Deck 4: Law Enforcement Today

Question 1

Within Bittner's broad definition of "what the police do," which of the following is a basic responsibility of the police?

A) To promote double marginality
B) To predict crimes
C) To prevent crime
D) To advocate harsh penalties for crimes

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following ethnic groups is most likely to face the problem of double marginality?

A) Native Americans
B) Armenians
C) Hispanics
D) Asian Americans

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following is true of police officers?

A) They provide services solely in adherence to official policy.
B) They spend more than half their time on medical assistance.
C) They make the most number of arrests for violent crimes.
D) They spend a great deal of their time providing services for the community.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

There are low levels of women serving as police officers because female police officers:

A) have to protect male officers from hazardous situations.
B) have to deal with an added layer of scrutiny.
C) are generally unsuited for the rigors that come with being a police officer.
D) are alone in facing the problem of double marginality.

Question 5

Which of the following is a benefit of having a diverse police force?

A) It lowers the need for academy training.
B) It leads to better community-police relations.
C) It leads to increased tokenism.
D) It decreases the amount of double marginality.

Question 6

The PredPol approach is known as _____ because it relies on data concerning past crime patterns to predict future crime patterns.

A) intelligence-led policing
B) high policing
C) community policing
D) problem-oriented policing

Question 7

The police department of a county spends a majority of its time apprehending drug peddlers. The policemen use a software that pinpoints the hot spots of drug activity in the county. After this, they focus on those areas instead of patrolling all the areas in the county. This scenario demonstrates the strategy of _____.

A) intelligence-led policing
B) community policing
C) reassurance policing
D) problem-oriented policing

Question 8

The _____, run by either the state or a police agency, provides recruits with a controlled, militarized environment in which they receive their introduction to the world of the police officer.

A) police administration center
B) PredPol center
C) police academy
D) National Counter-Terrorism Academy

Question 9

According to Jerome Skolnick, co-director of the Center for Research in Crime and Justice at the New York University School of Law, which of the following is a predictable public response when crime rates rise in a community?

A) To punish convicted criminals with stricter laws
B) To increase the number of prisons in the county
C) To advocate capital punishment
D) To demand restitution for victims of crimes

Question 10

Which of the following is a true statement about information provided by the Uniform Crime Report?

A) Police officers normally spend the majority of their time in law enforcement duties.
B) Most arrests are made for crimes of disorder.
C) Most arrests are made for property crimes.
D) Police officers spend most of their time dealing with crimes.

Question 11

Which of the following is true of academy training?

A) It takes place after recruits have undergone field training.
B) Recruits are usually taught how to respond to terrorist incidents.
C) Recruits are paired with experienced police officers.
D) It gives rookies their first taste of informal rules.

Question 12

About two-thirds of all _____, or those officers with arrest powers, work in small- and medium-sized police departments serving cities with populations from 10,000 to one million.

A) sworn officers
B) marshals
C) sheriffs
D) undercover officers

Question 13

In the context of recruitment within the police force, which of the following statements is true?

A) A four-year degree is not necessary even for certain elite law enforcement positions.
B) Most agencies require candidates to meet weight and eyesight requirements.
C) Officers with a three-year degree generally enjoy an advantage in hiring and promotion.
D) Candidates need to be at least eighteen years of age.

Question 14

Which of the following is true of officers with four-year degrees?

A) They are not required to pass a physical agility or fitness test.
B) They generally enjoy an advantage in hiring and promotion.
C) They are not eligible for certain elite law enforcement positions.
D) They often receive lower salaries than those with three-year degrees.

Question 15

One of the challenges that counterterrorism provides to American law enforcement is:

A) the need to focus scarce resources to prevent crimes that are relatively uncommon.
B) the lack of media coverage for successful sting operations.
C) the gathering of intelligence after a crime has been committed.
D) the inability to apply intelligence-led policing to measure the risk of criminal behavior.

Question 16

Most of the negative attitudes toward women police officers are based on _____.

