Deck 11: Police Discretion

Question 1

While addressing incidents, such as domestic violence, that are largely hidden from public view, police officers can more easily ignore policy and the reporting requirement.This type of incident is called

A)course of action work.
B)sub action police work.
C)low level work.
D)low visibility work.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

What is the purpose in controlling police discretion?

A)to enhance citizen satisfaction
B)to prevent abuse of police authority
C)to efficiently combat neighborhood disorder
D)to prevent an increase in the crime rate

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The exercise of police discretion through written policy is called

A)department philosophy.
B)bureaucratic controls.
C)administrative rulemaking.
D)profession downward judgment.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Historically, the police have denied that they exercise discretion claiming instead they fully enforce all laws.This is known as the

A)political discretionary culture.
B)myth of full enforcement.
C)official department policy.
D)politically correct philosophy.

Question 5

Discretion is defined as

A)a decision based on sound public policy.
B)a decision by a judge based upon all the facts submitted by the individual.
C)a decision by criminal justice official based on the best course of action.
D)reinforcement of law with a good decision.

Question 6

Good judgment, efficient use of resources, and sound public policy are examples of

A)positive use of discretion.
B)negative use of discretion.
C)reverse use of discretion.
D)street smarts discretion.

Question 7

What standard for the use of deadly force clearly spells out when deadly force may be used and when it may not be used?

A)the defense of life standard
B)the imminent danger standard
C)the threat to wellbeing standard
D)the armed felon standard

Question 8

One factor that most contributes to the exercise of discretion is the police

A)visibility.
B)work environment.
C)public expectation.
D)budget pressures.

Question 9

Which of the following is not one of the three basic strategies for controlling police discretion?

A)increased incident reporting and evaluation
B)regulation through written policy
C)abolishing it altogether
D)enhancing officer judgment

Question 10

The approach of guiding police officers' discretion via written policy is known as

A)officer constraint.
B)administrative rulemaking.
C)abolishment.
D)discretionary preservation.

Question 11

Discretion increases as one moves down the police organization.Police are known as

A)process bureaucrats.
B)street level bureaucrats.
C)first level judges.
D)street level justices.

Question 12

Joseph Goldstein conducted one of the first studies of police discretion, in which he concluded that

A)discretion typically does not pose a problem.
B)discretion is effective and necessary.
C)it is illegal and should be abolished.
D)it efficiently allocates limited police resources.

Question 13

The seriousness of the crime and the strength of the evidence are called

A)preference of the victim.
B)strength of the case.
C)culture factors.
D)situational factors.

Question 14

What situation related to domestic violence mandates officers to make an arrest, thus inhibiting the use of discretion?

A)when witnesses are present
B)when the suspect is a minor
C)when arrest is preferred
D)when a felonious assault has occurred

Question 15

The probability of arrest and officers use of force increase when a suspect is

A)wanted by law enforcement.
B)socially rejected by law enforcement.
C)disrespectful toward police.
D)offends others in the presence of police.

Question 16

A police department collects and codifies its rules and policies through a

A)standard operating procedure manual.
B)rules and regulations manual.
C)code operations book.
D)administrative guide to patrol.

Question 17

Critics argue that the traditional professional model does not apply to policing because

A)recruitment standards of policing are rigorous and thorough.
B)training academies are extensive and long, compared to other professions.
C)policing is more a craft than a profession.
D)the peer culture of policing does not tolerate improper behavior.

Question 18

Mastrofski, Snipes, and Supina investigated the extent to which citizens comply with requests from police officers.What was a finding of this investigation?

A)Citizens often do not comply with officer requests.
B)Failure to comply did not affect the officer's decision to arrest.
C)An arrest resulted in a large majority of the failure to comply cases.
D)Citizens complied with officer requests most of the time.

Question 19

According to the text, which of the following is a type of discretion that is sometimes argued about abolishing?

A)use of informants
B)mandatory sentencing systems
C)sting operations and arrests
D)plea bargaining

Question 20

Police officer actions need to be understood in relation to the

A)priority of the crime.
B)citizen behavior.
C)rate of neighborhood decay.
D)crime index.

