The Police

Question 1

What is the backbone of any local police department?

Answer 1

The Uniform Patrol Division (city and county)

Question 2

What are the three major branches of ANY police department that fall directly under the chief or sheriff?

Answer 2

PATROL, INVESTIGATIONS, and ADMINISTRATION.

Question 3

What are three governmental levels of law enforcement agencies?

Answer 3

City police and county sheriff (local), highway patrol and DCI (state), and others such as FBI, DEA, BATFE, and US (federal).

Question 4

How many of the states don’t have sheriff departments, and which ones are they?

Answer 4

Four states which include: Alaska, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Hawaii.

Question 5

Why are the sheriff departments unique?

Answer 5

They handle the jail and serve processes (civil and criminal) and are responsible for courthouse security.

Question 6

(T/F) Controlling crime is easy.

Answer 6

False, it is not. It is referred to as the Impossible Mandate because we expect police to control crime, yet they have no control over the conditions that cause crime.

Question 7

Why are crime control measures like SQF (stop, question, frisk) controversial?

Answer 7

They create distrust of the police due to racial disparities and in some cases are unconstitutional.

Question 8

(T/F) Deterrence is a theory that may or may not happen.

Answer 8

True.

Question 9

Police use of force is controversial and excessive force results…?

Answer 9

A break of the social contract and distrust of the police. Deadly force leads to protests and riots in some communities, especially communities of color.

Question 10

Police are often called to manage people dealing with ____ and have been criticized for what regarding ___?

Answer 10

Mental illnesses. They have also been highly criticized for using deadly force against mental subjects.

Question 11

What part of the recommendations of police reform is to do what in response in place of police on calls dealing with mental subjects?

Answer 11

Create a crisis management team.

Question 12

Can the way we measure police success (SQF statistics, arrest statistics) be beneficial?

Answer 12

No, it actually may not measure success in reducing crime and can increase community distrust.

Question 13

(T/F) Police reform is coming, and in some areas it has already arrived.

Answer 13

True.

Question 14

What are the four basic responsibilities of the police?

Answer 14

1. enforce laws
2. provide services
3. prevent crimes
4. preserve the peace

Question 15

What’s an example of a local law enforcement agency?

Answer 15

Police, sheriff, or tribal police.

Question 16

What’s an example of a state law enforcement agency?

Answer 16

highway patrol, bureau of investigations, DCI, or U.S. Marshals.

Question 17

What’s an example of a federal law enforcement agency?

Answer 17

FBI, U.S. Secret Senice, Border Patrol.

Question 18

What is police discretion?

Answer 18

Allows police to make decisions based on their oun experience and opinion rather than following strict rules.

Question 19

What are the 3 primary purposes of police patrol?

Answer 19

1. patrol
2. investigations
3. administration

Question 20

What is differential response?

Answer 20

This strategy allows a police department to distiguish among calls for service so that officers can respond to important calls more quickly

Question 21

What is problem-oriented policing?

Answer 21

A strategy that addresses the root causes of crime and disorder rather than just responding to incidents.

Question 22

What does Graham vs. Connor establish?

Answer 22

Establishes that the reasonableness of force is judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene.

Question 23

What is the difference between random patrols and directed patrols?

Answer 23

Random patrols are officer-dedicated and disorganized or unplanned, while directed patrols are like saturation patrols; they are thought-out and usually revolve around hot spots.

Question 24

What is the difference between proactive and reactive police responses?

Answer 24

Reactive policing involves responding to calls for service after a crime has occurred, while proactive policing focuses on preventing crime before it happens.

Question 25

Why is crime mapping so important?

Answer 25

Crime mapping helps law enforcement agencies identify crime patterns and hot spots, allocate resources effectively, and make data-driven decisions to improve public safety.

Question 26

What’s examples of proactive policing?

Answer 26

With strategies like targeted inventions or increased patrols.