Deck 11: Information in the Police Organization

Question 1

The organization that confines itself solely to official communication channels:

A) will work more efficiently
B) will be able to prevent the development of an emergent system in the organization
C) will enable employees to meet their personal needs without creating a deviant subculture
D) will starve its people of information

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following is not one of the obstacles to effective lateral communication in organizations?

A) the hierarchy
B) specialization
C) organizational culture
D) organizational size (large organizations)

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Deciding which patrol officers to promote to sergeant is an example of:

A) a street-level decision
B) a supervisory decision
C) a policy decision
D) an administrative decision

Answer 3

D

Question 4

______________ are systems that provide information to patrol officers, detectives, and other employees engaged in direct service to the public.

A) Operations information systems
B) Supervisory information systems
C) Command and control systems
D) Management information systems

Question 5

Which of the following is a good example of a type of problem analysis?

A) operations analysis
B) intelligence analysis
C) policy analysis
D) traffic analysis

Question 6

Unofficial communication channels can exert both positive and negative influences on an organization.

Question 7

The main barriers to effective downward communication are the hierarchy and specialization.

Question 8

Of all the decisions made in police organizations, street-level decisions are the most dramatic and have the most immediate impact on the public.

Question 9

Operations information systems provide information needed for supervisory, allocation, strategic, tactical, policy, and administrative decisions.

Question 10

Crime analysis is oriented toward efficiency and provides input primarily to allocation, strategic, and tactical decisions.

Question 11

Unofficial communication channels are often more efficient and effective than official channels.

Question 12

The chain of command helps to make downward communication more effective.

Question 13

This technological innovation in command in control systems can help by determining which patrol beat a call originated from, routing calls to appropriate dispatchers, and keeping track of incident status and patrol unit status:

A) Computer-aided dispatch systems
B) Global positioning systems
C) 911 systems
D) Geographic information systems

Question 14

____________ involves the collection, collation, analysis, and dissemination of information concerning organized crime.

A) Operations analysis
B) Intelligence analysis
C) Policy analysis
D) Crime analysis

Question 15

Lateral communication is the most traditional and accepted direction of organizational communication.