Deck 1: Policing in the United States

Question 1

What phenomenon followed the death of Michael Brown and the subsequent failure of the DOJ to hold the officer responsible for his death legally accountable?

A) driving while black
B) the Ferguson effect
C) snitches get stiches
D) the code of the street

Answer 1

B

Question 2

When the public accept the police as legitimate, they are more likely to do which of the following?

A) cooperate and comply with police orders
B) join the police force
C) move to a residence closer to the police station
D) run from the police

Answer 2

A

Question 3

A ______ would be most likely to respond to a domestic violence call to a residence that falls just inside city limits.

A) state trooper
B) DEA agent
C) sheriff's deputy
D) game warden

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The increase in violence committed against police officers has led some community activists to fear which of the following?

A) a reduction in community-based policing
B) an increase in militaristic-style policing
C) an increase in the tensions between the community and police
D) all of these

Question 5

Which of the following agencies would handle the investigation of civil rights violations and terrorism plots?

A) Federal Bureau of Investigation
B) Customs and Border Protection
C) Immigration and Customs Enforcement
D) Drug Enforcement Administration

Question 6

Which of the following is the largest federal law enforcement agency in terms of the number of sworn agents?

A) Immigration and Customs Enforcement
B) Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
C) Customs and Border Protection
D) U.S. Marshals Service

Question 7

A wildlife and fisheries enforcement officer would be entrusted to enforce laws regarding which of the following?

A) proper licensing and registration of automobiles, all-terrain vehicles, and boats used inside protected areas
B) ensuring wildlife caught is not in violation of seasonal time constraints, quantity limits, or endangered species laws
C) ensuring all safety equipment is functional
D) all of these

Question 8

Police success in reducing crime in communities relies on which of the following?

A) state-of-the-art facilities
B) cutting-edge technology
C) public cooperation
D) high taxes

Question 9

Police must balance their legal authority with ______.

A) American Indian tribes
B) constitutional protections
C) their own health and safety
D) public approval ratings

Question 10

In the mid-______, there was a notable drop in crime that lasted nearly two decades.

A) 1950s
B) 1970s
C) 1980s
D) 1990s

Question 11

After the death of Freddie Gray, which specific type of crime spiked in several cities?

A) burglary
B) vandalism
C) homicide
D) rape

Question 12

Which of the following best describes the attitudes of early settlers of the United States in regards to government?

A) The government is necessary to protect individuals from being harmed by others.
B) The government should not intervene in daily activities.
C) The government should own all newspapers to ensure the accuracy of information.
D) The government should be ruled by those who have a strong faith and receive divine guidance.

Question 13

If police no longer immerse themselves in troubled areas and attempt to work with communities but still aim to gain better control of them, what will their approach be most like?

A) militaristic, operating the area like an area under governmental control
B) hands-off, extracting any police support
C) cooperative between neighborhoods
D) anarchy and chaos

Question 14

Of the following routine activities of police officers, which is the subject of the greatest degree of scrutiny?

A) traffic stop
B) call for service to a residence
C) use of force
D) follow-up questioning of witnesses of crimes

Question 15

Which of the following levels of policing would most people recognize as "the police"?

A) state police
B) local police
C) federal law enforcement
D) sheriffs

Question 16

When groups of citizens protest police injustice, they are implying that they believe which of the following?

A) Police, which are an extension of the government, do not have trustworthy motives.
B) The government does not support the police.
C) The police are not hiring enough minorities.
D) The police are not given enough power to do be able to do their job properly.

Question 17

Which of the following responsibilities falls under the social service function of policing?

A) intervention with emotionally disturbed individuals
B) elder abuse
C) domestic violence intervention
D) all of these

Question 18

Which of the following is a likely consequence of public distrust in the police?

A) negative public opinion of the police
B) increased federal funding to increase the reputation of the police
C) increased federal law enforcement presence to provide support to the police
D) increased public opinion of the police

Question 19

Which of the following definitions fits best with the Greek word polis, from which the term "police" was derived?

A) the head of a government agency
B) a citizen actively involved in the affairs of the government
C) someone who studies the law of the people
D) someone with great power and authority

Question 20

Which of the following is NOT an example of a special jurisdiction officer?

A) university police
B) transit police
C) public school police
D) private investigator

Question 21

Where did the highly publicized case involving Freddie Gray occur?