Question 21

Fyfe conducted a study of the restrictive policy on deadly force adopted by the NYPD.What was his finding?

A)The weekly average number of firearm discharges increased.
B)The weekly average number of firearm discharges decreased.
C)There was little impact on the weekly average number of firearm discharges.
D)The department saw a large decline in the number of civil suits brought against them as a result of deadly force policies.

Question 22

Which of the following is a major question concerning the control of discretion?

A)whether officers comply with departmental policies
B)whether there are any positive long term effects
C)whether it impacts crime prevention
D)whether it impedes the officer's authority

Question 23

The benefit to engaging in systematic rulemaking rather than administrative rulemaking is that

A)it allows police to anticipate problems before they become a crisis.
B)it is more effective.
C)policies would not be in writing, thus leading to more discretion.
D)policies could be changed in response to crisis.

Question 24

What is the problem with the process by which new policies are adopted into the SOP manual?

A)New policies are too vague.
B)New policies take years to be adopted.
C)New policies are adopted systematically.
D)New policies are adopted in response to a crisis.

Question 25

The 1985 Supreme Court decision in Tennessee v.Gardner ruled that which of the following standards was unconstitutional?

A)the driving while intoxicated standard
B)the police pursuit standard
C)the fleeing felon standard
D)the mandatory arrest standard

Question 26

An example of a patrol officer's discretion in decision making is

A)to give high priority to traffic law violations.
B)to conduct a high-speed pursuit.
C)to conduct a stakeout.
D)to adopt community policing or problem-oriented policing.
E)to seek a warrant for a search.

Question 27

What is an advantage that written rules offers to the police officer?

A)They eliminate the need for professional judgment.
B)They increase citizen satisfaction with police.
C)They provide direction on how to handle critical incidents.
D)They allow for more efficient patrolling activity.

Question 28

What is one of the most important functions of citizen oversight of the police?

A)police sanctioning
B)administrative rulemaking
C)policy review
D)systematic rulemaking

Question 29

There is evidence to support the idea that female officers

A)have more vehicle accidents that male officers.
B)use force more than male officers.
C)make more arrests that male officers.
D)receive fewer citizen complaints.
E)make more money than male officers.

Question 30

What is the name of the process by which citizen oversight agencies contribute to rulemaking?

A)administrative review
B)police council
C)policy committee
D)policy review

Question 31

An example of a detective's discretion in decision making is

A)to give high priority to traffic law violations.
B)to conduct a high-speed pursuit.
C)to write a crime report.
D)to adopt community policing or problem-oriented policing.
E)to seek a warrant for a search.

Question 32

Davis and Goldstein argue that the first step toward controlling police discretion is

A)establishing a civilian review board to create policies.
B)requiring the chief of police to review all policies.
C)bring in an outside consultant to review all policies.
D)having the city attorney review all policy decisions.
E)admitting that it exists.

Question 33

An example of a police manager's discretion in decision making is

A)to give high priority to traffic law violations.
B)to conduct a high-speed pursuit.
C)to conduct a stakeout.
D)to make an arrest.
E)to seek a warrant for a search.

Question 34

With respect to the exercise of discretion, police officers are also know as

A)Bobbies.
B)street-level bureaucrats.
C)thugs.
D)posses.
E)detectives.

Question 35

Which of the following is considered the central tool of modern police management?

A)the CALEA accreditation
B)the SOP manual
C)the UCR program
D)the Internal Affairs Board

Question 36

What is an advantage that written rules offers to the citizenry?

A)They eliminate any confusion over law-abiding behavior.
B)They ensure equal protection of the law.
C)They ensure a person's satisfaction with police efforts.
D)They mandate that police attend to the victim's preferences.

Question 37

Which is not a limitation concerning administrative rulemaking?

A)Rules are typically written by departmental insiders.
B)Rules cannot cover every situation.
C)Complex rules create uncertainty for the officer.
D)Formal rules may encourage evasion.

Question 38

Kenneth Davis, a leading authority on administrative law, asserts that there are three specific objectives of administrative rulemaking.Which of the following is not one of the three objectives?

