Deck 12: Police Misconduct and Corruption

Question 1

Illegal behaviors committed by police officers who use their authority as police officers to commit crimes, which are motivated by personal gain is called police ______.

A) abuse of force
B) corruption
C) extortion
D) misappropriation

Answer 1

corruption

Question 2

When the police engage in illegal actions in order to achieve a perceived greater good, it is called ______.

A) selective enforcement
B) negative enforcement
C) alternative morality
D) noble cause corruption

Answer 2

noble cause corruption

Question 3

What separates police corruption from police misconduct is ______.

A) police corruption can only occur only when police officers are off-duty
B) police corruption can only occur only when police officers are on-duty
C) the motivation for police corruption is personal gain
D) the motivation for police corruption is extrinsic to the officer

Answer 3

the motivation for police corruption is personal gain

Question 4

Using force or threats to obtain something, usually money, is called ______.

A) extortion
B) bribery
C) assault
D) embezzlement

Question 5

Accepting money in exchange for some consideration is called ______.

A) extortion
B) bribery
C) assault
D) embezzlement

Question 6

A police officer planting evidence on a known drug dealer, to ensure a conviction at trial, is an example of ______.

A) bribery
B) extortion
C) noble cause corruption
D) judicial corruption

Question 7

The inclination among police to resist temptations to abuse the rights and privileges of their occupation is called ______.

A) self-control
B) integrity
C) corruption
D) honesty

Question 8

Which data source on police misconduct asks officers to provide information on misconduct by co-workers?

A) FBI statistics
B) media reports
C) decertification statistics
D) self-report surveys

Question 9

Which characteristic of police officers is associated with lower rates of citizen complaints?

A) height and weight
B) inexperience
C) college education
D) male

Question 10

The most common citizen complaint against officers is for ______.

A) discourtesy
B) abuse of force
C) theft
D) extortion

Question 11

The biggest limitation on using lawsuits against police as a source for information on police misconduct is ______.

A) citizens filing frivolous lawsuits
B) lawsuits against police officers are relatively rare
C) most lawsuits are settled by the police department
D) many lawsuits have confidentiality requirements

Question 12

When reporting on police misconduct, the media tends to ______.

A) provide a fair and balanced analysis of all types of police misconduct
B) focus on minor instances of police misconduct
C) focus on serious instances of police misconduct
D) ignore instances of police misconduct

Question 13

When an officer's training credentials are revoked making him or her unemployable as a law enforcement officer, it is called ______.

A) terminal certification
B) recertification
C) decertification
D) professional revocation

Question 14

The perspective that police misconduct is caused by individual officers who have personal shortcomings or character flaws is called ______ theory.

A) individual accountability
B) insidious expansion
C) vertical integration
D) bad apple

Question 15

It is said that police officers often work in "low visibility" situations, meaning that ______.

A) officers are often required to work nights
B) few people are interested in the work that officers do
C) few witnesses, other than fellow officers, see what they do
D) weather conditions often make it difficult for officers to patrol effectively

Question 16

The ______ is an important dimension of the police subculture, and a potential obstacle to preventing police corruption and misconduct.

A) code of silence
B) fraternal order of police
C) buddy system
D) code of bravery

Question 17

Which of the following would be the most likely response to an officer who violated the unwritten rules of the police subculture?

A) suspension from duty
B) termination of employment
C) ignored by fellow officers
D) seniority revoked

Question 18

Which types of police officer misconduct are grounds for decertification?

A) those determined by the Fraternal Order of Police
B) those determined by the Department of Justice
C) those determined by the American Bar Association
D) varies by jurisdiction

Question 19

The most common reason for decertification of police officers is ______.

A) a misdemeanor conviction
B) a felony conviction
C) a summary citation
D) gross negligence

Question 20

Police misconduct ______.

A) is a relatively new concept, and has only become a major concern since the 1950s
B) has existed since the first police officers patrolled the streets in the 1800s
C) has all but been eliminated due to effective control of officer discretion
D) is largely inconsequential, and has no real effect on the public

Question 21

When police departments remove discretion and create an affirmative duty of officers to report serious misconduct of other officers, it is called ______.

A) affirmative reporting
B) a nondiscretionary declaration
C) mandatory reporting
D) invasive action

Question 22

Moving an officer from his or her current shift, to an undesirable shift, because they informed on another officer for engaging in corruption or misconduct is an example of ______.

A) retaliation
B) a formal sanction
C) reconciliation
D) an appropriate sanction

Question 23

Which of the following would likely lead to citizens filing more complaints against police officers?

A) prohibiting third-party filings
B) accepting complaints via the Internet
C) requiring citizens to file complaints in person
D) requiring citizens to sign "penalty for perjury" forms

Question 24

When should officers receive ethics training?

A) during the police academy
B) during field training
C) when promoted to a higher rank
D) throughout their careers

Question 25

The ______ is a database of decertified police officers.

