Police officers, due to the nature of their jobs, are frequently faced with split-second discretionary decisions. Chief James Bale, Whittier Police Department (California), discusses the seven items comprising the discretionary decision process: problem identification, fact finding, degrees of freedom determination, alternatives selection, making the decision, implementing the decision, and process evaluation. The characteristics and personal attributes of a good decisionmaker are delineated, as are the factor which influence a decision. To illustrate the process, an officer is shown observing two men loading a small van parked in a residential driveway. Chief Bale takes the viewer through the decision process: Is there a problem? From what sources may additional facts be derived? What alternatives of action does the officer have and what might be the result of each alternative? After conclusion of the orientation incident discussion, six training incident segments are presented: the possibility of spousal assault; an elderly woman who has not been seen by the neighbors for several days; two underage teenagers who have beer in their car; a high-speed chase through a school zone; an erratic driver who admits to having drank two beers after a softball game and yet passes a field sobriety test; and an overturned truck in which the driver is pinned, the engine is smoking, and a container is leaking. Each of the incidents highlights one aspect of the process.