Deck 6: Policing: Roles, Styles, and Functions

Question 1

Your textbook describes four characteristics that generally define the role of the police. Which of the following is NOT among those characteristics?

A) The police perform ongoing educational roles in the community.
B) The police are community leaders in public safety.
C) The police occasionally serve in a hostile or dangerous environment.
D) The police solve sociological and technological problems for people on a short-term basis.

Answer 1

The police perform ongoing educational roles in the community.

Question 2

Given the law enforcement officers feloniously killed in the line of duty in the United States in 2011, which of the following circumstances accounted for the largest number of deaths?

A) ambush by assailants
B) attacks during arrest situations
C) traffic pursuits and stops
D) disturbance calls

Answer 2

attacks during arrest situations

Question 3

Which of the following circumstances accounted for the largest number of law enforcement officers assaulted in the United States in 2011?

A) disturbance calls
B) handling, transporting, custody of prisoners
C) investigation of suspicious persons and circumstances
D) traffic pursuits and stops

Answer 3

disturbance calls

Question 4

Eugene Paoline's classification of police occupational styles is based on police officers' attitudes toward citizens, supervisors, procedural guidelines, tactics, and police functions. His classification scheme includes seven different types of police officers. Which of the following is NOT one of those types?

A) traditionalists
B) old-pros
C) avoiders
D) Dirty Harry enforcers

Question 5

Your textbook identifies five roles that investigators may play in a police department. Which of the following is NOT among those five roles?

A) conducting background checks of applicants to the police department.
B) inquiring about crimes they have been dispatched to or have encountered on their own while on patrol
C) conducting field interrogations and other types of aggressive patrol
D) conducting inquiries of alleged crimes by police personnel

Question 6

In 2011, what was the approximate nationwide clearance rate for violent crimes?

A) 5%
B) 20%
C) 50%
D) 70%

Question 7

In 2011, what was the approximate nationwide clearance rate for property crimes?

A) 5%
B) 20%
C) 50%
D) 70%

Question 8

Your textbook gives three reasons why, despite low crime-solving rates by detectives, many police departments continue to employ them. Which of the following is NOT one of those reasons?

A) Detectives have interrogation and case presentation skills that assist in prosecution.
B) Detectives have wider jurisdiction than patrol officers do, and can arrest and book some suspects that other police officers cannot.
C) Law enforcement executives can assign detectives to a major, high-profile case to demonstrate to the public that they are committing resources to the matter.
D) Technical knowledge, such as knowing about burglary tools, does help in some investigations and prosecutions.

Question 9

Your textbook names three distinct functions of DNA profiling. Which of the following is NOT one of these distinct functions?

A) collecting samples from all people at birth, so that a complete DNA database can be compiled
B) clearing innocent people convicted of rape and murder years after they began serving their sentences
C) linking or eliminating identified suspects to a crime
D) identifying "cold hits," where a sample from a crime scene is matched against numerous cases in a DNA database and a positive match is made

Question 10

Your textbook describes several ways in which cybercriminals can illegally access, manipulate, or steal computer data. Which of the following is NOT one of those ways?

A) Cybercriminals can alter computer records at financial, business, and educational institutions.
B) Cybercriminals alter DNA records, thus hampering and sometimes destroying criminal investigations.
C) Cybercriminals often illegally enter computer systems and introduce viruses or worms.
D) Cybercriminals illegally transfer millions of dollars to their accounts.

Question 11

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, approximately how many Americans age 12 and older reported using an illegal drug in the month before the survey was conducted?

A) 2.5 million
B) 22.5 million
C) 52.5 million
D) 102.5 million

Question 12

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, among past-month illegal drug users, approximately what percentage of them reported using marijuana?

A) 12%
B) 23%
C) 41%
D) 64%

Question 13

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, approximately how many Americans age 12 and older reported using marijuana daily or nearly daily?

A) 5 million
B) 10 million
C) 20 million
D) 40 million

Question 14

Which of the following reasons accounts for the relative ineffectiveness of marijuana eradication strategies?

A) Large quantities are generally grown in remote, largely inaccessible areas, making eradication efforts time-consuming, labor-intensive, and dangerous.
B) Spraying crops with chemicals can be hazardous to people, water supplies, animals, and other vegetation.
C) The huge profits that can be made from a marijuana crop create a powerful incentive not to be deterred by eradication efforts.
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 15

Which of the following is NOT a criticism of civil asset forfeiture laws?

A) Civil asset forfeiture laws place the burden of proof on the property owner to show that the property seized was not used in a drug-related crime.
B) The costs involved in a civil asset forfeiture proceeding can be prohibitively high.
C) The standard of proof in civil asset forfeiture cases is too high.
D) Innocent owners can lose their property when someone else uses it without their permission or knowledge to commit a drug crime.

Question 16

In 2007, approximately ________ local police departments had one or more officers assigned full-time to a multiagency drug enforcement task force, about the same number as in 2003.