A) National Decertification Index
B) National Repository for Decertified Officers
C) National Criminal Justice Reference Service
D) Corrupt Officers Database

Question 26

Generally speaking, police officers are prohibited from lying ______.

A) to the public
B) when questioning a suspect
C) when writing reports
D) during a sting operation

Question 27

Information management systems designed to monitor the performance of officers and identify those who show certain at-risk behaviors are called ______.

A) problem employee identifiers
B) early intervention systems
C) predictive employment systems
D) risk abatement analytics

Question 28

The technology that utilizes global positioning system to track the whereabouts and activities of police officers while they are in their squad cars is called the ______ system.

A) global police monitoring
B) police tracking
C) automated vehicle locator
D) universal activity locator

Question 29

This landmark U.S. Supreme Court case held that evidence of officer credibility as a witness may be considered exculpatory evidence and should be given to the defense during discovery.

A) Brady v. Maryland
B) Loving v. Virginia
C) Munn v. Illinois
D) Tinker v. Des Moines

Question 30

Research regarding early intervention systems (EIS) ______.

A) suggests that EIS is an effective means to combat police misconduct and corruption
B) suggests that EIS is an ineffective means to combat police misconduct and corruption
C) is largely inconclusive and more research needs to be done
D) is too expensive and complicated to conduct

Question 31

As an alternative to the traditional method of processing citizen-initiated complaints, some departments hold mediation sessions, bringing the officer and complainant together to resolve the issue.

Question 32

Intentional excessive use of force is an example of police corruption.

Question 33

The most common form of police corruption is theft.

Question 34

Police officers stealing drugs from a drug dealer and selling them to another drug dealer is an example of bribery.

Question 35

Research suggests that using mediation as a method of resolving citizen complaints about police officers may result in greater citizen satisfaction than the traditional complaint process.

Question 36

Contrary to its name, noble cause corruption is still corruption and is not acceptable in any form or for any reason.

Question 37

Creating a culture of integrity is critical to preventing police misconduct.

Question 38

The national reporting system for instances of police misconduct is maintained by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Question 39

As a method of identifying the nature and extent of police misconduct, self-report surveys allow researchers to draw valid conclusions about police nationwide.

Question 40

A major limitation of using citizen complaints as a method of identifying the nature and extent of police misconduct is that the filing of complaints by citizens is uncommon.

Question 41

Officers who make more arrests tend to have more complaints filed against them.

Question 42

The most common citizen complaint against officers relate to claims of abuse of force.

Question 43

Research suggests that a small number of officers are responsible for a disproportionate amount of citizens' complaints.

Question 44

Female police officers generally have more complaints filed against them than male officers.

Question 45

In lawsuits against police officers, the most common allegations were false arrest and excessive force.

Question 46

Some police departments analyze lawsuits against police officers and recommend policy changes based on the findings of those analyses.

Question 47

Media reports tend to provide an accurate representation of police misconduct.

Question 48

According to researchers, the most common sanction for both on-duty and off-duty offenses committed by officers was suspension.

Question 49

The reasons for, and frequency of, decertification by states is consistent.

Question 50

Insidious expansion theory asserts that police misconduct is caused by individual officers who have personal shortcomings or character flaws.

Question 51

One major hurdle to combatting police corruption and misconduct is the fact that seldom are there credible witnesses to misconduct. However, body-worn cameras have the potential to change this fact.

Question 52

The police subculture emphasizes certain values; among them is solidarity among officers.

Question 53

Police corruption is a relatively new concept and has only been a major issue in the United States since the late 1950s.

Question 54

It is not possible to control police discretion.

Question 55

In police departments with a mandatory reporting rule, if an officer fails to report another officer for engaging in misconduct, the officer who failed to report the incident has also committed misconduct.

Question 56

Define, and provide two examples of, police corruption.

Question 57

Define, and provide two examples of, police misconduct.

Question 58

Compare and contrast police corruption and police misconduct.

Question 59

Explain the difference between extortion and bribery.

Question 60

Identify and describe the five common sources of data that have been used to try to provide insight into the nature and extent of police misconduct.

Question 61

Assess the limitations of self-report studies as a measure of police misconduct.

Question 62

Assess the relevant research findings, and limitations of, using citizen complaints as a measure of police misconduct.

Question 63

Assess the limitations of media reports as a measure of police misconduct.

Question 64

Assess the limitations of decertification statistics as a measure of police misconduct.

Question 65

Identify, and explain the differences between, the two competing theories regarding the causes of police misconduct and corruption.

Question 66

Discuss the job and organizational characteristics that can lead to police corruption and misconduct.

Question 67

Discuss police culture and challenge posed by the "code of silence."

Question 68

Identify the four tools that may be utilized to crack the code of silence.

Question 69

Identify the potential barriers to an effective citizen complaint process, and why this is a barrier to fighting police corruption and misconduct.

Question 70

Assess early intervention systems as a method of controlling police misconduct and corruption.