SOC 3640 Exam #2 Study Guide

What characteristics does the public associate with a diverse police force?

fairness, appropriateness, compassion

What are the top reasons for recruits to join the force / or to stay on the force?

- Join: help others, Job benefits, Job security

- Staying on force: Job security, Job benefits, Early retirement, Opportunities for job advancement, help people in the community

What does "permanence" of officer selection mean in terms of being fired?

Difficult to dismiss or terminate an officer's employment:

Due to civil service protections once officer is hired and successfully completes mandatory probationary period

What do we know about Equal Employment Opportunity laws and bona fide occupational qualifications?

- Equal employment opportunity (EEO): Provision for employment regardless of employees' characteristics.

- Employers make decisions based on bona fide occupational qualifications (BFOQs) - picking a candidate over other because of qualifications.

How has the average percentage of women police officers changed since the 1970s?

Increased by 9%, nine times

What are the minimum qualifications for being a police officer? How do felony or misdemeanor convictions impact an applicant?

1) at least 21 years old., 2) possess a valid driver's license, 3) High school diploma or associate degree in some states, 4) U.S. citizenship/ legal authorization to work in the U.S., 5) not have any felony convictions (misdemeanor conviction not a disqualifier as long as it is not related to domestic violence) 6) Should have proportional height/weight.

What do we know about Affirmative Action Policy - the gist of legal requirements to implement AAPs and quotas?

Some agencies are legally required to implement AAPs: This is based on substantiated allegations of discriminatory employment practices. Goals and timetables must be provided, by consent decree

Based on the lecture, why do police officers engage in patrol?

- deter/prevent crime

- enhance the feeling of public safety

- make police available for service

What is call priority and how are police resources/attention allocated?

- Call Priority: Response and resources are given to critical calls, and service calls are categorized into priorities.

- In small cities this might be the entire city; in larger cities officers might be assigned to a particular area (beats, squad areas, sectors, or reporting areas)

- larger cities may have command areas (precincts, districts, or divisions)

What are the odds of on-scene arrest if the involvement crime is reported while still in progress? What are the odds of on-scene arrest for involvement crimes reported after 5 minutes? What is the average involvement crime reporting time nationwide?

37% odds while still in progress, much smaller after 5 minutes (7%), 4-5 minutes

What do we know about KCHSPE reasons for success?

Hot-spot focused, offense-specific, increased activity rather than visibility, geographically focused as well

What is a "crackdown" and what is its major critique?

Crackdown: The allocation of additional police resources to the enforcement of laws with the intent of deterring illegal conduct; temporary because they are expensive to operate.

What are the outcomes of the foot patrol in terms of fear of crime, etc.?

Foot patrol reduces fear of crime without tangible crime reductions: Other studies have also found foot patrol to have crime reduction effects.

What are the advantages of the offender-focused strategies? What do they depend on in order to identify serious repeat offenders?

- Dependent on criminal intelligence.

- High-rate offenders targeted by the police are more likely to be arrested.

- Less likely to intrude on law abiders.

- Little concern for displacement effects.

What is a "criminal investigation" and what are its goals?

- Criminal investigation is the process of collecting crime-related information

- Goal: - to solve the crime:: figure out if it happened, who did it, and resolve it

What is a "reactive investigation"?

crime occurs, police respond (most investigations)

What do we know about undercover investigations - their impact on crime short term/long term, reasons for controversy, establishing offender's predisposition?

- covert investigations; Action initiated by police before crime actually occurs.

- Can be controversial: entrapment

- Offender's predisposition: several buys

- U.I. may increase crime in the short term (long term deterrence effect is inconclusive).

What do we know about DNA and secondary transfer of DNA specifically?

80% of secondary DNA present, 20% of random/primary DNA

How widely is witness identification used and how reliable is it?

- One of the least reliable types of evidence.

Yet it is more commonly used than DNA.

- Protocols to increase reliability.

Based on the "Snitching" reading, what does the Innocence Project report (p. 23)? Can one be convicted of a crime based on testimony from a paid confidential informant?

- 15% of all wrongful convictions overturned by DNA statements from people with incentives to testify were critical evidence to convict a person

- Yes, they can be convicted

- There is no oversight

What suspect characteristics influence police decision making?

The demeanor of the suspect is important.