A) two in seven
B) one in four
C) one in ten
D) three in twenty

Question 17

In recent years, the mission of D.A.R.E. has expanded to include

A) Internet safety and gang involvement prevention.
B) bullying and cyber-bullying prevention.
C) prescription and over-the-counter drug abuse prevention.
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 18

Of the approximately 1.2 million people arrested in 2011 for drug abuse violations, approximately what percentage were white?

A) 10%
B) 32%
C) 51%
D) 67%

Question 19

Of the approximately 1.2 million people arrested in 2011 for drug abuse violations, approximately ________ were black. Yet, blacks are about ________ of all drug users.

A) 10%; 50%
B) 32%; 14%
C) 51%; 26%
D) 67%; 30%

Question 20

In 2012, approximately ________ of federal prisoners and, at year-end 2009, ________ of state prisoners were incarcerated for drug offenses.

A) 6%; 14%
B) 19%; 19%
C) 48%; 18%
D) 19%; 37%

Question 21

As of September 28, 2011, approximately how many community policing officers and deputies have been funded by COPS?

A) 1,200
B) 12,000
C) 120,000
D) 1,200,000

Question 22

Which of the following is NOT true about terrorism?

A) It is one of the oldest forms of human conflict.
B) It has been used by both right-wing and left-wing political organizations, by ethnic and nationalistic groups, by revolutionaries, and by the armies and secret police of established governments.
C) The modern era of terrorism began with the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, according to the FBI.
D) The terrorist acts of 9/11 constituted the bloodiest day on American soil since the Civil War.

Question 23

Which of the following is the FBI's definition of terrorism?

A) the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives
B) the systematic use of terror or unpredictable violence against governments, publics, or individuals to attain a political objective
C) premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience
D) the unlawful use, or threatened use, of force or violence by a group or individual based and operating entirely within the United States or its territories without foreign direction committed against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives

Question 24

As of July 31, 2012, how many foreign terrorist organizations were recognized by the U.S. State Department?

A) 21
B) 34
C) 48
D) 61

Question 25

Which of the following countries is NOT on the U.S. State Department's list of principal state sponsors of terrorism?

A) North Korea
B) Cuba
C) Iran
D) Sudan

Question 26

Which of the following is NOT one of President Bush's general policy principles that guide law enforcement personnel in dealing with terrorists?

A) Only grant concessions to terrorists if U.S. citizens are held hostage and no viable alternative exists.
B) Bring terrorists to justice for their crimes (no matter how long it takes).
C) Isolate and apply pressure on states that sponsor terrorism to force them to change their behavior.
D) Bolster the counterterrorist capabilities of those countries that work with the United States and require assistance.

Question 27

According to a recent public opinion poll, what percentage of Americans thought the U.S. and its allies were winning the war on terrorism?

A) 29%
B) 42%
C) 58%
D) 71%

Question 28

According to the studies presented in your textbook, the police have a monolithic culture, and police officers in the same department can possess very similar attitudes toward their work.

Question 29

Illegal drug use in the United States is widespread and stable.

Question 30

In 2011, more arrests were made for drug abuse violations than for any other offense.

Question 31

No scientific study, among the many evaluations that have been conducted, has discovered any statistically significant difference in drug-usage rates between students who had taken D.A.R.E. and those who had not.

Question 32

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the radical-right movement declined dramatically in 2011.

Question 33

Your textbook lists 18 types of offenses that can be committed using computer and Internet technology. Name and describe six of these.

Question 34

Your textbook lists 10 roles that can be assumed by cybercriminals. Name and describe four of these.

Question 35

Officer Giveaticket is newly graduated from the police academy and has a real passion for her work. During her day shift, she likes to position her patrol car behind some oak trees near a shopping mall that has a stop sign positioned right before entry onto a side road. Officer Giveaticket enjoys pulling over every car that doesn't come to an absolute stop before proceeding onto the side road. During the evening shift, Officer Giveaticket responds properly to disturbances of the peace and domestics. She has a very business-like approach, preferring to arrest rather than "counsel"
citizens about their actions. She is willing to testify at court and "let the judge sort it out."
On the midnight shift, Officer Giveaticket patrols developments and conducts business checks carefully, looking for any open or unlocked doors that might lead to a crime in progress. What operational style of police work would she fall under? What are the advantages and disadvantages of her using this style?

Question 36

At 3 AM, the Dispatch Communications Center for your local police department has received a call of a possible burglary in progress of a private residence. A neighbor reports that two men have exited a dark van backed into the driveway of a house whose owners are on vacation. The neighbor saw that an outside light suddenly went out, and then heard glass breaking. Someone shouted an expletive, and the neighbor opined that one of the intruders might have cut himself or herself. The neighbor does not recognize the van and believes the occupants may be burglars. How would dispatch likely assign this call? How would the police department handle the incident if it turns out it is in fact a burglary in progress?