Q&A Hero

Q: What is the police culture or subculture and how does it manifest itself?

Q: A recent study by John Violanti reveals that police commit suicide at a rate up to 53 percent higher than other city workers.

Q: The rate of police suicides has dropped in recent decades.

Q: Suicide is a serious problem in policing.

Q: One factor that identifies a police shooting as "suicide by cop" is that the suicidal subject must confront law enforcement to the degree that the officer or officers are compelled to react with deadly force to defend themselves or others from serious bodily injury or death.

Q: Most police departments have management programs to deal with the stress problems of police officers.

Q: Studies have indicated that police officers face serious marital problems, health problems, and problems with alcohol and drugs.

Q: The stress affecting police officers rarely affects their families.

Q: The American Institute of Stress ranked police work as the top stress-producing job in the United States.

Q: The majority of studies have determined that the police personality derives from the socialization process in the police academy, field training, and patrol experience, instead of being inherent in the personality of those who enter into the police profession.

Q: The concept of the blue curtain was developed by Jerome Skolnick.

Q: The idea of danger permeates the police subculture.

Q: The strong bonding that occurs among police officers places the highest value on the obligation to back up and support a fellow officer.

Q: Police officers and their families tend to avoid socializing with other police officers and their families, choosing to socialize instead with people in other lines of work.

Q: The police subculture is characterized by clannishness, secrecy, and isolation from those not in the group.

Q: The police have a subculture that is not substantially different from that found in other occupations in society.

Q: The phenomenon in which a person wishing to die deliberately places an officer in a life-threatening situation, causing the officer to use deadly force against that person, is known as __________

Q: The body's reaction to highly stressful situations is known as the __________ response.

Q: __________ is the body's reaction to internal or external stimuli that upset the body's normal state.

Q: 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.

Q: The solution to the code of silence as proposed by Dr. Neal Trautman is __________

Q: William Westley defined the situation in which police officers only trust other police officers and do not aid in the investigation of wrongdoing by other officers as the __________

Q: According to Jerome Skolnick, the police officer's role contains two principal variables: danger and __________

Q: The__________ is the protective barrier established by the police by which they protect one another from outsiders, often even refusing to aid police superiors or other law enforcement officials in investigating wrongdoing of other officers.

Q: Michael K. Brown says that the police subculture is based on three major principles: honor, loyalty, and __________

Q: A group of people with distinct sets of values, attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs that differentiate them from the larger culture of which they are a part is called a(n) __________

Q: In 1996, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and the NYPD Patrolman's Benevolent Association (PBA), responding to the fact that 26 NYPD officers had committed suicide in the previous two years, created the ____________________ to address the problems of police stress and suicide. a. Law Enforcement Rehabilitation Center b. Law Enforcement Counseling program c. Police Organization Providing Peer Assistance (POPPA) program d. NYPD Cops for Cops program

Q: Some studies have indicated that police officers are ____________________ percent more likely to suffer from alcoholism than the average citizen. a. 25 b. 55 c. 75 d. 300

Q: Researchers estimate that ____________________ percent of all police officers have alcohol problems. a. less than 5 b. 10 to 15 c. 20 to 30 d. over 50

Q: According to research, what is the leading problem among police officers? a. marital problems b. problems with children c. drug problems d. financial problems

Q: In one study of a sheriff's department, suicide by cop incidents accounted for ____________________ percent of deputy-involved police shootings. a. less than 1 b. 11 c. 39 d. 59

Q: A study on police depression revealed that ____________________ officers had higher levels of depression. a. female b. white c. Asian d. male

Q: According to research, what subgroup was more likely to use constructive coping relating to stress? a. African American males and African American females b. white females and African American females c. white males and African American males d. white males and white females

Q: According to research, compared to other professions, the police exhibit higher rates of: a. divorce b. suicide c. stress d. all of these choices

Q: The attitude that there is no hope for the world and a view of humanity at its worst called: a. police social control b. police prejudice c. police attitude d. police cynicism

Q: A basic personality test administered by many police departments is the: a. PRCI b. Niederhoffer's Personality Scale c. BPI d. MMPI

Q: A situation in which police officers only trust other police officers and do not aid in the investigation of wrongdoing by other officers is called the: a. red curtain b. blue curtain c. blue shield d. red shield

Q: A 1981 report by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights emphasized the need to provide ____________________ programs and services for police. a. physical fitness b. medical c. stress management d. in-service training

Q: Which of the following ranked highest in programs most requested by police officers according to an FBI training needs survey of almost 2,500 police departments? a. more firearms training b. programs to handle personal stress and physical fitness programs c. physical fitness programs and more firearms training d. programs on how to deal in a less stressful manner with supervisors

Q: Which of the following is not a job-related issue that contributes to family dysfunction in police families, according to Ellen Scrivner? a. family disruption due to rotating shifts b. unpredictable work environment c. the constant exposure of police officers to members of the opposite gender d. community expectations and demands

