Unit 2

Question 1

background checks

Answer 1

A standard part of the hiring process in any law enforcement agency. Telephone and in-person contacts with references, criminal history checks, and the like are made to assure that candidates have the appropriate ethics, mentality, and skills to perform a job and to verify that all information provided by the candidates’ applications is accurate.

Question 2

beat integrity

Answer 2

The philosophy and administrative priority of assigning specific officers to specific beats for long periods of time, to develop a comprehensive knowledge of the area and establish positive working relationships with the residents and merchants there; replaced an older system that moved officers around to many beats, frequently or haphazardly, in order to reduce the opportunities for corruption.

Question 3

beats

Answer 3

Formally defined areas of patrol. A specific officer or group of officers is responsible for answering calls and dealing with any police-related matters occurring within the boundaries of the beat. Also may be called by other terms, such as “district.”

Question 4

blue wall of silence

Answer 4

The term for the refusal of police officers to report misconduct of other officers, usually out of a misguided sense of solidarity or a fear of social ostracism and denial of assistance (“backup”) on duty. The blue wall is usually composed of non-offending officers who know of elements of the misconduct but refuse to “rat” on or testify against other officers, regardless of the seriousness of the offense, thus thwarting effective investigation of police misconduct and crimes committed by police officers.

Question 5

“Bobbies”

Answer 5

The English police; an affectionate term that draws upon the name of the founder of the Metropolitan London Police, Sir Robert Peel

Question 6

Boston Police Strike of 1919

Answer 6

A labor action by more than three-quarters of the Boston police department, seeking higher wages; riots resulted, and the militia was called in; the strikers were fi red, and attempts to unionize the police were effectively quashed until the mid-1960s.

Question 7

Broken Windows

Answer 7

An informal theory of police responsibility for controlling low-level disorders and the relationship of disorder to more serious crime. First advanced by James Q. Wilson and George Kelling in an article in the Atlantic Monthly in 1982, the hypothesis asserted that order maintenance should be the primary police focus, not serious felony crime; reductions in serious crime would follow the reestablishment of civil order in neighborhoods.

Question 8

campus-based academies

Answer 8

Police recruit training facilities that function like college campuses and are frequently located on such campuses. The academies may be self-contained, giving instruction only to new police officers, or may be part of an academic degree course of study, typically a two-year associate’s degree. The instructional curriculum is similar to that of stress academies, but without the military boot-camp trappings.

Question 9

chain of command

Answer 9

A term referring to the command and supervision of the police organization. It is the sequence through which orders are given and information is relayed.

Question 10

civilian review

Answer 10

A special process of handling complaints against police officers by having civilian boards, or mixed police and civilian boards, review the facts and adjudicate the complaint; highly unpopular with police officers. Civilian review boards (CRBs) may work in concert with Internal Affairs or independent of it; the scope of authority given to a CRB is determined locally through the political process. CRBs emerged from strong feelings of dissatisfaction with police internal review of complaints against “their own.”

Question 11

community-oriented policing

Answer 11

The term devised for a reform movement that arose in the mid-1980s to ease racial tensions and increase police effectiveness in minority neighborhoods. The thrust of the movement was to break down old prejudices by placing officers in regular contact with citizens in nonemergency settings, building better information about community events and conditions, building mutual trust, and creating effective problem solving. The community policing movement incorporates a wide range of tactical deployments, from walking beats to crime prevention activities to community organizing. One of the features that distinguishes community policing from traditional law enforcement is a focus on a range of noncrime problems broadly known as “quality-of-life issues,” in which police advocacy and leadership play more important roles than law enforcement

Question 12

community policing era

Answer 12

The current “era” of American policing, placing crime control on an equal footing with forging community partnerships and allowing communities greater ability to control their own affairs, incorporating crime prevention and crime analysis into an overall community effort to reduce crime and disorder.

