By action, the criminal law “has attempted to establish those forms of conduct which its members desire to be declared criminal” (Goldstein, 1963, p. 141). However, these laws are often expressed in such broad terms that definitions of crime are vague and, therefore, trying to interpret and enforce this type of legislation becomes difficult for police officers. The second point to note in support of police discretion is that blanket enforcement of all laws is essentially impossible. Police departments do not have the manpower or resources to respond to every call for service. They also cannot arrest everyone who has committed a crime and prepare them for trial. A third benefit to the use of discretion in law enforcement concerns variations in the severity of offenders' behaviors. Every police encounter with an offender is different, so police officers must consider contextual and mitigating factors, as well as the offender themselves and not just the illegality of the crime. Therefore, this is where discretion is beneficial in assessing an offender's culpability. Not everyone can be treated the same as professional criminals, there must be exceptions for individual circumstances, which causes police discretion to come into play.