Police and Society
Textbook Exam Questions
Course Introduction
This course explores the complex relationship between police organizations and the societies they serve. It examines the historical development of policing, the structure and functions of law enforcement agencies, and key issues such as community policing, police discretion, accountability, and the impact of race, class, and gender. Students will analyze how societal expectations, legal frameworks, and contemporary challenges shape police practice, and critically assess the roles police play in maintaining social order, protecting rights, and responding to crime. The course aims to foster an informed understanding of current debates surrounding police legitimacy, reform, and the balance between security and civil liberties.
Recommended Textbook
An Introduction to Policing 7th Edition by John S. Dempsey
Available Study Resources on Quizplus
15 Chapters
1060 Verified Questions
1060 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/study-set/929 Page 2
Chapter 1: Police History
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
68 Verified Questions
68 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/18277
Sample Questions
Q1) What U.S. Supreme Court decision held that a black slave could not sue in court for his freedom because he was a piece of property, not a citizen?
A) Dred Scott v. Sandford
B) Mapp v. Ohio
C) Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
D) Mabury v. Madison
Answer: A
Q2) The Latin term__________means "the power of the county."
A) terra nullius
B) flagrante delicto
C) corpus delecti
D) posse comitatus
Answer: D
Q3) __________ is the computer-based management program that many say was responsible for New York City's drop in crime in the mid- to late-1990s.
Answer: CompStat
Q4) __________ is the author of the classic text on policing entitled Police Administration.
Answer: O. W. Wilson
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 3
Chapter 2: Organizing Public Security in the United States
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
73 Verified Questions
73 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/18278
Sample Questions
Q1) Most counties in the United States are patrolled by a police department under contract to the sheriff's department.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) The financial losses from the recession of 2008 required state and local governments to rework priorities and reallocate resources. The most significant reassessment of priorities occurred in the area of __________
Answer: public safety
Q3) What U.S. state employs the most full-time state and local law enforcement personnel?
A) Texas
B) New York
C) California
D) New Jersey
Answer: C
Q4) __________ is the worldwide organization established for the development of cooperation among nations regarding common police problems.
Answer: Interpol
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 4
Chapter 3: Organizing the Police Department
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
65 Verified Questions
65 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/18279
Sample Questions
Q1) The President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice recommended:
A) hiring lateral police officers
B) developing a national police retirement system
C) hiring more women
D) forming permanent police reserve units
Answer: B
Q2) Another name for chain of command is __________
Answer: hierarchy of authority
Q3) The concept that each individual in an organization is directly accountable to only one supervisor is called __________
Answer: unity of command (chain of command)
chain of comman (unity of command) unity of command chain of command
Q4) In some jurisdictions, reserve officers are paid, and in some they are not.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 5
Chapter 4: Becoming A Police Officer
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
64 Verified Questions
64 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/18280
Sample Questions
Q1) The federal government program that gave grants for police officers to attend college was called:
A) GRAD
B) LEEP
C) DIPLOMA
D) GAIN
Q2) Describe the Hiring in the Spirit of Service project.
Q3) Police applicants must be at least 5 feet 8 inches tall to be selected for employment.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice recommended that police departments provide an absolute minimum of ____________________ hours of classroom work.
A) 800
B) 500
C) 400
D) 600
Q5) List and discuss the major steps in the police selection process.
Q6) Detail the criticisms of physical agility testing.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 6
Chapter 5: The Police Role and Police Discretion
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
69 Verified Questions
69 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/18281
Sample Questions
Q1) The police role is extremely well defined and contains little ambiguity.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Two studies indicate that people who engage in violent crime or who engage the police in violent confrontations are much more likely to be the victims of police shootings.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Officer Smith believes her role is to maintain order on her beat by arresting criminals. According to Broderick, she would be considered a(n):
A) realist
B) optimist
C) enforcer
D) idealist
Q4) Which of the following is not one of James Q. Wilson's operating styles?
A) watchman
B) legalistic
C) service
D) aggressive
Q5) What do you think the police role really is?