Question 13

CompStat

Answer 13

A management initiative of the New York City Police Department under Commissioner Bill Bratton in the 1990s. Named for a column in a crime statistics database, CompStat involved the use of up-to-date crime information to reinvigorate the NYPD command staff ‘s commitment to crime reduction. It was also criticized for the sometimes adversarial nature of the central administration’s challenges to the precinct commands. The term “CompStat” has become synonymous with data-driven approaches to crime control and police accountability.

Question 14

consent decrees

Answer 14

Formal contracts between the U.S. Department of Justice and local agencies or corporate entities to correct unlawful conditions. Usually an alternative to civil rights suits, consent decrees set out timetables and corrective measures to bring the agencies in line with acceptable practices.

Question 15

constable

Answer 15

An ancient English office of local police authority, with mandatory service on a rotating, annual basis under the 1285 Statute of Winchester; in contemporary America, a local office often attached to the court for service of papers and other writs; in modern-day England, a form of address to a police officer.

Question 16

contract cities

Answer 16

Local municipalities that contract with county sheriffs for a specified number of hours of service. Contracts guarantee basic police services while relieving smaller cities of part of the expense of maintaining their own departments

Question 17

corruption

Answer 17

Generically, the misuse of a position of authority for personal gain. Police corruption in particular takes a variety of forms, from passive acceptance of gratuities to actively seeking bribes to accepting money from crime figures to destroy evidence or reveal police information. A subset, “corruption of noble cause,” has emerged to describe the use of illegal means to achieve a legitimate crime-control end, with no personal benefit to the officers.

Question 18

crime prevention

Answer 18

A series of related actions, often promoted by the police, that reduce individual or collective risk of crime victimization. Target hardening through the use of locks or barriers, personal self-defense, property-marking records that reduce the resale value of stolen goods, collective actions such as Neighborhood Watch or other community organizing, educational programs in schools, and many more all fall under the crime prevention label.

Question 19

detectives

Answer 19

Investigators who do not answer calls. Their time is spent interviewing witnesses and following up on leads in unsolved crime cases. Detectives may specialize in a certain type of crime (homicide, burglary, robbery, sex crimes, etc.) or conduct all kinds of criminal investigation.

Question 20

dual-entry tracks

Answer 20

A term most often applied to progressive sheriffs’ departments that hire separately for jail deputies and for patrol (road) deputies. It replaces the older “single-entry” system in which all deputies began their careers as jail deputies and then moved up to patrol. See also single-entry tracks.

Question 21

exclusionary rule

Answer 21

A constitutional protection for citizens against unlawful police actions; the rule requires that any evidence obtained illegally must be excluded from criminal trials. Originally a federal-level rule only, it was applied to the decision Mapp v. Ohio.

Question 22

field training (officers and programs)

Answer 22

A process by which a newly hired police recruit makes the transition from academy learning to the street, under the tutelage and observation of an experienced police officer. Most programs involve a gradual increase in responsibilities, a formal grading process, and a series of tests on duty to determine whether the new officer is in fact an appropriate hire for the agency or should be dismissed because of conditions not revealed by the initial hiring process.

Question 23

first responders

Answer 23

Public employees in the emergency services who are the first to be called to the scene of an emergency, including fire and EMS (emergency medical services, ambulance, and first-aid workers). Police patrol officers are considered first responders, while detectives and other investigators are not.

Question 24

Flint (Michigan) Neighborhood Foot Patrol Program

Answer 24

A 1982 field experiment comparing the effectiveness of foot patrol to motorized patrol; while crime levels remained the same, citizen and police satisfaction were greater in foot patrol areas; the experiment provided an early justification for increased community contacts in the then-developing community policing philosophy.

Question 25

force continuum

Answer 25

A training guide for police use of force, linking police levels of force to specific actions by the citizens.

Question 26

HAZMAT

Answer 26

An acronym for “hazardous materials,” a broad category of harmful substances ranging from toxic chemicals to explosives to nuclear waste. First responders who respond to HAZMAT emergencies require special equipment and training.

