Deck 6: Police Culture, Personality, and Police Stress

Question 1

Which of the following does John Violanti offer as a factor that might explain the high rates of suicide among police officers as a result of stress?

A) access to firearms
B) constantly being exposed to human misery
C) shift work, social strain, and marital difficulties
D) all of these choices

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The stress produced by elements inherent in the quasi-military character of the police service, such as adjusting to changing tours of duty, odd working hours, and working holidays, is classified as:

A) external stress
B) organizational stress
C) personal stress
D) operational stress

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The refusal of some police officers to report fellow officers' misconduct is called:

A) the uniform code of silence
B) the blue wall of silence
C) the police omerta
D) blue loyalty

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The stress produced by the daily need to confront the tragedies of urban life, such as the need to deal with derelicts, criminals, and the mentally disturbed, and the need to engage in dangerous activity to protect a public that appears to be unappreciative of the police, is classified as:

A) external stress
B) organizational stress
C) personal stress
D) operational stress

Question 5

The best-known study of the police personality, Behind the Shield, was written by:

A) Richard Harris
B) Howard Abadinsky
C) Larry Siegel
D) Arthur Niederhoffer

Question 6

Stress produced by real threats and dangers, such as responding to gun runs and other dangerous assignments, is classified as:

A) external stress
B) organizational stress
C) personal stress
D) operational stress

Question 7

Who coined the term the "working personality" of the police?

A) Jerome Skolnick
B) James Fyfe
C) James Q. Wilson
D) Egon Bittner

Question 8

The Dirty Harry problem refers to:

A) the corruption problem in law enforcement
B) the brutality problem in law enforcement
C) the moral dilemma officers face when they can use evil means to achieve good ends
D) the stress problem in policing

Question 9

Which is not a trait of the police personality?

A) authoritarianism
B) suspicion
C) cynicism
D) liberalism

Question 10

The American Institute of Stress ranked law enforcement work as being:

A) the number one stressful job in America
B) among the top ten stressful jobs in America
C) relatively low in stress compared to other jobs
D) one of the few truly stress-free jobs

Question 11

The stress produced by the interpersonal characteristics of belonging to the police organization, such as difficulties in getting along with other officers, is classified as:

A) external stress
B) organizational stress
C) personal stress
D) operational stress

Question 12

The human body's reaction to highly stressful situations is known as the:

A) flight-or-fight response
B) stressed-out syndrome
C) adrenaline response
D) fight-or-freeze syndrome

Question 13

Dr. Neal Trautman proposes a solution to the problem of the Code of Silence with his:

A) Additional Training Regimen
B) Basic Misconduct Survey Study
C) Code of Silence Argument
D) Code of Silence Antidote

Question 14

The majority of recent studies have found that the law enforcement "working personality" stems from the officer's:

A) teenage years
B) socialization process in the police academy, field training, and patrol experience
C) early socialization experiences as a child
D) inherent personality from birth

Question 15

Which researcher conducted the classic study of the police subculture in Gary, Indiana?

A) Jerome Skolnick
B) Anthony Bouza
C) William Westley
D) James Q. Wilson

Question 16

Which of the following is not one of the three important features of an officer's environment that can account for an officer's working personality, according to researchers Burbeck and Furnham?

A) rotating shifts of duty
B) danger
C) authority
D) isolation from the public

Question 17

Which is not indicative of the police personality?

A) hostility
B) insecurity
C) cynicism
D) idealism

Question 18

Which is not indicative of the police culture?

A) openness
B) clannishness
C) honor
D) individuality

Question 19

Researchers say that the pressure of being on duty 24 hours a day leads to stress and that the police learn to cope with that stress by:

A) brutalizing and denigrating citizens
B) shirking their responsibilities
C) becoming emotionally detached from their work and the people they are paid to serve
D) engaging in illegal conduct

Question 20

Which of the following is not one of the factors leading to stress in police work?

A) poor training
B) role conflict
C) exposure to brutality
D) early retirement

Question 21

Michael K. Brown says that the police subculture is based on three major principles: honor, loyalty, and __________

Question 22

A situation in which police officers only trust other police officers and do not aid in the investigation of wrongdoing by other officers is called the:

A) red curtain
B) blue curtain
C) blue shield
D) red shield

Question 23

In one study of a sheriff's department, suicide by cop incidents accounted for ____________________ percent of deputy-involved police shootings.

A) less than 1
B) 11
C) 39
D) 59

Question 24

In 1996, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and the NYPD Patrolman's Benevolent Association (PBA), responding to the fact that 26 NYPD officers had committed suicide in the previous two years, created the ____________________ to address the problems of police stress and suicide.

A) Law Enforcement Rehabilitation Center
B) Law Enforcement Counseling program
C) Police Organization Providing Peer Assistance (POPPA) program
D) NYPD Cops for Cops program

Question 25

A study on police depression revealed that ____________________ officers had higher levels of depression.

A) female
B) white
C) Asian
D) male

Question 26

A 1981 report by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights emphasized the need to provide ____________________ programs and services for police.