Officers are more likely to comply with citizen requests if shown respect.

Race is linked to the odds of arrest net of offense severity, demeanor, weapon, etc.

What are the possible strategies to combat implicit bias?

- High-stress training scenarios that helps uncover decisions that may be related to bias

- Interaction with diverse individuals and the community that they'll serve

- Hire diverse officers

Do victim characteristics impact police decision making and what are they?

- Cooperativeness impacts police decisions in certain situations or types of crimes.

- Police take action regardless of victims' wishes if the crime is serious.

- Victim credibility is likely linked with investigative decision making.

What are the major offense characteristics that impact arrest/decision making?

- Seriousness of crime is a major factor in officers' decisions.

- Amount of evidence associated with offense affects decisions.

Do official departmental policies/procedures impact decision making? Examples?

- Policies identify how a department expects its officers to act in certain situations.

- Limitations of policies.

- Policy changes affect officers' behaviors.

- Policies must be supported by training.

- Supervision and enforcement are key

What are the major standards of proof, what kind of police contact do they allow, and how do they compare in degree of certainty? Can they be quantified?

- Reasonable suspicion: suspicion based on specific facts or circumstances that crime is afoot - SQF.

- Probable cause: reason based on known facts to think that it is likely that a law has been broken - arrest/search.

- Beyond a reasonable doubt: highest degree of certainty, lack of meaningful doubt - conviction.

- Preponderance of the evidence: Degree of certainty needed to prove and win a civil claim

- Yes, they can be quantified.

What is an arrest/when you are in custody/is handcuffing equal to an arrest?

- when police take a person into custody for the purpose of prosecution / interrogation. Person is in custody of the police.

- Handcuffing does not mean you are under arrest. Handcuffing + probable cause = arrest + custody

- A person may be in custody of the police even if that person is not under arrest

What does the Fourth Amendment protect you from - and when?

- The Fourth Amendment does not allow illegally seized evidence to be presented in court; The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures

- Does not apply in special-needs searches: no probable cause or warrant (inventory searches, border searches, airport searches, etc.)

- Privacy doctrine (contemporary): Searches are restricted whenever persons have a reasonable expectation of privacy (warrant is needed).

What are the four major exceptions to the requirement to obtain a search warrant?

- Searches incident to arrest (Warrantless search of an individual being arrested is allowed.)

- Consent searches (Consent for search may be provided)

- Exigent circumstances searches or emergency searches (Emergency situation may require immediate warrantless action i.e., destruction of evidence, danger to someone's life)

- Vehicle searches other places and things

Can DNA be collected warrantlessly (from an arrested person? non-arrested person?) and if so - what is the name of the Supreme Court case that allowed it?

- Warrantless DNA cheek swab during arrest and booking is ok (in OH even for some misdemeanors).

- Warrant or consent is required to collect DNA from an un-arrested person (unless done indirectly).

- Maryland v. King (2013) (Other Places and Things Exception)

What is the exclusionary rule? What are its major exceptions?

- Exclusionary rule: Evidence from the unreasonable search/seizure must be excluded from trial.

- Good Faith (The police make an unintentional error in conducting the search),

- Inevitable Discovery (The police would have found the evidence without the illegal search)

- Purged-Taint Exception (The voluntary actions of the suspect nullify the illegal actions of the police),

-Independent Source Exception (The evidence is obtained independent of the illegal police action)

- The rule impacts .4% to 1.4% of cases

What are the 2 elements necessitating a Miranda warning?

Suspects in custody must be informed clearly before interrogation of their rights.

Can a suspect's silence be used against them? When not?

It depends on the meaning, context, and form of silence. In Griffin v. California (1965), the Court ruled a prosecutor cannot comment to the jury that the defendant not testifying constitutes evidence (of guilt). Similarly, the police cannot comment to the jury that the defendant invoked her or his Miranda rights to remain silent. However, if the defendant simply remains silent without invoking his or her right to remain silent, the police can testify about the defendant's silence (Salinas v. Texas, 2013).

Based on the "Informant Law" reading (p. 3-4), who can become an informant, what benefits can police give to them, and what can be asked of informants?

Anyone can become an informant. Some are offered money or leniency for past crimes. A suspect can become an informant in exchange for lower sentences or deals with the police. The government can ask anything of an informant, including risking their lives.