Deck 3: Organizing the Police Department

Question 1

A reserve officer in a local police department is not considered to be a sworn personnel.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The 4-10 schedule (four 10-hour days on, four 10-hour days off) makes it easier for department managers to schedule employees.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Shared leadership became popular in police organizations in the 1980s and 1990s after witnessing the success Japanese industry had with similar empowerment strategies.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Police departments in the United States are quasi-military organizations.

Question 5

Most modern police organizations can be considered bureaucracies.

Question 6

What is the management concept that says each individual in an organization is supervised by one immediate supervisor or boss who in turn reports to a higher supervisor?

A)Ladder of command
B)Effective level of supervision
C)Span of control
D)Chain of command

Question 7

Which of the following service units includes records, property, laboratory, detention, identification, and alcohol testing, among others?

A)Personnel processes
B)Operational procedures
C)Auxiliary services
D)Resource functions

Question 8

Regardless of the size of the department, the chain of command always starts with the Governor of the state in which the department is established.

Question 9

Police unions are predominantly local organizations that bargain and communicate with the local police department and the mayor or chief's office.

Question 10

A failed example of shared leadership in a police department was that of the Broken Arrow, Oklahoma Police Department in 2006.

Question 11

What is considered a major problem for officers making a lateral transfer to another department?

A)Pensions may not be transferrable
B)Differences in philosophies between departments
C)Differences in policing technology
D)All of the above.

Question 12

Reserve officers are not always paid employees; it varies from one department to the next.

Question 13

When an officer transfers from one department to another, he or she can lose some or all of their investment in their pension plans.

Question 14

A ________ is the smallest geographic area that a patrol unit can patrol effectively.

A)district
B)beat
C)neighborhood
D)precinct

Question 15

In most police departments, patrol functions, detective functions, and internal investigative functions are all kept together in the same unit.

Question 16

Which of the following is a record, in chronological order, of all police activities occurring in a precinct each day?

A)Desk
B)Post
C)Police blotter
D)Central booking

Question 17

Marine Corps general Smedley Butler organized a "bandit squad" to aggressively raid prostitution houses and suspected crime dens in Philadelphia.

Question 18

Ethical leaders are often the ones who create envy and separation from other members of the organization.

Question 19

In a normal situation, officers are looking for leadership characteristics in their managers that will positively influence them in their police career.

Question 20

Most government employees at the federal, state, and local levels are managed by a civil service system.

Question 21

Who is generally in charge of a squad?

A)Master patrol officer
B)Corporal
C)Lieutenant
D)Sergeant

Question 22

Which of the following are police activities performed in direct assistance to the public?

A)Administration
B)Operations
C)Auxiliary services
D)Fraternal procedures

Question 23

Who is the first supervisor in the police chain of command?

A)Detective
B)Captain
C)Lieutenant
D)Sergeant

Question 24

To avoid the penalties involved in a formal police strike, officers may contract with which of following in order to protest working conditions or other grievances?

A)Blue flu
B)Sit-out
C)Blackout
D)Blue-out

Question 25

The police strike of 1919 occurred in which U.S.city?

A)New York
B)Pittsburgh
C)Chicago
D)Boston

Question 26

Why are police chiefs considered the key figures in the police organization?

A)They get paid the most.
B)They appear before local government agencies.
C)They set the vision and tone for the department.
D)They work shifts when officers are sick.

Question 27

Which of the following represents the standard order of civil service ranks within a police department, from lowest rank to highest?

A)Officer, sergeant, lieutenant, captain, chief
B)Officer, sergeant, corporal, lieutenant, captain, chief
C)Captain, officer, sergeant, corporal, lieutenant, chief
D)Corporal, officer, sergeant, lieutenant, captain, chief

Question 28

The concepts of total quality management, quality circles, job involvement, participative management, and employee empowerment are all forms of ________.

A)bottom-up leadership
B)top-down leadership
C)shared leadership
D)theory X leadership

Question 29

The process of removing sworn officers from nonenforcement jobs and replacing them by nonsworn personnel is called ________.

A)rationalization
B)lateral transfer
C)upgrading
D)civilianization

Question 30

Using a traditional three-tour system (one officer per beat per shift), about how many officers actually must be available to cover each beat?

A)2
B)3
C)4
D)5

Question 31

What is an example of an administrative unit within a police department?

A)Records
B)Holding cell
C)Personnel
D)Community relations

Question 32

In a large urban department, what area often serves as the centerpiece of the precinct, station, or district?

A)The desk
B)The police blotter
C)The holding cell
D)The command center

Question 33

A __________ system is one in which personal ability is stressed above all other considerations.

A)nepotism
B)favoritism
C)reward
D)merit

Question 34

When is the only time a detective may assume a supervisory role over any officer?