Page 7
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 6: Police Culture, Personality, and Police Stress
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
70 Verified Questions
70 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/18282
Sample Questions
Q1) The rate of police suicides has dropped in recent decades.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The body's reaction to highly stressful situations is known as the __________ response.
Q3) The stress affecting police officers rarely affects their families.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Dorothy Bracey found that due to a poor diet and lack of exercise, a significant sample of American police possessed a body composition, blood chemistry, and general level of physical fitness greatly inferior to that of a similarly sized sample of:
A) college students
B) prison convicts
C) military personnel
D) high school seniors
Q5) The ethical problem in which police are confronted with situations in which they feel forced to take certain illegal actions to achieve a greater good is known as the __________ problem.
Q6) What is stress? Name some factors causing stress in policing.
Page 8
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 7: Minorities in Policing
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
73 Verified Questions
73 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/18283
Sample Questions
Q1) Academic research has shown that female officers can do patrol work effectively and are well received by the public.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Detail the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) and explain its impact on how police departments handle female officers who are pregnant.
Q3) Which of the following is not one of the possible causes for the acceptance of women in police departments in the late 1960s and early 1970s?
A) the women's rights movement
B) efforts by females officers to gain the right to perform patrol duty to achieve equality with male officers
C) pressure applied on behalf of women by the International Association of Chiefs of Police
D) 1964 Civil Rights Act
Q4) The __________ extended the 1964 Civil Rights Act and made its provisions applicable to state and local governments.
Q5) How effective are women as patrol officers as compared to their male counterparts?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 9
Chapter 8: Police Ethics and Police Deviance
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
73 Verified Questions
73 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/18284
Sample Questions
Q1) What name is used for a loyalty test given to rookie officers by the training officer and other officers?
A) Mama Rosa's test
B) Miami test
C) B-Pad test
D) Junction Boy test
Q2) Noble cause corruption is also known as:
A) Dirty Harry syndrome
B) blue line crossing
C) blue corruption
D) meat-eating
Q3) __________ is concerned with the study of what constitutes right and wrong behavior in certain situations.
Q4) The Knapp Commission's investigation failed to recognize police corruption in New York City.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What is the Dirty Harry problem? Give several examples.
Q6) Detail several explanations of why police corruption exists.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 10
Q7) __________ is defined as the study of what constitutes good or bad conduct.
Chapter 9: Patrol Operations
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
72 Verified Questions
72 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/18285
Sample Questions
Q1) Who coined the term omnipresence?
A) James J. Fyfe
B) O. W. Wilson
C) Patrick V. Murphy
D) James Q. Murphy
Q2) In 2003, nearly all police departments had pursuit policies, and ____________________ percent of local police agencies had restrictive pursuit policies.
A) 12
B) 16
C) 37
D) 61
Q3) The calls radioed to patrol officers, or assignments given to police patrol units by 911 dispatchers, reveal the types of problems for which people call the police and the types of problems:
A) the police feel deserve a response by patrol units
B) that are important to administration
C) encountered by citizens daily
D) that the local government wants handled
Q4) Police special weapons and tactical teams are popularly known as __________
Page 11
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 10: Investigations
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
67 Verified Questions
67 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/18286
Sample Questions
Q1) The single most important determinant of whether or not a crime is solved is the quality of work performed by the detectives.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Sting operations targeting lewd behavior have often been used around the country, particularly in parks and areas frequented by children.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Undercover investigations are rarely used by federal law enforcement agencies.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What are decoy operations? Provide some examples.
Q5) Repeat offender programs (ROPs) are based on the fact that only a few criminals are responsible for most of the predatory street crime in the United States.
A)True
B)False
Q6) Detail the pros and cons of police Internet registries.
Q7) ROPs concentrate on __________
Page 12
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 11: Police and Their Clients
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
68 Verified Questions
68 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/18287
Sample Questions
Q1) The Guardian Angels group was formed by:
A) Curtis Sliwa
B) Richard Hill
C) Rick Patterson
D) Logan Stout
Q2) Explain the role that social media is playing in police-community relations.