Question 27

highway patrols

Answer 27

Primarily enforce traffic laws on state highways; they have police powers and training but no general police jurisdiction

Question 28

hue and cry

Answer 28

A comedy team in medieval England; a formal responsibility of English citizens, under common law and especially the 1285 Statute of Winchester, to assist the constable or sheriff in the apprehension of a thief or other lawbreaker. The classic “Stop! Thief!” is the modern equivalent.

Question 29

Internal Affairs

Answer 29

A special investigative unit within a police department, charged with investigating complaints against police officers. The current trend is toward redefining the unit as an “Office of Professional Responsibility” or similar title; other, less printable names are applied to it by police officers under investigation

Question 30

john details

Answer 30

A form of sting operation directed against street prostitution in which undercover police officers pose as prostitutes to arrest “johns,” men who solicit prostitutes for sex.

Question 31

Kansas City Preventive Patrol Experiment

Answer 31

The first randomized test of police patrol’s effectiveness as a deterrent to crime; preliminary results indicated that the number of police officers had little or no impact on crime or citizens’ perceptions; subsequent developments in the field, notably the Minneapolis Hot Spots of Crime experiment, have refocused the issue with different results.

Question 32

law compliance

Answer 32

The voluntary observance by citizens of the requirements of law.

Question 33

law enforcement

Answer 33

The application of deterrence, rapid response, investigation, arrest, and prosecution against those who would or do violate the criminal law. Also applied to violators of traffic laws and local ordinances.

Question 34

Metropolitan London Police

Answer 34

The first modern police force, established in England by an act of Parliament in 1829 to reduce crime and the potential for riots. The force was organized along military lines but with civilian control at the national level, in the Home Office. Also called the New Police and later the “Bobbies.”

Question 35

multijurisdictional task forces

Answer 35

Composite organizations made up of representatives of law enforcement personnel from many agencies across a wide geographic area that may include representatives from state and federal agencies. Task forces concentrate on crime problems that extend far beyond the jurisdictional boundaries of any single agency, such as organized crime, drug distribution networks, and counterterrorist intelligence work. Sometimes called “regional task forces, “multijurisdictional” is the current preferred term, recognizing federal and state participation

Question 36

mutual aid

Answer 36

Formal agreements between and among police agencies to assist each other in times of need. A system of legal compacts that provide law enforcement authority and civil protection to officers who are called upon to assist in jurisdictions other than their own.

Question 37

order maintenance

Answer 37

A form of police activity that targets conduct that is less serious than predatory crime but still disturbs the quality of life of citizens; generally low-level police interventions encourage law compliance, but law enforcement techniques may be used when necessary, to ensure general compliance with expected forms of conduct “local rules” about the use of parks, loud music, self-expression through graffiti, and a wide range of other social expectations and violations.

Question 38

patrol

Answer 38

A form of police deployment that puts officers on the streets as a visible presence, both to deter criminals and reassure law-abiding citizens and to discover crimes and unsafe conditions that require police intervention; although most patrolling is done in police cars, other types of patrol such as motorcycles, bicycles, and foot patrols are common.

Question 39

patronage (system)

Answer 39

An entrenched form of corrupt government in American cities of the 1800s. All holders of city jobs owed their positions (and thus their livelihood) to their “patrons,” the mayors and ward heelers who ran the cities and decided who worked and who did not.

Question 40

police academy

Answer 40

The “boot camp” for new or prospective police officers. A formal training setting in which the basic knowledge, skills, and responsibilities of police service are taught through formal instruction. Two models exist stress-based academies, which emulate many features of the military boot camp, and campus-based academies, in which the training regimen is often integrated into an associate’s degree program on the campus

Question 41

Police Activity League

Answer 41

A national program, but operated by local police agencies, that offers a wide range of after-school activities for children, from sports to science to chess clubs; originally the Police Athletic League, the contemporary version offers a broader range of options than just sports.