A) Bowling Green, Ohio
B) Ferguson, Missouri
C) Bowman, Montana
D) Baltimore, Maryland

Question 22

What led Freddie Gray to be in police custody at the time of the highly publicized incident?

A) possession of an illegal switchblade knife per the city criminal code
B) arrest as a result of a domestic violence incident
C) disorderly conduct
D) possession of marijuana while on probation

Question 23

Police work is overwhelmingly composed of ______, a fact that police reformers wish was more well-known to the public.

A) testifying in court
B) order-maintenance tasks
C) crime fighting
D) homicide investigations

Question 24

Which of the following best describes the unusual nature of assaults that took place on police officers in 2016?

A) guerilla attacks
B) cyberstalking
C) ambush
D) chemical warfare

Question 25

In order to best measure police performance, which of the following is vital?

A) complete and accurate statistics
B) well-organized reports
C) chronological questions
D) police-approved questions

Question 26

Based on the readings, in which year would you suspect that applications to police departments would have decreased dramatically?

A) 2017
B) 2014
C) 2015
D) 2016

Question 27

Which of the following would be an example of a non-sworn police employee?

A) crime lab botanist
B) officer completing a crime scene sketch
C) officer gathering witness statements
D) officer placing evidence markers at the scene of a shooting

Question 28

If you were being transported to a federal prison as a result of breaking a federal criminal law, what agency would you anticipate would be coming to pick you up?

A) the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
B) the state police
C) the sheriff's office (sheriff's deputies)
D) the U.S. Marshals Service

Question 29

In which of the following ways has policing been changing over the past 10-15 years?

A) Racial and ethnic minorities now comprise about 27% of local police.
B) In 2018, over half of the graduates of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice were women.
C) Financial difficulties have forced many communities to decide which police protections they can live without.
D) all of these

Question 30

Police officers in the United States are influenced by ______.

A) their own perceptions
B) courts
C) residents of the community
D) all of these

Question 31

Which of the following best describes an outcome that societies expect police to achieve?

A) administer the law evenly, no matter individual circumstances or considerations
B) develop community cohesion
C) protect natural resources
D) increase fear of crime

Question 32

Studies have found that increasing ______ is beneficial in immigrant communities in regards to policing.

A) women police officers
B) foot patrol officers
C) minority officer representatives
D) service aspects of policing

Question 33

Which of the following is NOT considered to be a responsibility of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)?

A) prevention of terrorism
B) enforcement in state parks of criminal laws
C) security of the nation's air, land, and sea borders to prevent illegal activity
D) coordination of police activities among agencies at a variety of levels

Question 34

Which of the following special operational tasks performed by local police departments uses the FEWEST full-time officers?

A) bomb and explosive response
B) picking up fugitives and serving warrants
C) monitoring individuals in reentry or under surveillance
D) tactical operations such as SWAT

Question 35

Which of the following best describes what police do to maintain order and enforce the law?

A) enforce morals as they are reflected in our laws
B) mediate domestic disputes
C) write tickets to all offenders on traffic stops
D) enforce morals as they are reflected in our laws AND mediate domestic disputes

Question 36

Police officers use ______ in the course of their daily duties.

A) firearms
B) Tasers
C) pepper spray
D) discretion

Question 37

Which of the following is TRUE about reserve police officers?

A) They assist regular police officers.
B) They are almost always part time.
C) They are sometimes paid for their service.
D) all of these

Question 38

Which of the following is NOT a service of police in the United States?

A) enforcing the law
B) maintaining order
C) providing services
D) reporting current events

Question 39

Societies tend to face a tension between which two needs?

A) individual responsibility and public safety
B) governmental responsibility and public safety
C) order and liberty
D) order and chaos

Question 40

Which agency is responsible for the care and custody of federal inmates?

A) county sheriff
B) municipal police department
C) state police
D) Federal Bureau of Prisons

Question 41

Police personnel in the United States are employed at ______.

A) local and county levels
B) state and national levels
C) international levels
D) all of these

Question 42

Which federal law enforcement agency is responsible for protecting the president and vice president of the United States and investigating crimes against the financial infrastructure of the United States?

A) U.S. Secret Service
B) Customs and Border Patrol
C) Federal Bureau of Investigation
D) National Security Agency

Question 43

Which of the following does NOT employ law enforcement officers?

