Deck 5: The Police Role and Police Discretion

Question 1

Which of the following is not one of James Q. Wilson's operating styles?

A) watchman
B) legalistic
C) service
D) aggressive

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The Magic City Police Department maintains order through informal police intervention, including persuasion and threats, or hassling or roughing up disruptive people instead of formal arrests. According to James Q. Wilson, it would be considered to be a ____________________ department.

A) watchman
B) legalistic
C) moralistic
D) service

Answer 2

A

Question 3

In 1985, the fleeing felon rule was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in the landmark case of ____________________.

A) Mapp v. Ohio
B) Lawrence v. Texas
C) Tennessee v. Garner
D) Terry v. Ohio

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The police make approximately ____________________ million arrests a year.

A) 3.3
B) 10.16
C) 12.2
D) 13.12

Question 5

Most police contacts involve:

A) motor vehicle or traffic-related issues
B) family violence
C) arrests of offenders
D) testifying in court

Question 6

Of the following, the police make more arrests for ____________________ crimes than for the other types.

A) violent
B) property
C) financial
D) quality-of-life

Question 7

The legality and morality of the "fleeing felon" rule have been challenged because of the U.S. legal concept of:

A) presumption of innocence
B) fundamental fairness
C) cruel and unusual punishment
D) application of equality

Question 8

Officer Green believes that it is impossible to achieve the goals and objectives of the police department and concentrates his efforts on the concept of police loyalty and the mutual support of his fellow officers. According to Broderick, he would be considered a(n):

A) realist
B) optimist
C) enforcer
D) idealist

Question 9

Sheehan and Cordner state that the two primary goals and objectives of police departments are:

A) maintaining order, and protecting life and property
B) preventing crime and arresting offenders
C) preventing crime and maintaining order
D) protecting life and property, and preventing crime

Question 10

Egon Bittner has stated that police work has, from its earliest origins, been a:

A) religious vocation
B) respected profession
C) feared occupation
D) tainted occupation

Question 11

Robert Lilly's research concluded that the majority of police calls are in reference to:

A) burglaries
B) thefts
C) information
D) social services

Question 12

The police role is:

A) very ambiguous
B) very clearly defined
C) mainly related to violent crime
D) mainly related to arresting offenders

Question 13

The Smalltown Police Department uses social service agencies to provide counseling for minor offenders. According to James Q. Wilson, it would be considered to be a ____________________ department.

A) watchman
B) legalistic
C) moralistic
D) service

Question 14

Officer White concentrates her efforts on helping people in trouble, rather than on keeping society safe. According to Broderick, she would be considered a(n):

A) realist
B) optimist
C) enforcer
D) idealist

Question 15

Which of the following is incorrect?

A) The police make more arrests for minor violations than serious crime.
B) The police make more arrests for drug offenses than they do for driving while intoxicated (DWI/DUI)
C) The police make more arrests for aggravated or felony assault than they do for misdemeanor assault.
D) Violations of liquor laws, drunkenness, disorderly conduct, vagrancy, and loitering are responsible for approximately 1.72 million arrests a year.

Question 16

Officer Brown believes his role is keeping the peace and preserving the social order, yet he is very careful not to violate the constitutional rights of individuals. According to Broderick, he would be considered a(n):

A) realist
B) optimist
C) enforcer
D) idealist

Question 17

Which of the following is not one of Broderick's police operational styles?

A) enforcers
B) dreamers
C) realists
D) optimists

Question 18

The Humortown Police Department issues many summonses and makes many misdemeanor arrests. According to James Q. Wilson, it would be considered to be a ____________________ department.

A) watchman
B) legalistic
C) moralistic
D) service

Question 19

The police attempt to prevent crime by trying to create a sense of:

A) safety and security
B) community involvement
C) omniscience
D) omnipresence

Question 20

Officer Smith believes her role is to maintain order on her beat by arresting criminals. According to Broderick, she would be considered a(n):

A) realist
B) optimist
C) enforcer
D) idealist

Question 21

Police officers have ____________________ discretion.

A) little
B) tremendous
C) limited
D) no

Question 22

In the 1970s, the American Law Institute proposed a(n) ____________________, which included new policies on the use of deadly force.

A) administrative rule
B) National Bill of Police Rights
C) legislative bill
D) Model Penal Code

Question 23

Which of the following is part of the federal government's imminent danger standard for use of deadly force?

A) firing warning shots
B) shooting at moving vehicles
C) prisoner attempting escape who was being held in a high-security prison
D) nonfatally shooting a suspect in the leg

Question 24

Which of the following is not one of the reasons police exercise discretion?

A) If the police enforced all the laws, all the time, they would be in the station house or court much of their time.
B) Complete enforcement would alienate the public from the police.
C) Most violations of law are minor and do not require full enforcement.
D) The police want to show they have a caring attitude toward the community.