Question 42

police brutality

Answer 42

The illegal or excessive use of force by police, whether to effect a lawful goal or to achieve a corrupt one. In contemporary references, particularly those involving conflicts of race and ethnicity, the term also extends to embrace “disrespect” even if no physical force is employed

Question 43

police subculture

Answer 43

An outgrowth of studies of police in the 1960s, the concept of a “police subculture” assumes a broad allegiance to various philosophical beliefs and common concerns danger, challenges to authority, political conservatism (reactionary, in the 1960s), and the general division of the world into good and bad, with the police as a “thin blue line” separating taxpaying civilization from the anarchy of the criminal classes. In light of wholesale changes in the police occupation, including the inclusion of women and minorities and the changes in philosophy of community-oriented policing and problem-oriented policing, the assumptions of this notion are now being challenged

Question 44

political era

Answer 44

A reference to the nineteenth-century climate under which the American police developed in the cities. Also known as the “patronage era” because of its corrupt politics. Notable for the low quality of police recruits and for the general absence of crime control as a police duty

Question 45

power shifts

Answer 45

Special time slots, usually spanning the late evening and early morning hours, when additional police officers are on duty to handle expanded call loads. Power shifts are often volunteer slots, selected by officers because of the greater likelihood of activity. They tend to be permanent or semi-permanent hours, although some flexibility is possible in many agencies.

Question 46

precincts

Answer 46

Administrative division of police agencies containing multiple beats and patrol areas; refers to both a specific geographic area and the police personnel assigned to it. A feature of larger communities where central command is cumbersome, precinct organization allows for more responsive policing services and a tighter chain of command for everyday operations. Both patrol and investigative services may be precinct based, though support services and some investigative units may operate from a single, central command center.

Question 47

preservice training

Answer 47

In some states, individuals are permitted to seek their police officer certification by putting themselves through a police training academy before being hired by an agency; completion of the training does not give them police powers, however, which are only bestowed once they are hired by a municipality or other jurisdiction.

Question 48

President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice

Answer 48

A widespread investigation of the deficiencies and needs of the criminal justice system in America ordered by President Lyndon Johnson. Its February 1967 report, The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society, galvanized reform efforts and contributed to the passage of the 1968 Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act and to the creation of the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration.

Question 49

private police

Answer 49

Uniformed security services that function as police protection for local interests. Some employ officers who have completed state-mandated police certification; others do not. The authority for private police typically derives from the property rights of their employers, but there are special legal provisions in some cases. Campus police officers serving colleges and universities, the Port Authority Police of New York and New Jersey Port Authority, railroad police, and others operate under particular legislative authorization.

Question 50

problem-oriented policing

Answer 50

An informal theory of police effectiveness first articulated by Herman Goldstein in 1979, which criticizes the police efforts at crime control as incident-based and emphasizing the means over the ends. It proposes the use of broader analysis to link multiple events that stem from common sources, redefining them as “problems” and bringing a wide spectrum of police and community resources to bear on the sources of the problem. The tactical equivalent is known as “problem solving,” and both are united under the acronym “POP.”

Question 51

professional era

Answer 51

A reference to the period of American police history from the late 1800s to the middle or late 1900s, during which police autonomy from local political control was sought; selection and promotion by merit were employed for personnel; scientific investigation of crime was advanced; and crime control was selected as the primary police mission. The professional model places great emphasis on police efficiency in the deterrence of crime by visible patrol, rapid response to reports of crime, and intensive investigation of crimes not solved at the scene. It came under fi re in the 1960s and 1970s for failing to meet its own professed goals and is in the process of being replaced by the community policing model

Question 52

racial profiling

Answer 52

A contested practice, denied by the police but asserted by minority communities, in which police aggressively stop black and Hispanic motorists for trivial reasons in order to view and try to search their cars for drugs. It is premised upon an unsupported belief that minorities are more involved in the illegal drug trade than whites

Question 53

regional task forces

Answer 53

See multijurisdictional task forces. Composite organizations made up of representatives of law enforcement personnel from many agencies across a wide geographic area that may include representatives from state and federal agencies. Task forces concentrate on crime problems that extend far beyond the jurisdictional boundaries of any single agency, such as organized crime, drug distribution networks, and counterterrorist intelligence work. Sometimes called “regional task forces, “multijurisdictional” is the current preferred term, recognizing federal and state participation.