A) the U.S. Supreme Court
B) the Library of Congress
C) the Environmental Protection Agency
D) All of these employ law enforcement officers.

Question 44

Which organization would be responsible for providing hate crime awareness courses or rape aggression defense training to local college students?

A) game warden
B) state police
C) county sheriff
D) university police

Question 45

Which of the following is in charge of security at the county courthouse, including security for the jurors and transportation of inmates to court?

A) municipal police officers
B) coroner's office
C) deputy sheriffs
D) FBI

Question 46

The United States ______ was founded in 1865 as a branch of the U.S. Treasury Department.

A) Secret Service
B) Marshals Service
C) Postal Service
D) Internal Revenue Service

Question 47

Which of the following is NOT a duty of the U.S. Secret Service?

A) investigate street crime
B) protect the president
C) protect the vice president
D) investigate crimes against the financial infrastructure of the United States

Question 48

Which of the following does NOT employ law enforcement officers?

A) Amtrak
B) the U.S. Supreme Court
C) the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
D) the Environmental Protection Agency

Question 49

Which federal agency's mission includes administering immigration laws and ensuring disaster resilience?

A) Library of Congress
B) Department of Homeland Security
C) U.S. Marshals Service
D) U.S. Secret Service

Question 50

Which of the following positions is generally filled by public election?

A) chief
B) sheriff
C) deputy
D) captain

Question 51

The term law enforcement officer accurately describes the day-to-day duties of police officers.

Question 52

It is possible for the actions of a single police officer to negatively reflect on all police officers.

Question 53

Mainstream media and pop culture tend to focus on the law enforcement aspects of policing, whereas the majority of officers' time is actually spent on order maintenance and service to the public.

Question 54

Lack of trust in police may lead to decreased police legitimacy and greater challenges for police to retain order in the community.

Question 55

It is the responsibility of the responding officer to quickly and accurately determine when a citizen is suffering from some sort of mental or behavioral disorder.

Question 56

As of 2018, the Uniform Crime Reports has a subsection dedicated to collecting data on fatal police shootings.

Question 57

The Ferguson effect is argued to have led to a decrease in arrests due to police being wary of enforcing the law as a result of reduced police legitimacy.

Question 58

In general, a benefit to bringing more women into policing is that they are more socially skilled, emotionally sensitive, and people focused than male officers traditionally have been.

Question 59

If you see inmates on the side of the road picking up trash as they walk along next to a sheriff's van, they are likely being supervised by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Question 60

U.S. Marshals are responsible for transporting all criminal offenders to court.

Question 61

The average violent crime rate today is twice the rate it was in 1995.

Question 62

Before Freddie Gray's death, the relationship between the police and minority communities was strong.

Question 63

Public safety needs always receive priority over infrastructure needs in municipalities with tight budgets.

Question 64

Officers rarely need to be concerned about decisions that lead to the use of force because such decisions rarely lead to criticism.

Question 65

A citizen who is involved in a domestic violence situation would more likely see his or her case investigated by a state law enforcement agency as opposed to a municipal or county agency.

Question 66

Police are most often evaluated on order maintenance and service as opposed to anything else.

Question 67

The U.S. Secret Service employs more full-time officers than any other federal law enforcement agency.

Question 68

Local police officers comprise the vast majority of police personnel as a whole.

Question 69

In most counties, the sheriff's deputies are responsible for the transport of inmates to court.

Question 70

Police personnel currently find themselves operating under more scrutiny than in previous years.

Question 71

The U.S. Marshals Service was the first federal police service to be established.

Question 72

Typically, highway patrol officers are empowered to provide law enforcement service anywhere in the state, whereas state police have limited authority based on type of offense, jurisdiction, or assignment to specific duties.

Question 73

All states have some type of state police agency.

Question 74

Some police officers may be volunteers and not paid for their services.

Question 75

The quality of training of police officers remains standardized throughout the United States.

Question 76

Amtrak does not have law enforcement officers.

Question 77

Few federal law officers are uniformed.

Question 78

Police departments are, for the most part, identical throughout the United States.

Question 79

There is a trade-off between citizens' rights and police power.

Question 80

The USA PATRIOT Act increased the authority and workload of police officers.