Midterm 2 Flashcards
of Canadians have great deal or some confidence in police
¾
Canadians rank their police services more favourable than people in most other nations
true
Robertson – analysed Canadian policing
- Two broad issues that need to be considered
- Context in which police operate
- Police activities
occurs when police services use military equipment, tactics, and training as regular methods to police civilians
Police militarization
a set of informal rules and expectations that shape police attitudes, values, and behaviors.
Police subculture
role as law enforcers make them feel isolated and separate from public, leads to strong occupational culture
Police
A benefit of subculture
high levels of mutual support, promotion of honesty and integrity
Criticisms of subculture
resistance to change and supporting different forms of misconduct
of Canadians come into contact with police each year
1/3
occupy 2/3 of all police positions
patrol officers
Cordner (2019) – three main operational police roles:
- Operations
- Administration
- Auxiliary services
patrol, traffic enforcement, criminal investigation
Crime prevention, crime watch, school resource officers, community policing
- Operations
day to day operations, human resources, budgeting, professional standards
- Investigates public complaints
- Administration
– communications, takes calls, directs officer activities, preserving evidence, keeping records, detention
- Auxiliary services
argue that Canadian police is becoming increasingly militarized
Roziere and Walby (2017)
RCMP violated Labour Code by NOT issuing officers with high powered rifles that would increase their safety
R v The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, 2017
services organized along military lines, which have a chain of command where lines of authority are clearly defined by the organization
paramilitary organization
lines of authority are clearly defined by the organization
chain of command
- TOP-DOWN
chain of command
Most Canadian front line officers are
constables or officers
RCMP uses the term members for
sworn officers
supervised by corporals, sergeants, inspectors, superintendents, chiefs
sworn officers
job titles vary by police service
true
Police officers with legal authority to arrest and use forces (as opposed to peace officers, who have less legal authority)
Sworn officers
Highest Rank
Police Chief/Commissioner
Second Highest Rank
Deputy Chief/ Deputy Commissioner
Third Highest Rank
Superintendent
Fourth Rank
Inspector
Fifth Rank
Sergeant/Staff Sergeant
Sixth Rank
Corporal
Seventh Rank
Detective/Investigator
Eighth or second to the last Rank
Constable/Officer
Ninth or Last Rank
Special Constable/Cadet/Peace Officer/Community Service Officer
Officers in some Canadian police services receive their promotions relatively early in their careers
True
Officers that have spent relatively little time on the job have the depth of experience to make best decisions
False
Considered the backbone of policing, 2/3 of officers engaged in this work
Patrol
Most patrol activities do not come from public calls, such as 911 calls
False
In busy cities, responding to calls can occupy an entire shift, leaving officers with little time to engage in preventative patrol or to fully investigate incidents
True
Patrol officers provide backup to other officers or professionals in dangerous situations like probation officers or child protection workers
True
Research in Canada shows that traffic officers do not save lives and do not reduce the number of serious collisions through their enforcement activities
False
Issue tickets to violators and ensure orderly flow of traffic around collisions or construction zones, and arrest impaired drivers
Traffic officers
Specialized roles such as accident reconstruction
Traffic officers
Fewer enforcement powers and focus on commercial vehicles such as semi-trailers
Transportation Enforcement Officers in Ontario
_____ of all fatalities occur in rural roads
over 1/2
Plainclothes officers
detectives
All large police services employ detectives to investigate serious crimes
True
Police personnel in investigative roles account for between _____ of all officers in many municipal departments
10 and 15%
Officers in smaller agencies call on experts from larger police services when confronted with complex investigations that are beyond their ability to investigate properly
True
Stand alone police departments in smaller Quebec towns rely on Surete du Quebec to lead the investigation
True
Making a substance or act illegal can attract the attention of
organized crime
RCMP uses __________ to infiltrate organizations to gather evidence about drug crimes
undercover roles
officers carry out investigations in a covert manner that can involve immersing themselves into criminal worlds
undercover roles
Drug enforcement is not a controversial issue
False
Drug enforcement is argued to be a way against the poor and marginalized
True
Over policing leads to increased trust and confidence in the policce
False
Over policing makes it easy to get the community’s participation in investigations
False
There are over _____ organized crime groups active in the nation
670
Pose a serious long term threat to Canada’s institutions, society, economy, and to individual quality of life