Question 54

rotating shifts

Answer 54

A means of providing around-the-clock police coverage in a manner that is fair to all employees. The burden of working the difficult hours of the midnight shift and weekends and the benefits of working days are equally distributed by assigning officers to work each shift in turn for a set period of time, then “rotating” or moving to another shift days to evenings to midnights and then back to days to begin the cycle again. Rotating shifts tend to be defined in terms of weeks or months (usually no more than three months at the longest). Disruption of the “internal clock” of the body’s circadian rhythm is one of the negative effects of rotating shift s. The alternative is steady shifts of longer duration.

Question 55

school resource officers

Answer 55

Sworn police officers who are assigned to schools or networks of schools, on either a full- or part-time basis. School resource officers usually work in uniform and monitor safety situations in the schools in addition to performing community relations work with school-age children and with other school groups.

Question 56

service

Answer 56

An umbrella term for a wide range of police assistance to citizens (e.g., directions, emergency transportation, escorts of funeral processions) that do not fall under either law enforcement or order maintenance

Question 57

sheriff

Answer 57

The chief law enforcement officer of a county. Also, an ancient office, first developed in England. Also, an elected position and an office established in the state constitution of many states. Sheriff s’ departments provide general policing services, court security and services, and correctional facilities of the county jail, although not all sheriff s’ departments provide all three services.

Question 58

single-entry tracks

Answer 58

A phrase referring to the practice of starting all sworn employees of an agency at the same level patrol officer in police departments and frequently jail officer in sheriffs’ departments. See also dual-entry tracks

Question 59

Statute of Winchester

Answer 59

A national law passed in England in 1285 to formally impose responsibilities upon the citizenry for their own defense against crime. It required all citizens to maintain weapons and to assist the sheriff or constable when the hue and cry were raised to pursue lawbreakers and imposed mandatory, unpaid service on all male adults to serve in the Watch and to take a yearlong turn as constable

Question 60

steady shifts

Answer 60

A means of providing around-the-clock police coverage that allows the body to adjust to shift work over longer periods, typically from six months to a year. Shift assignments are usually voluntary or assigned on a seniority-based lottery system. Officers spend a longer time on one shift.

Question 61

sting operations

Answer 61

Anticrime tactics in which police officers pose as criminals in order to arrest other criminal actors and discredit criminal market areas. Sting operations include officers posing as drug dealers in known drug locations, posing as prostitutes in areas known for street prostitution or gay cruising, posing as fences for stolen property, and impersonating other market-driven criminal enterprises.

Question 62

stress-based academies

Answer 62

Police recruit training facilities that function in a fashion similar to military boot camps, with a heavy emphasis on physical training, regimented military-style discipline, and residential settings. The instructional curriculum is similar to that of the alternate model, campus-based academies, which forgo the boot-camp style of inducing stress in favor of other values.

Question 63

troops

Answer 63

Administrative divisions of a state police or state patrol agency, corresponding to “precincts” in local police departments. It refers to both a specific geographic area and the police personnel assigned to it.

Question 64

use of force

Answer 64

A general power of the police, used to gain compliance when other measures such as persuasion and direction fail. Use of force is a broad term covering any physical contact initiated by police against a resisting citizen, from a guiding hand to a firm restraining grip, to the application of chemical sprays, stun guns, or impact weapons like the nightstick, to the use of fi rearms. Use of firearms and some applications of impact weapons fall under the special category of deadly force, that which can produce death or serious bodily injury.

Question 65

vigilantes

Answer 65

Historically, groups of citizens on the American frontier who acted in concert to protect life and property against outlaws in the absence of formal law enforcement. In modern use, a pejorative term for those who “take the law into their own hands” rather than assisting authorized law enforcement.

Question 66

Wickersham Commission

Answer 66

A 1931 commission to investigate charges of police brutality and other allegations of police corruption.

Question 67

zero tolerance

Answer 67

An informal theory of police operations that emphasizes arrests for all low-level offenses without exception. An offshoot of the Broken Windows hypothesis that emphasizes only law enforcement, not order maintenance.