Q3) One of the most significant problems facing the police over the past three decades has been the tension, and often outright hostility, between the police and minority group citizens.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Crime Stoppers is a program in which police:
A) operate decoy programs where they dress like possible crime victims
B) open up storefronts and pose as criminals who buy stolen property
C) ask television and radio stations to publicize a "crime of the week" so citizens can call tips into a special police phone number
D) all of these choices
Q5) Everything done with each other as human beings in all kinds of relationships is called __________
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 13
Chapter 12: Community Policing: The Debate Continues
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
67 Verified Questions
67 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/18288
Sample Questions
Q1) The 41st Precinct in the Bronx earned the nickname "The Alamo."
A)True
B)False
Q2) Community-oriented policing strategies have proven successful in:
A) only cities with a population over 50,000
B) only cities with a population over 100,000
C) only cities with a population over 500,000
D) cities of all sizes
Q3) The problem-oriented policing process necessitates improving various skill sets. One of those skill sets is:
A) scanning
B) analysis
C) response
D) communication
Q4) Discuss how community policing strategies are being used in the fight against terror and the ways in which community policing can contribute to homeland security.
Q5) The seminal article in the Atlantic Monthly that many believe was responsible for the modern state of community policing was written by __________ and __________
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 14
Chapter 13: Police and the Law
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
73 Verified Questions
73 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/18289
Sample Questions
Q1) A __________ is the detaining of a person by a law enforcement officer for the purpose of investigation, accompanied by a superficial examination of the person's body surface or clothing to discover weapons, contraband, or other objects relating to criminal activity.
Q2) A police officer's attempt to terminate a dangerous high-speed car chase that threatens the lives of innocent bystanders does not violate the Fourth Amendment, even when it places the fleeing motorist at risk of serious injury or death.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Describe the two methods used to measure the amount of crime in the United States, and discuss the differences between them.
Q4) A police officer can search without a warrant if consent is given by a person having authority to give such consent.
A)True
B)False
Q5) The __________ is an interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment by the U.S. Supreme Court that holds that evidence seized in violation of the U.S. Constitution cannot be used in court against a defendant.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 15
Chapter 14: Computers, Technology, and Criminalistics in Policing
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
86 Verified Questions
86 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/18290
Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is not one of the major issues involved in patrol allocation?
A) determining which officer to assign to each beat
B) determining the number of patrol units needed in each precinct, at each time of the day, and for each day of the week
C) designing patrol beats
D) developing policies to dispatch and redeploy patrol units
Q2) What are robots used for in policing today?
Q3) Discuss the many ways in which the computer is revolutionizing police work.
Q4) Trace evidence is analyzed by the __________ section of the crime lab.
Q5) It is impossible to change one's fingerprints.
A)True
B)False
Q6) There are six classifications of fingerprints.
A)True
B)False
Q7) OC in pepper spray stands for __________
Q9) Discuss the latest innovations in the examination of fingerprints. Page 16
Q8) Alcohol and drugs or controlled substances are analyzed by the __________ section of the crime lab.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 17
Chapter 15: Homeland Security
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
72 Verified Questions
72 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/18291
Sample Questions
Q1) What act established the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) within the Department of Transportation to protect the nation's transportation systems and ensure freedom of movement for people and commerce?
A) Johnson Act of 2003
B) Homeland Security Act
C) Rogers Act
D) Aviation and Transportation Security Act
Q2) Describe four major international terrorist incidents.
Q3) National security letters are information requests issued by local __________ officials who certify that the information is relevant to an international terrorism or foreign intelligence investigation.
Q4) The US-VISIT program helps to:
A) secure U.S. borders by facilitating legitimate travel and trade
B) detect immigrants who are in the United States illegally and who might be terrorists
C) make airline travel safe through increased security measures
D) secure U.S. borders through a military presence at shipping ports
Q5) __________ is an investigatory term used for covertly following subjects in an investigation and recording their activities.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 18