Deck 1: Understanding the Police

Question 1

Egon Bittner suggested that the core of the police role is:

A) capacity to use force
B) crime prevention
C) local control
D) social control

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The primary correlates of policing are:

A) criminal laws
B) procedural laws
C) substantive laws
D) none of the above

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Wilson suggested that police organizations are influenced by the types of officers they hire.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The police are an institution of social control.

Question 5

Lundman calls the dilemma of balancing needs for order with desires for liberty a(n):

A) dynamic tension
B) value conflict
C) oxymoron
D) equilibrium

Question 6

In a test of Wilson's theory, Langworthy found that police styles differed among communities, and that within styles:

A) there was little variation
B) there was common practice
C) there was great similarity
D) none of the above

Question 7

Generally speaking, the characteristics of people involved in police- citizen encounters are unimportant.

Question 8

Correlates are factors that:

A) are independent
B) cause each other
C) explain each other
D) change together

Question 9

In the criminal justice system, police are responsible for:

A) arrest of criminal suspects
B) detection of crime
C) investigation of crime
D) all of the above

Question 10

At its base, policing is a(n):

A) mechanical process
B) legal process
C) interactive process
D) all of the above

Question 11

Police actions reflect social definitions of the appropriate balance between due process and crime- control interests.

Question 12

The primary function of the police in society is:

A) crime control
B) law enforcement
C) social control
D) crime prevention

Question 13

Police- citizen encounters revolve around five salient concerns including:

A) expected outcomes
B) citizen demeanor
C) questions of authority
D) all of the above

Question 14

The way members of a society are taught what is proper and improper behavior in society is called:

A) socialization
B) modeling
C) deterrence
D) social control

Question 15

To direct and control police use of force to intervene in the lives of citizens, legislators enact:

A) procedural laws
B) constitutional limits
C) substantive laws
D) departmental regulations

Question 16

According to Wilson, police styles that exist in communities are products of community:

A) ethnic diversity
B) political culture
C) wealth
D) size

Question 17

Depending on circumstances, it is possible for a citizen to be arrested as a result of asking for directions.

Question 18

Departmental policies that instruct officers to ignore speeding violations within certain levels are:

A) tolerance limits
B) generally publicized
C) illegal
D) operational limits

Question 19

The major correlates of policing identified in the book include:

A) procedural law
B) the police organization
C) time of day
D) none of the above

Question 20

The major functions of local police identified by Wilson are law enforcement, order maintenance, and:

A) crime prevention
B) peacekeeping
C) service
D) crime control

Question 21

Because their decisions determine entry into criminal processing, police are gatekeepers of the justice system.

Question 22

Arrest and the use of force are generally police strategies of last resort.

Question 23

The police are institutions or individuals given the general right to use force by the state within its domestic territory.

Question 24

Police organizations are unable to influence officer discretion.

Question 25

Formal social control exists when people choose to abide by the rules.

Question 26

The police are a natural part of a free society.

Question 27

The police not only serve the law, they also use it.

Question 28

The balance of forces approach to policing taken in the text suggests that police decisions are not explainable.

Question 29

The police in America exist at all levels of government.

Question 30

The problems for which the police are called to intervene are usually legal problems.