A) actual experience
B) marginality
C) unbiased opinions
D) prejudice

Question 17

For a person to become a police officer, one of the minimum requirements is that he or she:

A) must not have been convicted of a felony.
B) must not have been caught speeding.
C) must be at least eighteen years of age.
D) must have passed the state bar exam.

Question 18

Of the three levels of law enforcement, which of the following has the broadest authority to provide services to the community?

A) Municipal agencies
B) Federal agencies
C) County agencies
D) State agencies

Question 19

Martin is a police officer from a minority community. Whenever he arrests a person from his community, the person deems it unfair stating that Martin targets people from his own community. On the other hand, if Martin arrests a white person, the other police officers believe that Martin is biased. In the scenario, Martin is facing _____.

A) racial profiling
B) double marginality
C) tokenism
D) anomie

Question 20

Officer Malloy is patrolling a neighborhood when he hears a gun shot. He rushes to the scene and sees a young man bleeding from a gunshot wound. He places the man in his car and drives to the hospital instead of waiting for an ambulance. This scenario demonstrates the strategy of _____.

A) high policing
B) intelligence-led policing
C) community policing
D) problem-oriented policing

Question 21

Which of the following statements is true of sheriffs?

A) Only a handful of the three thousand counties in the United States has a sheriff.
B) In Hawaii, they are elected by community members.
C) They are usually elected for three-year terms.
D) When newly elected, they sometimes repay political debts by appointing new deputies.

Question 22

A function of the U.S. Secret Service is to:

A) protect government witnesses.
B) provide security at federal courts.
C) regulate the sale of drugs.
D) combat currency counterfeiters.

Question 23

Yuri works for a county law enforcement agency. He assists the sheriff's department by finding out the cause of death in homicides, suicides, and other cases of unnatural deaths. He is required to perform autopsies in such cases. Based on this information, Yuri is a _____.

A) bailiff
B) special agent
C) coroner
D) confidential informant

Question 24

Which of the following is a similarity between municipal police forces and sheriffs' departments?

A) Both departments are run by community members.
B) Both departments vary in size.
C) Both departments are present in Alaska.
D) Both departments are governed by the mayor's office.

Question 25

Which of the following is a main duty of the U.S. Marshals Service?

A) To control property that has been ordered seized by federal courts
B) To investigate reports of domestic terrorism
C) To police the illegal use and possession of explosives
D) To enforce federal gambling laws

Question 26

Which of the following agencies facilitates legal trade and travel?

A) U.S. Marshals Service
B) U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
C) The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
D) The Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

Question 27

The _____ holds a position as the lead federal agency in preparing for and responding to disasters such as hurricanes, floods, terrorist attacks, and infrastructure concerns.

A) Transportation Security Administration
B) Federal Emergency Management Agency
C) U.S. Marshals Service
D) Federal Bureau of Investigation

Question 28

One of the reasons state police agencies were created was to:

A) assist federal law enforcement agencies.
B) investigate criminal activities with international implications.
C) provide law enforcement in areas that did not have local police agencies.
D) prevent civilians from abusing the rights given in the Fifth Amendment.

Question 29

One of the common responsibilities of a sheriff's department is to:

A) serve court summonses across state lines.
B) investigate criminal activities that cross jurisdictional boundaries.
C) maintain the federal prison.
D) oversee the isolation of a jury during a trial.

Question 30

Unlike sheriffs' departments, local police departments are more likely to:

A) perform traffic-related functions.
B) be involved in county court operations.
C) be involved in jail operations.
D) perform services such as search and rescue.

Question 31

In every state except Rhode Island and Hawaii, _____ are elected by members of the community for two- or four-year terms.

A) sworn officers
B) bailiffs
C) sheriffs
D) undercover officers

Question 32

The _____ is the branch of the Department of Justice responsible for protecting national security by fighting international and domestic terrorism.

A) Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
B) Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
C) Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
D) U.S. Marshals Service

Question 33

Identify a true statement about highway patrols.