Question 25

The police try to create a sense that they are always there. This is called __________

Question 26

One way of controlling discretion, particularly improper application of discretion, is the establishment of:

A) strong policies
B) employee early warning systems
C) citizen review boards
D) active reporting systems

Question 27

Carl B. Klockars, in Idea of Police, broadly defines the basic function of the police as dealing with all those problems that may require the use of __________

Question 28

Which of the following is not one of the factors that may influence police discretion as indicated by research findings?

A) time of day
B) the offense
C) subject's attitude
D) subject's race

Question 29

In 1985, the U.S. Supreme Court dealt with police use of deadly force, declaring the __________unconstitutional.

Question 30

The ____________________ standard allows police officers to use deadly force against people who are using deadly force against an officer or another person, as well as in certain violent felony situations.

A) castle exception
B) defense of property
C) defense of life
D) defense of community

Question 31

Arresting offenders and assisting prosecutors in bringing charges against defendants is one of the primary methods used by police to maintain order and protect __________and __________

Question 32

Which of the following is not one of the major factors Herbert Jacob says causes the police to exercise discretion?

A) department policies
B) characteristics of the crime
C) relationship between criminal and victim or between police and criminal or victim
D) geographic area of the crime

Question 33

Based on 2010 statistics, approximately ____________________ people were killed justifiably by police in a three-year period.

A) 25
B) 390
C) 1,322
D) 10,227

Question 34

Most police patrol time is spent:

A) as uncommitted time
B) as committed time
C) responding to calls for service
D) responding to dispatch

Question 35

In the landmark case Tennessee v. Garner, the U.S. Supreme Court declared the ____________________ rule unconstitutional.

A) fleeing felon
B) consent search
C) detention
D) stop and frisk

Question 36

Statistics clearly indicate that police officers:

A) overuse force
B) do not overuse force
C) overuse threats
D) display their weapons too often

Question 37

The first decision maker in the criminal justice system and often the most important is:

A) the judge
B) the defense attorney
C) the police officer
D) the prosecutor

Question 38

Studies of police discretion have shown that the most significant factor in the decision to arrest is the:

A) location of the offense
B) officer-offender relationship
C) seriousness of the offense committed
D) offender's past criminal history

Question 39

The availability of a choice of options or actions one can take in a situation is called __________

Question 40

Choke holds, carotid holds, and neck restraints became a source of controversy after:

A) several lawsuits
B) some deaths
C) further study
D) changes in law enforcement policies

Question 41

Two studies indicate that people who engage in violent crime or who engage the police in violent confrontations are much more likely to be the victims of police shootings.

Question 42

The growing popularity of less-than-lethal weapons (LTLW) by police officers in the United States virtually ensures their increased use in the law enforcement community.

Question 43

The primary goal or objective of the police should be to arrest all offenders.

Question 44

The federal government has redefined its deadly force policy used by federal agents and has adopted the __________ standard.

Question 45

Police are free or have the ability to ignore crimes or to exercise discretion regarding them, even when the crime is serious.

Question 46

The U.S. system of criminal justice is interested in the __________, in addition to the letter of the law.

Question 47

The entire criminal justice system is based on the concept of discretion.

Question 48

Most police departments now train their officers in the use of force using the __________

Question 49

The police officer is generally the first decision maker in the U.S. criminal justice system and is often the most important.

Question 50

The police themselves emphasize their role as crime fighters and play down their job as peacekeepers and social service providers.

Question 51

Most of what happens in the U.S. criminal justice system happens without the use of discretion by the police.

Question 52

Elaine Cumming and her colleagues reported that the ordinary work routines of police officers include mostly law enforcement activities and very few other activities.

Question 53

An officer's discretion varies depending on the type of situation he or she encounters.

Question 54

Police generally have much less discretion than other officials in the criminal justice system.

Question 55

The police role is extremely well defined and contains little ambiguity.

Question 56

The "defense of life" standard allowed police officers to use deadly force against people who were using deadly force against an officer or another person.

Question 57

What do you think the police role really is?

Question 58

Movies and television shows about the police emphasize the police crime-fighting role.

Question 59

Ninety-six percent of local police departments have turned to the use of __________ in an attempt to reduce the use of deadly force.

Question 60

During the 1970s, many police departments developed an alternative to the fleeing felon doctrine; it was called the __________

Question 61

Discuss the impact of Tennessee v. Garner.

Question 62

What is the basic difference between the crime-fighting role and the order-maintenance role of the police?

Question 63

What are some of the major factors that influence police discretion?

Question 64

Compare and contrast each of James Q. Wilson's police department operational styles.

Question 65

List and explain each of Broderick's styles. Which style of officer would you want in your community? Why?

Question 66

List the primary and secondary goals of policing and give an example of how the police work toward each goal.

Question 67

Explain how, according to research, the police actually spend their time at work.

Question 68

Discuss the extent and use of less-than-lethal weapons by police.

Question 69

Define discretion. Discuss some of the major ways police exercise discretion.