Deck 7: Municipal and Local Police

Question 1

In all local police agencies in America, the majority of personnel are assigned to:

A) traffic duties
B) field operation duties
C) administrative duties
D) none of the above

Answer 1

B

Question 2

A legalistic police agency is one in which officers do not provide services to the public.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Research indicates that the size of the police organization is correlated with:

A) role of the agency
B) agency structure
C) officer attitudes
D) all of the above

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Ostrom, Parks, and Whitaker describe local policing as:

A) a multifirm industry
B) fragmented and uncoordinated
C) redundant and wasteful
D) none of the above

Question 5

The research literature on local police reflects a:

A) lack of consistency
B) small- town focus
C) big- city bias
D) none of the above

Question 6

The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates that the number of municipal and local police agencies in America exceeds:

A) 15,000
B) 50,000
C) 25,000
D) 10,000

Question 7

Primary audiences of the police organization include:

A) citizen complainants
B) governmental officials
C) police personnel
D) all of the above

Question 8

Organizational correlates of local policing include agency size.

Question 9

The police organization influences the behavior of police officers through:

A) rules and regulations
B) channeling community expectations
C) the reward structure
D) all of the above

Question 10

Of municipalities with populations of 2,500 or more, the percentage that has their own police forces exceeds:

A) 67 percent
B) 25 percent
C) 90 percent
D) 75 percent

Question 11

Most of the literature on local policing suggests an accepted organizational model of the police agency as:

A) team managed
B) bureaucratic pyramid
C) long- linked
D) all of the above

Question 12

Given a homogeneous population a watchman style is likely when government officials are active.

Question 13

An agency in which officers intervene frequently but informally in the lives of citizens is said to have a(n):

A) watchman style
B) legalistic style
C) service style
D) enforcement style

Question 14

Formal interagency agreements that govern cooperative efforts among local police are:

A) mutual aid pacts
B) letters of understanding
C) cooperative service contracts
D) interjurisdictional transfers

Question 15

The percentage of employees of municipal and local police agencies who are sworn officers is about:

A) 25
B) 65
C) 50
D) 75

Question 16

The different audiences of the police agency have common expectations of the police.

Question 17

Service style agencies can develop where citizens share common traits and values.

Question 18

Most local police agencies in America employ fewer than:

A) 10 officers
B) 25 officers
C) 50 officers
D) 5 officers

Question 19

A service- style agency is to be expected where the dominant expectations and influence on the police are those of the:

A) members
B) general public
C) clients
D) owners

Question 20

Municipal governments pay for a share of total law enforcement expenses equal to nearly:

A) two- thirds
B) nine- tenths
C) one- half
D) three- quarters

Question 21

Community correlates of local policing include population stability.

Question 22

Local police agencies in America share common traits of size and organizational structure.

Question 23

James Wilson explained police department styles as a product of local political culture.

Question 24

Policing represents what has been called a "multi- firm" industry.

Question 25

Watchman style agencies exist where officers discern and act on personal relationships among citizens.

Question 26

Studies of the local police indicate that there is a high degree of duplication and overlap in police services.

Question 27

An important source of information about local police is the LEMAS survey.

Question 28

The style of policing adopted by a police agency is probably correlated with the relative influence of its audiences.

Question 29

In some sense, local police are "all things to all people."

Question 30

The most common local police organization, and the one with which most Americans are familiar, is the county sheriff.