with the Dynamic of Discretion.

Note: This is actually the second video in the Dynamic of Discretion series. The first video had such poor audio quality due to wind and surf noise coming from the beach (at the Dreams Puerta Aventuras Resort in Riviera Maya) that I hesitated to even post it. But for those of you are dedicated Police Dynamics fans, I have included it below. This video stands on its own, but if you want to watch them in order, watch the second one first…

One of the 49 character qualities from Character First is called Discretion. Character First defines it this way:

Discretion
Recognizing and avoiding words, actions, or attitudes that could bring undesirable consequences

However, that is not the use of the word that I want to look at here. I’m talking about police discretion. (more…)