Deck 4: Police Organizations

Question 1

Why are bureaucracies often accused of being too self-serving and inward-looking?

A)There is too much administrative influence.
B)Organizational self-protection and survival are seen to take precedence over the goals of the organization.
C)Litigation fees and insurance take precedence.
D)There are too many policies limiting police exposure to the public.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following is a criticism of the bureaucratic form of police organization?

A)It is unable to adapt to meet internal needs.
B)There is excessive communications training.
C)It is too rigid.
D)Police are overly invasive toward the people they serve.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

A type of structure of police organizations consisting of officers from different ranks within the same agency is known as a

A)task force.
B)response unit.
C)tactical response.
D)task crime unit.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The guide that ensures that personnel decisions are based on objective criteria, and not on favoritism, bias, and political influence is called the

A)reward system.
B)accountability system.
C)civil service system.
D)ethics appointment system.

Question 5

The control of police discretion and the reduction of misconduct have been achieved through bureaucratic principles using the technique called

A)performance evaluations.
B)citizen review.
C)policy review.
D)administrative rulemaking.

Question 6

How does the community policing approach attempt to modify a police organization?

A)through strict administrative rulemaking
B)by using an authoritarian structure
C)through de-bureaucratization
D)through common goals assessments

Question 7

In which way do the police resemble the military?

A)Police also serve a citizen population.
B)The organizational style of the police is authoritarian.
C)Police provide services designed to help people.
D)Officers also exercise individual discretion.

Question 8

The management program that uses technology as an organizational tool to achieve crime control through accountability is known as

A)ENFORCESTAT.
B)POLSTAT.
C)COMPSTAT.
D)CRIMESTAT.

Question 9

American law enforcement agencies are organized along quasi-military lines.This means

A)the military may be called upon to assist under certain conditions.
B)the police are descendants from the original military strategies.
C)the police resemble the military in some but not all respects.
D)the military is used to allocate surplus resources to the police at times.

Question 10

Why do many experts believe the quasi-military style is inappropriate for police?

A)It encourages undemocratic activities.
B)It deemphasizes job satisfaction.
C)It encourages the philosophy of the police fighting a "war on crime."
D)It inefficiently serves the citizen population.

Question 11

The approach to de-bureaucratizing police organizations, which eliminates many rules and policies that are seen to stifle creativity and problem-solving, is called

A)deformalizing
B)delayering
C)despecializing
D)decentralizing

Question 12

There are two schools of thought on how to improve police organizations.The dominant school accepts the basic principles of the organization and seeks to apply them more effectively.Which of the following is an example of this approach?

A)This approach seeks to gain greater control of discretion through written rules.
B)This approach seeks to use alternative decision-making procedures that operate within the existing formal structure via task forces.
C)This approach seeks to employ community policing programs.
D)This approach seeks to employ zero-tolerance policing programs.

Question 13

Within almost all police departments there are "cliques," or informal networks of officers.What purpose does a horizontal clique serve?

A)to protect officers from supervisory oversight and accountability
B)to enhance conditions between patrol partners in long-term assignments
C)to improve relations between supervisors and their staff
D)to allow officers of the same rank to be promoted

Question 14

An organization legally authorized to represent police officers in collective bargaining with their employer is called a

A)Police Unit.
B)Police Rep Unit.
C)Police Agency Union.
D)Police Union.

Question 15

The degree to which police have specialized units is dependent on

A)the training academy.
B)the size of the department.
C)mayoral discretion.
D)the CALEA standards.

Question 16

The typical police department has a complex hierarchical structure and an authoritarian management style also known as a

A)common organization.
B)bureaucracy.
C)public sector.
D)delegation orientation.

Question 17

How do interagency task forces address problems within the traditional police organizational structure?

A)They allow for crime prevention.
B)They decrease the crime rate more efficiently.
C)They lead to increased citizen satisfaction with policing efforts.
D)They increase the likelihood that innovations will be accepted within the organization.

Question 18

An important criticism of the quasi-military style is the

A)potential abuse of tax funds.
B)potential abuse of military-police authority.
C)increase of personnel morale under false pretenses.
D)the cultivation of an "us versus them" attitude.

Question 19

Community policing is an alternative to the traditional form of policing.Its placement of greater responsibility on officers to be more responsive to neighborhood residents in an attempt to ______________ more traditional organizations.

A)decentralize
B)deformalize
C)despecialize
D)delayerize

Question 20

The method of determining conditions of employment through bilateral negotiations is known as

A)grievance process.
B)collective bargaining.
C)shared working improvement.
D)police labor movement.

