This paper will discuss the positive and negative effects of police discretion and those that use it in everyday situations, from the streets to the courtrooms. If used properly, discretionary powers are a useful tool at the officers’ disposal that can make certain circumstances much easier on the courts and justice system. To start off, let’s first look at the positive uses of police discretion. For example, a traffic officer lets a mother of three off with a warning for rolling through a stop sign with no other traffic incoming; yet tickets the teen that does the same thing while in a rush to make it to school on time with traffic. The scenario has changed along with the circumstances. The mother is an experienced driver who did not endanger any other motorist, thus a warning being given. But the teen is still learning the road, and put other drivers at risk. So not only is there a greater risk to public safety with the second scenario, but also a learning opportunity for the teen. Or look at a local judge who sentences a first time drug offender to community service, probation, court mandated awareness classes, and a fine; while in the same day sentences a multiple offender to 10 years in prison. It is always a matter of weighing and addressing the options at hand, and what is in the public’s best interest overall. A first time offender could learn from their experiences in the court system and serve as an example to those around them, while a multiple offender is far less likely to rehabilitate the same way and has become a great enough nuisance to society that it is in the public’s best interest for them to be put away (www.mlive.com/annarbor). But these are just a few examples that are fairly clear and dry; there are many more situations out there that are not as easy to make a quick decision on. But by always keeping the public’s best interests in mind these outcomes can be both a learning experience for the offender, w