Deck 8: Problem Solving and Policing Problem Spaces

Question 1

According to the text, the traditional reactive policing model does little to:

A)diminish the level of crime
B)diminish calls for service
C)diminish convictions
D)both a and b

Answer 1

both a and b

Question 2

The police are the primary ____________ agency in society.

A)criminal
B)service
C)social control
D)both a and b

Answer 2

social control

Question 3

Police become involved when social conditions result in incidents of:

A)deviance
B)trouble
C)crime
D)none of the above

Answer 3

crime

Question 4

Which of the following is a difference between traditional reactive policing and problem solving?

A)police work to prevent crime
B)police recognize that there are multiple causes and conditions of crime
C)crime is a result of innumerous societal conditions
D)all of the above

Question 5

According to the text, criminals are attracted to geographical locations by:

A)their work
B)their residence
C)potential victims
D)all of the above

Question 6

Hot spots are defined as:

A)small clusters of addresses with frequent "hard" crime call activity
B)entire cities that are crime ridden
C)entire communities that have organized crime
D)a home that was burned down due to arson

Question 7

Problem solving in most police departments today revolves around the ____________ model.

A)COMPSTAT
B)Community Policing
C)SARA
D)Scanning

Question 8

The mechanics of problem solving include all of the following except:

A)trial and error
B)scanning
C)analysis
D)response

Question 9

Researchers have identified several reasons as to why problem-solving efforts have either failed or been mediocre.Some of these reasons are:

A)Police officers do not have the analytical skills required to analyze problems.
B)Police managers and supervisors do not know how to foster problem solving.
C)There is too little involvement of communities, and communities do not cooperate.
D)all of the above

Question 10

refers to a process whereby individual officers, police units, or the police department collectively examine the community for problems or hot spots.

A)Problem solving
B)Scanning
C)Analysis
D)Assessment

Question 11

Reactive policing and problem solving are two different police strategies.How do they differ?

A)They are similar in that they react to crime and attempt to prevent it.
B)Both recognize that crime problems are the result of numerous societal conditions that are outside the control of the police.
C)One depends on rapid response and answering calls while the other recognizes conditions causing crimes and develop responses to the problem.
D)all of the above

Question 12

The goal of "is to determine why a problem is occurring."

A)Problem solving
B)Scanning
C)Analysis
D)Assessment

Question 13

is the process of determining whether a response met expectations.If not, it determines why it did not meet expectations.

A)Assessment
B)Scanning
C)Analysis
D)Problem solving

Question 14

The first step in problem solving is identifying the potential problem.What is a methods for doing so?

A)community groups
B)crime mapping
C)crime analysis
D)all of the above

Question 15

The vast majority of contacts the police have with members of the community are initiated by citizens.

Question 16

When social agencies fail and the problems continue and become even more difficult, they often become matters that must be dealt with by the police.

Question 17

Problem solving represents a tactic that goes beyond traditional policing in that it is an attempt to solve problems that result in fights, public drunkenness, and other incidents that result in a police response.

Question 18

A hot spot is a location that attracts criminals and results in high levels of violent crime.

Question 19

Counting and locating crime on a pre-determined map does not address the causes of crime; it is merely a first step at addressing symptoms.

Question 20

Boba and Crank (2008) advise the goal of analysis "is to determine why a problem is occurring…"

Question 21

Assessment is one of the most important phases of problem solving.

Question 22

Community partnerships are one of the key ingredients in community policing.

Question 23

Two of the benefits of community meetings are that they serve as an excellent opportunity to gather information and develop better relations with people.

Question 24

All of today's law enforcement agencies embrace change and problem solving.

Question 25

Community surveys are a way of measuring people's attitudes about the police and police performance as well as problems in the community.

Question 26

According to the text, the use of observation by the patrol officer is not the best method of identifying problems since they are only in the community for 40 hours a week.

Question 27

A dangerous place is defined as a location that attracts criminals and results in high levels of violent crime.

Question 28

Today, because of greater reliance on governmental services and a diminishing role of traditional social institutions, the police role as a social control agent has been reduced in society.

Question 29

Explain the SARA model of problem solving.In addition to explaining the process, provide an example of its application.

Question 30

There are several methods to identifying potential problems.Name and explain five of the methods that are utilized by police departments.

Question 31

Researchers have identified nine reasons as to why police are not successful or mediocre in problem solving.Name and explain five of the reasons.