organized crime groups
Involved with illicit activity that makes profit, including drug production and distribution, cybercrime, smuggling cigarettes, and firearms, and human trafficking
organized crime groups
Federal, provincial, and municipal agencies carry out combined investigations to deal with organized crimes and gangs
True
One of the challenges of responding to organized crime is that it is increasingly _________
international
Upon his retirement as Commissioner of RCMP, Bob Paulson said that _______ is the biggest threat facing Canadians
Organized crime
All urban police services have emergency response units known as
special weapons and tactics teams (SWAT) or emergency response teams
Have access to military style equipment, automatic firearms, and armoured vehicles
SWAT teams
respond to armed suspects, large scale protests, hostage situations
SWAT teams
Depending on the size of jurisdiction, SWAT officers may be part time or full time
True
One concern with SWAT officers is their use in __________
low risk situations such as warrant work, traffic enforcement, community policing, and mental health crises
Ambush murders of four RCMP officers
Mayerthorpe, Alberta 2005
Ambush murder of three RCMP officers
Moncton, New Brunswick 2014
Ambush murders could be prevented if officers had access to better body armour and more sophisticated firearms
True
The RCMP was not found negligent in Moncton shootings because the officers had proper equipment and training
False
A group of officers who receive specialized training and have access to military style weapons to confront armed and/ or dangerous suspects
SWAT
Respond to incidents of unexploded bombs
bomb disposals squads or bomb squads
Officers who are partnered with dogs to engage in patrol activities, detect drugs or explosives, and track suspects or escaped prisoners
canine K9 officers
Officers who use fixed wing aircraft and helicopters for traffic enforcement including vehicle pursuits, transporting prisoners and providing information to officers on the ground
aviation units
Most mid sized police services such as Calgary, Edmonton, and Winnipeg and all of the largest police services have _________
aviation units
Officers who are deployed in boats to patrol waterfront areas and harbours, including conducting search and rescue activities, promoting water safety, and engaging in crime prevention
marine units
Cape Breton Regional Police Services, Halifax Regional Police, and Vancouver Police Department have ______
marine units or lake patrol
Federal and provincial police services deploy specialized units
True
Public buildings and national historic sites such as ground surrounding the Parliament buildings in Ottawa are not protected by the RCMP.
False
Protection provided by police officers to the Prime Minister, the Governor General of Canada, provincial premiers, mayors of large cities, and visiting dignitaries
Executive protection
All large police services have personnel engaged in anti-terrorist activities
True
October 2014 murder of Corporal Nathan Cirillo
Was shot while guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Ottawa
Armed officials that work with RCMP to enhance security in Parliament Hill
Parliamentary Protective Service
Only a relatively small percentage of all officers carry out crime prevention duties
True
Young males are underrepresented in crime involvement.
False
Officers work with youth gang members and their families to prevent crime
True
Officers placed on a part or full time basis in schools to provide security, teach classes, act as positive role models, and build positive relationships with students
school resource officers
are expected to form positive relationships with students and deliver anti-crime or anti-drug programs to students
school resource officers
In 2017, The Toronto District School Board _______ officers from their schools as they believed some students were intimidated by the police.
removed
Students in five Peel Region high schools felt safer when officers were present, were less stressed and missed fewer days of school
True
was established by Toronto Police Service in 1992 to build stronger relationships between police and 85,000 indigenous people in the city
Aboriginal Peacekeeping Unit
________ are intended to build bridges between these groups and the police.
Community policing initiatives
Wilson’s research found that police departments balanced three functions:
law enforcement(legalistic style)
order maintenance(watchman style)
providing needed services(service style)
According to Wilson, what made police services different was which of the three activities was most valued and the priority they placed on an enforcement or crime-fighting role. These organizational priorities, in turn, shaped the relationships that officers established with the public.
True
A policing model by Wilson that emphasizes professionalism and formal relationships with the public in bureaucratic (top-down) agencies where officers are noted for their strict enforcement of the law.
Legalistic style
A policing model by Wilson where officers have high number of contacts with the public and their productivity is demonstrated by high arrest rates or by issuing many traffic tickets.