A)mandating discretion
B)checking discretion
C)structuring discretion
D)confining discretion

Question 39

According to your text, studies of the effect of higher education on the police have shown

A)that educated officers are disciplined more frequently.
B)that educated officers receive more complaints against them.
C)no significant differences in the behavior of officers with different levels of education.
D)that educated officers have more alcohol problems.
E)none of these

Question 40

What is the principal strategy for ensuring compliance with departmental policy?

A)issuing heavy sanctions on non compliant officers
B)requiring officers to file written reports that will be reviewed by supervisors
C)rewarding officers for consistently compliant behavior
D)mandating random internal affairs evaluations

Question 41

What is the effect of official department policies on police discretion?

A)They have no effect.
B)Whatever effect they may have is not noticeable.
C)They have a powerful influence over police discretion.
D)It is difficult to ascertain their effects.
E)They are the same in every department.

Question 42

CALEA is the branch of the FBI that ensures that local police departments are following federal rules of discretion.

Question 43

Full enforcement of the law is not possible.

Question 44

According to your text, legal factors limit the discretion of a police officer.

Question 45

An example of administrative rulemaking is

A)affirmative action.
B)the use deadly force.
C)the budget of the police department.
D)the type of patrol car that is purchased.
E)all of these

Question 46

The misuse of discretion by police officers can result in abuses of citizens or ineffective management of a police department.What are the five major problems that the text presents?

Question 47

The police consistently fulfill their legal responsibility to enforce all of the criminal laws.

Question 48

Official department policies are usually created via systematic rulemaking.

Question 49

James Q.Wilson commented that discretion increases as one moves down the organizational hierarchy.

Question 50

In the Justice Department report on "'Broken Windows' and Police Discretion," what does George L.Kelling suggest is necessary for the police to effectively address quality-of-life issues in neighborhoods?

A)more money to recruit qualified officers
B)better and newer equipment, especially computers
C)more rigorous training standards
D)clear guidance in the form of rules that tell them both what they should do and what they should not do

Question 51

The immediate work setting influences officer compliance with written policy.

Question 52

The CALEA accreditation standards require a police officer to file a written report whenever he or she

A)discharges a firearm.
B)causes injury or death to another person.
C)uses lethal or less-than-lethal weapons.
D)all of these

Question 53

Research has shown that police are more likely to make arrests in

A)affluent neighborhoods.
B)middle class neighborhoods.
C)low-income neighborhoods.
D)gay and lesbian communities.
E)rural areas.

Question 54

A number of studies have found that, when the victim or complaining party asks for an arrest, it has no affect on the decision to arrest.

Question 55

What are the good ways that discretion can be used?

Question 56

Regarding gender, research has shown that ______________.

A)the behavior of female officers is significantly different from the behavior of male officers.
B)the behavior of female officers is more aggressive than male officers.
C)there is no significant differences between the behavior of female and male officers.
D)male officers try to distinguish themselves from female officers by arresting more people, using greater physical force, and inflicting lethal force more frequently.

Question 57

Kenneth Davis, a leading authority on administrative law, describes the principles of administrative rulemaking as

A)attempts to avoid law suits.
B)combining law and practice.
C)a strategy to fill the gap between law and practice.
D)answering all questions of policy.
E)avoiding "tough" decisions.

Question 58

According to the text, definitions of crimes are extremely precise.

Question 59

The neighborhood environment influences officer discretion.

Question 60

The criminal law is often used to deal with social and medical issues such as homelessness or chronic alcohol abuse.

Question 61

What are the six points mentioned in the text about crime-related discretionary decisions made by patrol officers?

Question 62

What are the situational factors that influence discretionary decision making by police officers?

Question 63

What are the three basic strategies for controlling discretion?

Question 64

What are the four points mentioned in the text about discretionary decisions related to order maintenance made by patrol officers?

Question 65

The police continue to promote the "myth of full enforcement" for five reasons.What are those reasons?

Question 66

Explain the five underlying sources of police discretion.

Question 67

What are the three examples of administrative rulemaking used in your text? Explain each in detail.