Ch 5 - Police Powers and Decision Making Flashcards
arrest warrant
A document that permits a police officer to arrest a specific person for a specified reason.
information
A written statement sworn by an informant alleging that a person has committed a specific criminal offence.
search warrant
A document that permits the police to search a specific location and take items that might be evidence of a crime.
one plus one (use of force)
The generally accepted use-of-force standard that police officers have the authority to use one higher level of force than that with which they are confronted.
suicide by cop
Instances in which despondent individuals act in a manner calculated to force police to use lethal force.
discretion
The freedom to choose among different options when confronted with the need to make a decision.
typifications
Constructs based on a patrol officer’s experience that denote what is typical about people and events routinely encountered.
recipes for action
The actions typically taken by patrol officers in various kinds of encounter situations.
discrimination
“Making a distinction in favour of or against a person or thing based on the group, class or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit.”
bias-free policing
The requirement that police officers make decisions “based on reasonable suspicion or probable grounds rather than stereotypes about race, religion, ethnicity, gender or other prohibited grounds.”
racial profiling
“The targeting of individual members of a particular racial group, on the basis of the supposed criminal propensity of the entire group.”
principles of accountability
“The actions of police officers and police services are subject to review [and] there are formal channels that individuals can use to lodge complaints against the police.”