Legalistic style
A policing model by Wilson that uses less discretion when dealing with the public and even minor conflicts can end in an arrest.
Legalistic style
A policing model by Wilson where officers focus on order maintenance, such as reducing antisocial behaviour.
Watchman style
A policing model by Wilson where agencies with this orientation are more involved with their community.
Watchman style
A policing model by Wilson that focuses more on the wrongdoing than the wrongdoer. Officers use their discretion to maintain peace than strictly enforce the law. Therefore there are few arrests for minor offences.
Watchman style
A policing model by Wilson that place a priority on public satisfaction and being responsive to community needs. Closer to the ideal of community policing as there are frequent contacts between officers and civilians and many disputes are handled informally.
Service style
A policing model by Wilson where every complaint about crime or order maintenance is taken seriously but serious crimes are prioritized for investigations. This approach is more common in small towns or in wealthy city suburbs.
Service style
Wilson’s approaches exist in pure forms.
False
Officers in high crime patrol zones are more legalistic.
True
A defined area within a community that officers are assigned to patrol.
Patrol zone
Shootings of Canadian civilians by the polic are common
False
The use of lethal force on Canadian civilians by the police still occurs
True
Most officers are reluctant to use force and use it as last resort
True
Guidelines for the police use of force
Criminal Code Section 25
Use-of-force guideline
Continuum
How much force a police should use in a given circumstance
Use-of-force guideline or continuum
Alternatives to firearms that are intended to temporarily incapacitate or confuse an individual
less-than-lethal weapons
Less-lethal devices such as tasers that send an electrical charge that temporarily incapacitates an individual
conducted energy devices
examined use of force in seven police services between 2006 and 2013 and found that of 3.5 million interactions between the police and public, there were fewer than 5,000 use of force incidents (less than 0.01 %), although six suspects died of gunshot wounds
Hall Votova and Wood 2013
examined police use of force in a Quebec City of 1.5 million residents. With 2000 officers, they found there were 1,451 use of force incidents between 2008 and 22011
Boivin and Obartel
Calgary police had 2.7 million interactions with public between 2012 and 2017, and found that force was used in only 3254 cases. They killed 8 suspects in 5 years, about 1 suspect every 350,000 interactions with the public.
Wittmann 2018
Most suspects injured by police were male and under 30 years of age under the influence of alcohol (60.8%) or drugs (25.4 %)
True
Most use of force incidents happen in places with low levels of informal social controls and high levels of crime
True
when members of the public accompany a police officer on patrol to learn about policing
ride-along
The Police Sector Council observes that a constable should be able to master nine competencies:
Adaptability, ethical accountability and responsibility, interactive communication, organizational awareness, problem solving, risk management, stress tolerance, teamwork, written skills
Applicants with criminal records or history of illegal or unethical behaviors (both detected and self-reported) will often be excluded or deferred (require three year of crime free behavior)
True
Basic training lasts 20-24 weeks
True
Most police services provide 600-800 hours of instruction
True
Before training academy graduates are made permanent employees, they must complete a period of supervised instruction by field training officers (six months)
true
experienced police officers who train and mentor new police officers during their first months on the job
field training officers
The Saskatchewan Police College Training Area spends how many hours in Criminal Law?
103
The Saskatchewan Police College Training Area spends how many hours in Defensive Tactics
96.5
The Saskatchewan Police College Training Area spends how many hours in Firearms
77
The Saskatchewan Police College Training Area spends how many hours in Diversity awareness?
9.5
The Calgary Police Service had 2.7 million police-public interactions from 2012-2017. 500,000 of which are criminal incidents. 100,000 of which lead to charges. 3300 which needed force. 23 of which had a firearm fired by the police. 8 suspects were killed?
