There is much to be said for the application of the law and the discretion needed to maintain good order, impeccable judgment and discipline within the ranks. Discretion is a topic that varies from person to person and from institution to institution; has many different meanings and can be used negatively if good judgment is not shown. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines discretion as “the right to choose what should be done in a particular situation; the quality of being careful about what you do and say so that people are not embarrassed or offended; the quality of being discreet.” (Merriam-Webster's, 2014) The key factor missing from this definition is the word reasonable. By adding reasonable to the definition, you limit the outcomes of certain situations. Anyone can make decisions, but the results will differ between reasonable individuals and irrational individuals. «Discretion simply means choice, that's all. As a police officer, I have to make many choices. We are limited by law and our department's policy, but, to be honest, real police work often becomes an art of drawing on your own common sense.” (Nielsen, 2011) James Nielsen, a Minneapolis police officer and adjunct faculty member at Rasmussen College, uses the phrase common sense. Common sense is a simple philosophy that many have failed to master. Common sense is the ability to reasonably receive, interpret, and judge a situation. Common sense is directly related to the discretion a law enforcement officer will use throughout his or her career. This article will discuss some aspects of the law enforcement profession that relate to the mechanisms put in place to manage discretion: internal control mechanisms, external control mechanisms, citizen control m...... half of the paper ......and rush to the robbery in progress. This scenario is not written in black and white, but the officer's discretion can speak and define the needs between a petty theft and a felonious assault. If discretion were not permitted, the officer would be forced to address petty theft from start to finish. The officer would have to relay the call to another officer who may be further away and could allow that scenario to escalate. Every action taken by the law enforcement community should leave a positive and everlasting effect on the community in which they serve. The negative view of law enforcement should not be due to the actions of a few but the invisible actions of many. The bad apples in law enforcement always make headlines and headlines, but the officer who went out of his way to influence a family for the rest of their life goes unnoticed.