Deck 6: Police Ethics--A Contextual Overview

Question 1

The ____________ of police ethics includes individuals, organizations, and communities.

Answer 1

Context

Question 2

The ____________ of police ethics relates to the behavior of specific officers employed by a particular agency such as the City of Orlando Police Department.

Answer 2

Individual context

Question 3

________________ suggests that individuals lacking personal integrity circumvent barriers to becoming police officers like background checks or polygraphs as part of hiring process and ultimately betray the trust of the department and community by engaging in misconduct.

Answer 3

Rotten apples theory

Question 4

_________________ fails to accept the fact that some "rotten apples" exist and circumvent safeguards designed to exclude them from being hired in the first place.

Question 5

_________________ of police misconduct suggests the culture of the neighborhoods being policed affect office integrity and accountability.

Question 6

The _________________ of policing describes officers' duty to protect the innocent and identify and arrest criminals, even if doing so puts their lives in jeopardy.

Question 7

The _________________ of police officers describes the change that occurs in recruits' identities as they move through the various stages of recruitment and academy and field training.

Question 8

The _________________ in policing describes the fact police officers are extremely loyal to each other and will strongly condemn members who dare report to administrators or outsiders the unethical or illegal behavior of other officers.

Question 9

Use of force, time, fringe benefits, and loyalty are examples of _________ found in the police culture.

Question 10

First described by Lawrence Sherman, the ________________ of a police officer describes distinct experiences that move an officer from behaviors grounded in the "noble cause" of policing and a desire to protect person and property to behaviors contrary to departmental, legal, and societal standards.

Question 11

Ethical questions arising with the police and the moral dilemmas officers confront do not necessarily relate to the functions of police per se.

Question 12

Rotten apples theory is often used to explain the misbehavior of a particular police officer.

Question 13

Rotten apples theory is considered an organizational theory of police misconduct.

Question 14

Rotten barrels theory is a community-based explanation for police misconduct.

Question 15

The value-neutral perspective argues that police officer recruits and hires are socialized into the police culture as they experience training by, and other influences from, departments.

Question 16

The values-predisposition perspective suggests that, as part of the recruitment and hiring process, police departments screen recruits for specific skill sets associated with later on-the-job successes.

Question 17

The term "noble cause" has been used to describe the ideals and obligations of police officers associated with protecting the innocent and identifying and arresting criminals, even if doing so puts officers' lives in jeopardy.

Question 18

Recruiting to the status quo describes a process whereby police departments recruit and hire those whose skills, character and values are similar to the skills, character, and values of those already in the field.

Question 19

Some scholars have argued that ethical policing isn't solely a product of the moral fabric of individuals but instead is a product of the moral fabric of the organization.

Question 20

Despite their presence at the top of the organizational hierarchy, police chiefs have little impact on the ethical climate of their agency.

Question 21

Ethical issues involving the police and the moral dilemmas that officers confront tend to arise from which of the following sources?

A) The organizational climate of police departments
B) Recruitment, selection, and training of police officers
C) Police tactics
D) All of the above

Question 22

This term describes the ideal that police officers protect the innocent and identify and arrest criminals, even if doing so puts their lives in jeopardy.

A) Noble cause
B) Moral career
C) Choice
D) Occupational career

Question 23

Scholars have suggested which of the following affects or helps shape the ethical climate of police agencies?

A) The chief of police
B) Agency rules
C) First-line supervisors (e.g., sergeants and corporals)
D) All of the above

Question 24

In a police officer's occupational career, which stage is described as involving a recruit's initial decision to pursue a career in policing?

A) Introduction
B) Metamorphosis
C) Choice
D) Encounter

Question 25

In a police officer's moral career, which stage involves an officer developing justifications for their unethical or illegal behavior?

A) Moral experiences
B) Apologia
C) Contingencies
D) Stages

Question 26

These produce opportunities and incentives that encourage unethical behavior:

A) Stages
B) Contingencies
C) Apologia
D) Moral experiences

Question 27

A police agency characterized by widespread unethical or illegal behavior will usually have experienced a breakdown of the agency's formal:

A) Chain of command
B) Hierarchy of supervision
C) Internal control mechanism
D) None of the above

Question 28

Minor goods or services given by a member of the public to a police officer for any number of reasons and that may raise ethical issues are called:

A) Experiences
B) Gratuities
C) Apologia
D) Contingencies

Question 29

Teleological justifications for police officers being banned from accepting minor goods or services from members of the public tend to:

A) Overemphasize the possible negative consequences and understate the potential positive
B) Create "hard and fast" rules that ignore circumstances
C) Assume that all officers are potentially corruptible
D) All of the above

Question 30

In discussions about the ethics of police accepting minor goods or services from the public, which of the following tends to be given the most importance for determining the ethical quality of the exchange?

A) The economic value (cost) of the goods or services
B) The circumstances surrounding the exchange
C) The intent of the giver
D) The intent of the recipient

Question 31

In discussions regarding police misconduct, there is often talk of rotten apples, rotten barrels, and rotten communities. Discuss which of these you think is the bigger contributor to police misconduct and justify your argument using information contained in Chapter 6)

Question 32

Distinguish a police officer's occupational and moral careers. Are they similar? Do they, to some degree overlap? Explain.

Question 33

Discuss the debate over whether the police should accept minor gratuities. What are the key arguments for both sides? Where do you stand and why? What policy(ies) would you implement to discourage or allow gratuities?