A)When a sergeant is absent
B)During an officer's first year
C)At a crime scene
D)During an arrest

Question 35

Which of the following is an independent body with authority to make binding decisions on a wide range of policy issues, working conditions, and departmental strategies?

A)Civilian personnel
B)Nonsworn officers
C)The Leadership Team
D)Community Service Officers (CSOs)

Question 36

Unless an emergency exists or speed is necessary, a patrol officer should always report to his or her ___________.

A)department
B)sergeant
C)platoon
D)precinct

Question 37

Which of the following did the Pendleton Act establish after the 1881 assassination of President James Garfield?

A)The Secret Service
B)The civil service system
C)The system of civilianization
D)Police unions

Question 38

Shared leadership attained renewed interest in the 1980s and 1990s in response to __________.

A)the court case of Tennessee v.Garner
B)New York City's successful implementation
C)the riots in Los Angeles
D)Japanese industry's success

Question 39

A ________ is the collection of all officers working a particular shift.

A)cohort
B)precinct
C)platoon
D)staff

Question 40

____________________ is defined as an organizational model marked by hierarchy and promotion based on professional merit and skill.

A)Keynesian paradigm
B)Bureaucracy
C)Privatization
D)Monetarism

Question 41

What is considered the primary fault of a 12-hour tour system?

A)Less cost-effective
B)Officer fatigue
C)Fewer total hours
D)Decrease in officer morale

Question 42

Chain of command may be disregarded in two situations.They are __________ and __________.

Question 43

The number of officers or subordinates that a supervisor can supervise effectively is called the __________.

Question 44

The unit that examines and classifies seized evidence, including drugs, weapons, and fibers, is called the _____________.

Question 45

Which group is considered the backbone of police services?

A)Detectives
B)Patrol officers
C)Training officers
D)Community service officers

Question 46

The police structure in the United States is considered to be ________.

A)military
B)civilian
C)quasi-military
D)hemi-military

Question 47

Another name for chain of command is __________.

Question 48

By which method are officers most typically promoted to detective?

A)Civil service exam
B)By appointment from leadership
C)By specialized degree
D)Nepotism

Question 49

The ability and opportunity to transfer from one police department to another is called __________.

Question 50

Tradition and civil service rules have established the police officer's most common working day as ________ hours.

A)6
B)8
C)10
D)12

Question 51

The number of officers or subordinates a supervisor can supervise effectively is called __________.

A)chain of command
B)organizational index
C)span of control
D)effective level of supervision

Question 52

No matter the size of the agency, the chain of command starts with the __________.

Question 53

An example of an auxiliary unit in a police department would be _________.

A)criminal investigations
B)communications
C)community relations
D)training

Question 54

The power of police is limited by state laws and the ________.

A)Pendleton Act
B)district attorney
C)Bill of Rights
D)state governors

Question 55

A __________ is generally the entire collection of beats in a given geographic area.

Question 56

The process of removing sworn officers from noncritical or nonenforcement tasks and replacing them with civilians or nonsworn employees is called __________.

Question 57

A _______________ tour schedule is known to raise officer morale, but can be a scheduling difficulty for department managers.

Question 58

A majority of female officers prefer a leader who is considered both "transformational" and what else?

A)Autocratic
B)Situational
C)Democratic
D)Laissez faire

Question 59

The concept of dividing the tasks of an organization according to personnel, area, time, and function or process is called __________.

Question 60

The President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice recommended which of the following actions?

A)Hiring lateral police officers
B)Developing a national police retirement system
C)Hiring more women
D)Forming permanent police reserve units

Question 61

What are the advantages and disadvantages of organizing a police department by function or purpose?

Question 62

Describe the benefits of civilianization in police departments.

Question 63

Discuss the basic paradox of police discretion and control-oriented management.

Question 64

Discuss the benefits and drawbacks of hiring a lateral transfer into an agency.If you were the Chief/Sheriff of your agency, would you want to hire lateral transfers and why or why not?

Question 65

Explain the concept of shared leadership and how it has been applied in police departments.

Question 66

Discuss how belonging to a union benefits police officers.

Question 67

What are the advantages and disadvantages of organizing a police department by area?

Question 68

Create an organizational chart that shows the ranks in the police hierarchy and explain the responsibilities of each rank.

Question 69

How does the presence or absence of ethical leadership impact the officers in a police department?

Question 70

__________ is the process of running an organization so that the organization can accomplish goals.

Question 71

What are the pros and cons of organizing a police department by 8-hour, 10-hour, and 12-hour tours?

Question 72

Describe the differences in police powers given to sworn and nonsworn members of a police department.

Question 73

Compare and contrast the terms manager and leader.Can the roles be combined? Why or why not?

Question 74

Discuss the factors that led police departments to adopt Taylor's Four Scientific Management Principles and whether these principles are still valid today.

Question 75

Do the strengths of the civil service system outweigh its weaknesses? Why or why not?