Question 21

Robert Peel designed the London Metropolitan Police Department along the lines of

A)the Catholic Church
B)the shipping bureaucracy
C)the East Indian Tea Company
D)the military

Question 22

Most large police agencies engage in collective bargaining procedures.What are the findings concerning agencies that do not engage in collective bargaining?

A)The officers of these agencies have higher job satisfaction.
B)Officers spend more time and efforts on crime prevention.
C)These officers are typically better paid due to the availability of funds.
D)They typically do not receive shift differential pay or education incentive pay.

Question 23

A police union is an

A)organization designed to inhibit the abilities of civil service agencies.
B)industry geared toward profiting from the low job satisfaction experienced by a majority of police officers.
C)organization legally authorized to represent police administrators in providing police officers with needed equipment.
D)organization legally authorized to represent police officers in collective bargaining.

Question 24

Which of the following is a responsibility of civil service agencies?

A)developing strategies to involve the community in policing
B)developing disciplinary procedures for personnel
C)conducting the training academies for new personnel
D)developing new community policing strategies

Question 25

Which of the following is an example of the impact of police unions?

A)an increase in citizen involvement in police politics
B)an increase in the funds available in grievance litigation
C)a reduction in the power of police chiefs
D)an increase in the power of police chiefs

Question 26

Which of the following is an outcome of civil service procedures?

A)It limits the police chief's personal power in personnel decisions.
B)It limits the amount of discretion that officers can use on the street.
C)It interferes with the development of new policing strategies.
D)It limits the amount of funds available to administrators in implementing new strategies.

Question 27

What is the purpose of civil service procedures?

A)to ensure that personnel decisions are based on objective criteria
B)to ensure that office politics do not interfere with departmental operations
C)to allow government officials to maximize their career objectives
D)to ensure that departmental policy is enforced equitably

Question 28

Under COMPSTAT, how is crime control achieved?

A)through faster response times
B)by holding commanders accountable
C)by increasing arrest rates
D)by introducing crackdowns on repeat offenders

Question 29

What is the purpose of grievance procedures?

A)to provide employers a way around civil service limitations
B)to provide officers an avenue for expressing concerns with policies
C)to allow paid leave for family emergencies
D)to provide due process in resolving appeals for contract violations

Question 30

What is the premise of the institutional theory?

A)Organizations are created to meet specific goals.
B)Organizations are dependent on others and must obtain resources to survive.
C)Organizations are social institutions operating in relation to their external and political environments.
D)Organizations are most effective when structured in a hierarchical manner

Question 31

For what purpose is the collective bargaining method of negotiation designed?

A)It provides an avenue to lawfully gain information from criminals.
B)Police unions are provided with the funds necessary to litigate on behalf of police officers.
C)It provides a structured framework for settling differences between employers and employees.
D)It provides accurate evaluations of policing needs and determines appropriate strategies to meet these needs.

Question 32

What is the underlying premise of contingency theory?

A)The idea that organizations are created and structured to achieve specific goals.
B)The belief that police organizations are social institutions.
C)The idea that police organizations are dependent on others for resources.
D)The idea that organizations are only effective under strict management.

Question 33

What is the benefit of police departments becoming "learning organizations"?

A)The departments are able to achieve lower crime rates.
B)Citizen satisfaction with police efforts increases.
C)Police are better able to address problems concerning prevention efforts.
D)Police can develop and implement changes according to their needs.

Question 34

What happens when the police union and management cannot agree on a contract?

A)They move to impasse procedures.
B)The police go on strike.
C)A bond vote takes place to determine police benefits.
D)The city initiates hiring procedures for new personnel.

Question 35

The bureaucratic form of organization exists because

A)it is the most efficient means of government that has been developed.
B)people are incapable of changing.
C)police officers have an vested interest in the bureaucratic model.
D)O.W.Wilson would not consider any other suggestions.

Question 36

Because police strikes are highly controversial and sometimes illegal, what action do police officers usually take instead?

A)They wait for their union to take action.
B)There is a disruption of normally assigned duties.
C)Patrol officers resign from the force.
D)Officers stop responding to all calls for service.

Question 37

What are civil service procedures?

A)informal procedures governing office politics
B)procedures dictating departmental policy
C)procedures protecting governmental officials from scrutiny
D)formal and legally binding procedures governing personnel decisions

Question 38

What is collective bargaining?

A)negotiations involved in determining conditions of employment
B)negotiations determining lesser sentences for criminals who supply the police with information.
C)methods of determining policing strategies for various units
D)the method used by police unions in securing large federal grants

Question 39

What is the premise of the resource dependency theory?