A) They provide the same services as city or county police departments.
B) They are smaller in number when compared to state police agencies.
C) They usually limit their activity to patrolling state and federal highways.
D) They are restricted only by the boundaries of their respective states.

Question 34

_____ is the practice of offering security services traditionally performed by police officers.

A) Private security
B) Homeland security
C) Social security
D) Internal security

Question 35

Which of the following is true of state police agencies?

A) They are authorized to perform a wide variety of law enforcement tasks.
B) They provide different services from that of city police departments.
C) They concentrate primarily on regulating state traffic.
D) They are not restricted by the boundaries of their respective states.

Question 36

Which of the following is true of private security?

A) It is governed by federal regulations.
B) It is intended to deter crime.
C) It is designed to replace law enforcement.
D) It is designed to stop crime.

Question 37

A similarity between sheriffs' departments and local police departments is that both departments are:

A) responsible for maintaining federal prisons.
B) responsible for crime investigation.
C) equally likely to perform search and rescue operations.
D) equally likely to perform traffic-related functions.

Question 38

The most visible state law enforcement agency is the _____.

A) county law enforcement agency
B) local police agency
C) highway patrol agency
D) municipal law enforcement agency

Question 39

According to the Hallcrest Report II , which of the following is a factor responsible for the continued growth of the private security industry?

A) Budget cuts in states that have forced reductions in the number of public police
B) Private security firms that utilize PredPol
C) An increase in community policing strategies
D) An increase in employee turnover rates

Question 40

Which of the following is true of large local police departments?

A) They elect agents to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
B) They have one police officer for every 200 residents of the United States.
C) They often assign officers to specialized task forces.
D) They have one sheriff for each department.

Question 41

During field training, a recruit is paired with a _________ who plays a supervisory role to make sure that nothing goes awry
A. sworn officer
B. field training marshal
C. field training officer
D. brigadier general ​

Question 42

In the context of sexual harassment in police departments, _________ suggest that the actual incidence is higher than that reported by the National Police Misconduct Statistics and Reporting Project
A. Uniform Crime Reports
B. victim surveys
C. self-reported surveys
D. action and research surveys ​

Question 43

Selection is the process by which law enforcement agencies develop a pool of qualified applicants from which to select new employees.

Question 44

Providing security at federal courts and protecting government witnesses are the main responsibilities of the _________
A. Drug Enforcement Administration
B. U.S. Marshals Service
C. Internal Revenue Service
D. U.S. Secret Service ​

Question 45

Police administrators use intelligence-led policing to blanket an entire city with random patrols.

Question 46

Lloyd's job involves protecting important people like the president and former presidents of the United States. Given this information, Lloyd is most likely to have been hired by the _________
A. U.S. Border Patrol
B. Federal Bureau of Investigation
C. U.S. Secret Service
D. U.S. Marshals Service ​

Question 47

Sexual harassment refers to a pattern of behavior that is sexual in nature and is unwelcome by its target.

Question 48

Distinguish between academy training and field training.

Question 49

All the counties in the United States, including Alaska, have a sheriff.

Question 50

The motto of thousands of police departments in America is _________
A. "United to Serve"
B. "To Serve and Protect"
C. "We Train to Serve"
D. "Sure and Steadfast" ​

Question 51

Discuss the benefits of a diverse police force.

Question 52

Police agencies generally require applicants to pass a physical agility or fitness test.

Question 53

According to Carl Klockars, the police cannot win the war on crime because they cannot control the factors that contribute to criminal behavior in the first place.

Question 54

PredPol is a software program that strives to predict when and where crimes are most likely to occur.

Question 55

The duty of a pathologist is to investigate "all sudden, unexplained, unnatural, or suspicious deaths" reported to the office.

Question 56

The probationary period for a police recruit can last from six to eighteen months.

Question 57

Discuss the importance of private security.

Question 58

Summarize the trends of minorities in law enforcement.

Question 59

Double marginality creates pressure on women police officers to prove stereotypes wrong.

Question 60

Discuss the challenges of counterterrorism for American law enforcement.