A) physical fitness
B) medical
C) stress management
D) in-service training

Question 27

A group of people with distinct sets of values, attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs that differentiate them from the larger culture of which they are a part is called a(n) __________

Question 28

Which of the following is not a job-related issue that contributes to family dysfunction in police families, according to Ellen Scrivner?

A) family disruption due to rotating shifts
B) unpredictable work environment
C) the constant exposure of police officers to members of the opposite gender
D) community expectations and demands

Question 29

According to research, what is the leading problem among police officers?

A) marital problems
B) problems with children
C) drug problems
D) financial problems

Question 30

William Westley defined the situation in which police officers only trust other police officers and do not aid in the investigation of wrongdoing by other officers as the __________

Question 31

The__________ is the protective barrier established by the police by which they protect one another from outsiders, often even refusing to aid police superiors or other law enforcement officials in investigating wrongdoing of other officers.

Question 32

The attitude that there is no hope for the world and a view of humanity at its worst called:

A) police social control
B) police prejudice
C) police attitude
D) police cynicism

Question 33

Researchers estimate that ____________________ percent of all police officers have alcohol problems.

A) less than 5
B) 10 to 15
C) 20 to 30
D) over 50

Question 34

According to research, compared to other professions, the police exhibit higher rates of:

A) divorce
B) suicide
C) stress
D) all of these choices

Question 35

According to Jerome Skolnick, the police officer's role contains two principal variables: danger and __________

Question 36

Dorothy Bracey found that due to a poor diet and lack of exercise, a significant sample of American police possessed a body composition, blood chemistry, and general level of physical fitness greatly inferior to that of a similarly sized sample of:

A) college students
B) prison convicts
C) military personnel
D) high school seniors

Question 37

A basic personality test administered by many police departments is the:

A) PRCI
B) Niederhoffer's Personality Scale
C) BPI
D) MMPI

Question 38

According to research, what subgroup was more likely to use constructive coping relating to stress?

A) African American males and African American females
B) white females and African American females
C) white males and African American males
D) white males and white females

Question 39

Which of the following ranked highest in programs most requested by police officers according to an FBI training needs survey of almost 2,500 police departments?

A) more firearms training
B) programs to handle personal stress and physical fitness programs
C) physical fitness programs and more firearms training
D) programs on how to deal in a less stressful manner with supervisors

Question 40

Some studies have indicated that police officers are ____________________ percent more likely to suffer from alcoholism than the average citizen.

A) 25
B) 55
C) 75
D) 300

Question 41

The body's reaction to highly stressful situations is known as the __________ response.

Question 42

The rate of police suicides has dropped in recent decades.

Question 43

Suicide is a serious problem in policing.

Question 44

The concept of the blue curtain was developed by Jerome Skolnick.

Question 45

A recent study by John Violanti reveals that police commit suicide at a rate up to 53 percent higher than other city workers.

Question 46

The idea of danger permeates the police subculture.

Question 47

Most police departments have management programs to deal with the stress problems of police officers.

Question 48

Studies have indicated that police officers face serious marital problems, health problems, and problems with alcohol and drugs.

Question 49

The police have a subculture that is not substantially different from that found in other occupations in society.

Question 50

The solution to the code of silence as proposed by Dr. Neal Trautman is __________

Question 51

Police officers and their families tend to avoid socializing with other police officers and their families, choosing to socialize instead with people in other lines of work.

Question 52

The stress affecting police officers rarely affects their families.

Question 53

__________ is the body's reaction to internal or external stimuli that upset the body's normal state.

Question 54

One factor that identifies a police shooting as "suicide by cop" is that the suicidal subject must confront law enforcement to the degree that the officer or officers are compelled to react with deadly force to defend themselves or others from serious bodily injury or death.

Question 55

The American Institute of Stress ranked police work as the top stress-producing job in the United States.

Question 56

The police subculture is characterized by clannishness, secrecy, and isolation from those not in the group.

Question 57

The strong bonding that occurs among police officers places the highest value on the obligation to back up and support a fellow officer.

Question 58

The ethical problem in which police are confronted with situations in which they feel forced to take certain illegal actions to achieve a greater good is known as the __________ problem.

Question 59

The phenomenon in which a person wishing to die deliberately places an officer in a life-threatening situation, causing the officer to use deadly force against that person, is known as __________

Question 60

The majority of studies have determined that the police personality derives from the socialization process in the police academy, field training, and patrol experience, instead of being inherent in the personality of those who enter into the police profession.

Question 61

What is the police culture or subculture and how does it manifest itself?

Question 62

How can officers deal with the "blue wall" or "code of silence"?

Question 63

What is the Dirty Harry problem? Could you ever justify an officer acting the way Dirty Harry Callahan did? Why or why not?

Question 64

Describe the police personality. Does police work attract people who already have this personality or is it the result of becoming an officer?

Question 65

Discuss why police officers commit suicide at very high rates. Explain what can be done to lower this suicide rate.

Question 66

Why do police officers socialize together?

Question 67

What is stress? Name some factors causing stress in policing.

Question 68

Discuss the killings of police officers.

Question 69

What are some of the methods being used by police departments today to deal with stress?

Question 70

Explain the phenomenon of suicide by cop.