true
Formal civilian oversight of police are laid out in Police Services Act
True
compensates for government failures to combat police deviance and equalize the balance of power between public officials and citizens
Formal methods of Civilian oversight
In Saskatchewan, all communities larger than _______ residents must have a board of police commissioners
5000
An agency created by the Parliament to investigate citizen complaints to the RCMP
Civilian Review and Complaints Commission
Investigatory bodies that respond to public complaints or carry out internal investigations of police mistakes or misconducts MUNICIPALLY
professional standards sections
What are the top five allegations and complaints against the RCMP that were sent to the civilian review and complaints commission
Neglect of duty, improper attitude, improper use of force, irregularity in procedure, improper arrest
When an officer fails to carry out their duty such as improperly caring for a prisoner or performing their work below RCMP standards
Neglect of duty
When an officer is rude or disrespectful or lacked empathy
Improper attitude
Where the force used was unnecessary, applied too harshly or inappropriate to the situation
Improper use of force
When an officer violated privacy rules or inappriopriately accessed information, such as using police database to access information about friend or family
irregularity in procedure
When officer fails to promptly inform a suspect why they were being arrested or failed to advise the individual about their rights, such as access to counsel
Improper arrest
Many people who were mistreated by police may lack confidence that their claims will be taken seriously
True
A dark figure of police misconduct
misconduct that occurs but is never reported or counted
Office of the Independent Police Review Director reported that a total of _______ of 23,830 officers had a complaint against them
3400
The number of officers actually punished is high
False
The complaint process is like the criminal justice funnel
True
Which province would be the only province without an independent watchdog agency for the police if a single agency is established for serious police misconduct incidences?
Saskatchewan
Canadian officers are _____ as likely to kill a suspect using firearms as their American counterparts.
1/4
Canadian officers are less likely to kill using guns because
there are less gun ownership in Canada and American police are 45% more likely to die from assault
about ____ of US murders are committed with guns
70%
Police are trained to shoot at a less vital part when faced with a suspect with a deadly weapon
False
Police are trained to shoot at a the centre mass, a vital section, when faced with an armed suspect
True
Why is it hard to comment on officer-involved shootings?
lack of accurate national statistics so we have to rely on newspaper investigations
occur when police officers discharge their firearm, including accidental and intentional discharges
officer-involved shootings
Number of fatal police shootings per million residents in Canada
0.8
Number of fatal police shootings per million residents in US
3.00
Occurs when individuals deliberately provoke the police into shooting them, such as by pointing an unloaded firearm at an officer
Suicide by cop
About 1/4 to 1/3 of police shootings in the US are suicide by cop
true
Pointed an object at Toronto Constable Ken Lam and yelled “Kill me”, tried to do suicide by cop, drove a van and killed 10 and injured 15
Alek Minassian
Of the 3400 complaints to the police, 1300 are screened out. 1800 are withdrawn, unsubstantiated or still under investigation. 250 are mediated or informally withdrawn. 67 are substantiated but are less serious. 25 are substantiated and are serious
True
There is less litigation in Canada compared to the US to the police
True
Lawsuits from employees of the police services, especially the women, were launched against the RCMP for abuse, sexual advances, discrimination, intimidation, harassment
True
Cameras provide an unbiased record of incidents
True
Braga, Sousa, Coldren, and Rodriguez found that officers using BWCs generate ____ complaints and use of force reports
fewer
Braga, Sousa, Coldren, and Rodriguez found that officers made more arrests and issued more citations than those without BWCs
True
When the public sees the police as more legitimate, people are less willing to abide by the law
False
Trust in police dropped from 69 to 57 % from 2007 to 2012
True
Trust in police is lower than trust in Canada’s school system, banks, justice system, courts, media, federal Parliament, and major corporations
False
Three quarters or 76% of Canadians have a somewhat positive opinion on policing in 2016 and 2017
True
Over three quarters or 79% said RCMP officers demonstrated professionalism in their work and 75% said their officers provided a quality service to the public in 2017
True
Trust and confidence in police are the same throughout the nation
False
Newfoundland and Labrador express high confidence while British Columbia respondents report the lowest
True
Who has higher confidence in the police?
women, older respondents, and non-visible minorities
Who has lower confidence in the police?
Visible minority groups, indigenous people
University of Windsor found that people who had contact with the police in the previous 12 months and crime victims rated the police HIGHER than people with no contact and non-victims
False
Montreal and Halifax will not adopt body worn cameras because?
of their expense and the challenges of storing the data collected by these cameras
Police are seldom fully independent of political influence but this influence must be appropriate.
True
The processing time for an impaired driving offence has increased over ____ per cent in the past three decades
300