A)Organizations are most effective when decentralized.
B)Organizations are created to meet specific goals.
C)Organizations require social contacts.
D)Organizations must obtain resources to survive.

Question 40

Which of the following is not an advantage of multi-agency task forces?

A)They allow low-ranking officers to make intelligent decisions about policing policy.
B)They eliminate duplication of services in surrounding communities.
C)They enable officers to work in other jurisdictions.
D)They increase the amount of information available.

Question 41

The oldest and largest police organization in the country is the International Union of Police Associations.

Question 42

Police unions have had a powerful impact on American policing.Most important, they have produced significant improvements in

A)the hiring of female officers.
B)the hiring of minorities.
C)police officers' salaries and benefits.
D)the rising educational levels of new recruits.

Question 43

Despecializing in policing is

A)police place greater responsibility on rank-and-file officers at the neighborhood level to become more responsive to neighborhood residents.
B)rules and policies that often stifle police creativity and do not encourage problem solving are eliminated.
C)specialized units with neighborhood officers who are more knowledgeable about the problems that face their neighborhoods are established.
D)the amount of social and administrative distance between the beat officer and the chief of police is decreased.

Question 44

The majority of sworn police officers in the United States are members of police unions.

Question 45

In recent years, some police scholars have noticed a strong shift away from the militarization of the police.

Question 46

Deformalizing in policing is

A)police place greater responsibility on rank-and-file officers at the neighborhood level to become more responsive to neighborhood residents.
B)rules and policies that often stifle police creativity and do not encourage problem solving are eliminated.
C)specialized units with neighborhood officers who are more knowledgeable about the problems that face their neighborhoods are established.
D)the amount of social and administrative distance between the beat officer and the chief of police is decreased.

Question 47

Friendships that are formed between officers of lower and higher rank that affect work activities are called

A)graduating classes.
B)blue walls of silence.
C)vertical cliques.
D)horizontal cliques.
E)career cliques.

Question 48

Decentralizing in policing occurs when

A)police place greater responsibility on rank-and-file officers at the neighborhood level to become more responsive to neighborhood residents.
B)rules and policies that often stifle police creativity and do not encourage problem solving are eliminated.
C)specialized units with neighborhood officers who are more knowledgeable about the problems that face their neighborhoods are established.
D)the social and administrative distance between the beat officer and the chief of police is decreased.

Question 49

The belief that organizations are created and structured to achieve specific goals, such as crime control, is called

A)police administration theory.
B)police management theory.
C)contingency theory.
D)institutional theory.
E)game theory.

Question 50

The method of determining conditions of employment through bilateral negotiations is called

A)arguing.
B)collective bargaining.
C)debating.
D)conflicting.

Question 51

In the history of policing, professional police departments are the ones in which police officers do their job "by the book."

Question 52

While TQM has been found to be a successful organizational strategy in private industry, its effectiveness in police organizations is still unclear.

Question 53

According to the text, a task force consists of officers from different ranks within the same agency.

Question 54

Which theory holds that police organization are social institutions that operate in their relation to the external social and political environment?

A)police administration theory
B)police management theory
C)contingency theory
D)institutional theory
E)game theory

Question 55

The dominant theoretical framework for understanding the structures and practices of police organizations is

A)police administration theory.
B)police management theory.
C)contingency theory.
D)institutional theory.
E)game theory.

Question 56

Delayerizing in policing occurs

A)when police place greater responsibility on rank-and-file officers at the neighborhood level to become more responsive to neighborhood residents.
B)when rules and policies that often stifle police creativity and do not encourage problem solving are eliminated.
C)when specialized units with neighborhood officers who are more knowledgeable about the problems that face their neighborhoods are established.
D)when the social and administrative distance between the beat officer and the chief of police is decreased.

Question 57

A set of formal and legally binding procedures governing personnel decisions is called civil service.

Question 58

According to the text, jobs in the police department are competitive with other jobs that may require a college education.

Question 59

According to the text, when the union and the city cannot agree on a contract a(n) ____________ exists.

A)strike
B)problem
C)impasse
D)default
E)negotiation crisis

Question 60

An organization legally authorized to represent police officers in collective bargaining with the employer is called

A)a civil service administration.
B)the brotherhood.
C)a police union.
D)an agent.

Question 61

Many of the problems in policing are related to organizational features.

Question 62

How do the police resemble the military?

Question 63

Friendship patterns are important in the management of a police department.

Question 64

How are the police different the military?

Question 65

What are the nine characteristics of a modern bureaucracy?

Question 66

What are the major criticisms of the bureaucratic form of organization?

Question 67

What are the five major advantages in using a multi-agency task force in the investigation of gangs and drugs?