Q: 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

Q: Which of the following does John Violanti offer as a factor that might explain the high rates of suicide among police officers as a result of stress? a. access to firearms b. constantly being exposed to human misery c. shift work, social strain, and marital difficulties d. all of these choices

Q: Researchers say that the pressure of being on duty 24 hours a day leads to stress and that the police learn to cope with that stress by: a. brutalizing and denigrating citizens b. shirking their responsibilities c. becoming emotionally detached from their work and the people they are paid to serve d. engaging in illegal conduct

Q: Which of the following is not one of the factors leading to stress in police work? a. poor training b. role conflict c. exposure to brutality d. early retirement

Q: The stress produced by the daily need to confront the tragedies of urban life, such as the need to deal with derelicts, criminals, and the mentally disturbed, and the need to engage in dangerous activity to protect a public that appears to be unappreciative of the police, is classified as: a. external stress b. organizational stress c. personal stress d. operational stress

Q: The stress produced by the interpersonal characteristics of belonging to the police organization, such as difficulties in getting along with other officers, is classified as: a. external stress b. organizational stress c. personal stress d. operational stress

Q: The stress produced by elements inherent in the quasi-military character of the police service, such as adjusting to changing tours of duty, odd working hours, and working holidays, is classified as: a. external stress b. organizational stress c. personal stress d. operational stress

Q: Stress produced by real threats and dangers, such as responding to gun runs and other dangerous assignments, is classified as: a. external stress b. organizational stress c. personal stress d. operational stress

Q: Dr. Neal Trautman proposes a solution to the problem of the Code of Silence with his: a. Additional Training Regimen b. Basic Misconduct Survey Study c. Code of Silence Argument d. Code of Silence Antidote

Q: The American Institute of Stress ranked law enforcement work as being: a. the number one stressful job in America b. among the top ten stressful jobs in America c. relatively low in stress compared to other jobs d. one of the few truly stress-free jobs

Q: The human body's reaction to highly stressful situations is known as the: a. flight-or-fight response b. stressed-out syndrome c. adrenaline response d. fight-or-freeze syndrome

Q: The Dirty Harry problem refers to: a. the corruption problem in law enforcement b. the brutality problem in law enforcement c. the moral dilemma officers face when they can use evil means to achieve good ends d. the stress problem in policing

Q: The best-known study of the police personality, Behind the Shield, was written by: a. Richard Harris b. Howard Abadinsky c. Larry Siegel d. Arthur Niederhoffer

Q: The majority of recent studies have found that the law enforcement "working personality" stems from the officer's: a. teenage years b. socialization process in the police academy, field training, and patrol experience c. early socialization experiences as a child d. inherent personality from birth

Q: Which researcher conducted the classic study of the police subculture in Gary, Indiana? a. Jerome Skolnick b. Anthony Bouza c. William Westley d. James Q. Wilson

Q: Which of the following is not one of the three important features of an officer's environment that can account for an officer's working personality, according to researchers Burbeck and Furnham? a. rotating shifts of duty b. danger c. authority d. isolation from the public

Q: Who coined the term the "working personality" of the police? a. Jerome Skolnick b. James Fyfe c. James Q. Wilson d. Egon Bittner

Q: Which is not indicative of the police personality? a. hostility b. insecurity c. cynicism d. idealism

Q: Which is not a trait of the police personality? a. authoritarianism b. suspicion c. cynicism d. liberalism

Q: The refusal of some police officers to report fellow officers' misconduct is called: a. the uniform code of silence b. the blue wall of silence c. the police omerta d. blue loyalty

Q: Which is not indicative of the police culture? a. openness b. clannishness c. honor d. individuality

Q: Explain how, according to research, the police actually spend their time at work.

Q: Discuss the impact of Tennessee v. Garner.

Q: Discuss the extent and use of less-than-lethal weapons by police.

Q: What are some of the major factors that influence police discretion?

Q: Compare and contrast each of James Q. Wilson's police department operational styles.

Q: What is the basic difference between the crime-fighting role and the order-maintenance role of the police?

Q: Define discretion. Discuss some of the major ways police exercise discretion.

Q: List and explain each of Broderick's styles. Which style of officer would you want in your community? Why?

Q: List the primary and secondary goals of policing and give an example of how the police work toward each goal.

Q: What do you think the police role really is?

Q: 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.

Q: The growing popularity of less-than-lethal weapons (LTLW) by police officers in the United States virtually ensures their increased use in the law enforcement community.

Q: Most of what happens in the U.S. criminal justice system happens without the use of discretion by the police.

Q: The entire criminal justice system is based on the concept of discretion.

Q: An officer's discretion varies depending on the type of situation he or she encounters.

Q: Police are free or have the ability to ignore crimes or to exercise discretion regarding them, even when the crime is serious.

Q: The police officer is generally the first decision maker in the U.S. criminal justice system and is often the most important.

Q: Police generally have much less discretion than other officials in the criminal justice system.

Q: The primary goal or objective of the police should be to arrest all offenders.