Chapter 3: Police Ethics: Use of Force, Investigations, Interrogations, and Lying

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. Despite threats to their personal safety, police are never permitted to use ______.

a. deadly force

b. excessive force

c. force likely to cause great bodily harm

d. verbal threats

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Police Use of Force
Difficulty Level: Medium

2. In 2008, a study conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Statistics found that _____% of people who had contact with police in 2008 had force used or threatened against them during their most recent contact.

a. 1

b. 2

c. 3

d. 4

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Police Use of Force
Difficulty Level: Easy

3. According to a 2016 report on the redesign of the Department of Justice Arrest-Related Deaths Program, the monthly average of arrest-related deaths from June 2015 through March 2016 is ______.

a. 50

b. 135

c. 275

d. 950

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Police Use of Force: Arrest-Related Deaths
Difficulty Level: Easy

4. According to Amnesty International in June 2015 ______.

a. all of the U.S. states meet international standards for police use of force requiring legislation to state that lethal force may be used as a last resort.

b. half of the U.S. states meet international standards for police use of force requiring legislation to state that lethal force may be used as a last resort.

c. one-third of the U.S. states meet international standards for police use of force requiring legislation to state that lethal force may be used as a last resort.

d. none of the U.S. states meet international standards for police use of force requiring legislation to state that lethal force may be used as a last resort.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Police Use of Force: Arrest-Related Deaths
Difficulty Level: Medium

5. Generally, we accept that lethal force is morally acceptable in self-defense or to protect another from a threat to their life. According to Miller, in what circumstances is police use of lethal force morally justified?

a. to keep public order in case of riots, looting, or community violence

b. to uphold the law

c. when there a breakdown of public order

d. all of these

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge | Application | Analysis

Answer Location: Police Use of Force: Arrest-Related Deaths
Difficulty Level: Medium

6. On average, how many police officers are murdered each year in the United States?

a. 70

b. 73

c. 85

d. 102

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Deaths in Police Custody
Difficulty Level: Medium

7. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics in March 2015 the capture of only ______% of estimated law enforcement homicides occurred during 2003 to 2009 and 2011.

a. 20

b. 40

c. 50

d. 66

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Deaths in Police Custody
Difficulty Level: Medium

8. Black Lives Matter is a movement that was formed in 2015. It was a direct outcome of ______.

a. protests against white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia

b. Media attention and public concern about police use of lethal force and deaths of minorities in police custody

c. President Obama’s Task Force

d. police wearing body cameras

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Political Action on Police Use of Force, 2015
Difficulty Level: Easy

9. By 2016, what percentage of major U.S. cities reported either already using police body-worn cameras or were planning to introduce them?

a. >25

b. >55

c. >75

d. >95

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Political Action on Police Use of Force, 2015
Difficulty Level: Medium

10. A USA Today poll conducted in August 2014 reported that ______% of Americans feel police do a “poor” or “only a fair job” in using appropriate force.

a. 46

b. 55

c. 61

d. 72

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Rise of the Citizen Journalist and Police Use of Force
Difficulty Level: Medium

11. According to Skolnick and Fyfe (1993), when the mere presence of police produces the desired outcome and use of force becomes irrelevant, this is known as ______.

a. presence

b. persuasive verbalization

c. command verbalization

d. firm grips

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Continuum of Force
Difficulty Level: Medium

12. According to the typical linear continuum of force policy, ______ refers to when police grip parts of the body to warn the individual that they are to remain motionless or move in a certain direction.

a. presence

b. persuasive verbalization

c. command verbalization

d. firm grips

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Continuum of Force
Difficulty Level: Medium

13. According to Skolnick and Fyfe (1993), actions designed to overcome resistance that is forcible but not life threatening are known as ______.

a. pain compliance

b. impact techniques

c. deadly force

d. command verbalization

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Continuum of Force
Difficulty Level: Medium

14. According to the typical linear continuum of force policy, when police speak in persuasive tones that are firm, but not commanding, this is known as ______.

a. pain compliance

b. impact techniques

c. deadly force

d. persuasive verbalization

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Continuum of Force
Difficulty Level: Medium

15. According to Miller (2015), studies have revealed that deadly force action is more likely to occur in which of the following circumstances?

a. stake-outs and drug busts

b. domestic violence and other disturbance calls

c. traffic offenses

d. personal disputes and/or accidents

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: When to Use Force
Difficulty Level: Medium

16. According to Paoline and Terrell (2011), officers were found to view verbal and passive resistance as ______.

a. different

b. non-existent

c. similar

d. the most important factor

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Police Perspectives on Use of Force
Difficulty Level: Medium

17. Some studies have found that suspects brandishing weapons were ______ likely to be subjected to police force but others reported mixed results.

a. not as

b. somewhat

c. least

d. more

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge | Comprehension

Answer Location: Police and Citizen Interactions
Difficulty Level: Medium

18. In a study on the use of force in the Miami-Dade Police Department, researchers reported that almost all cases (97%) concerned ______.

a. officers striking the suspect

b. acts of resistance by the suspect

c. deadly force

d. the use of dogs, batons, or other weapons

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Police and Citizen Interactions
Difficulty Level: Medium

19. In the case of ______, the recent evidence suggests their number has no influence but there are conflicting studies that found the opposite to be the case.

a. police arrests

b. officer involved shootings

c. bystanders

d. all of these

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Police and Citizen Interactions
Difficulty Level: Medium

20. According to Klahm and Tillyer (2010), some evidence suggests that ______ has been found to be unrelated to propensity to use force by one study, but not in another.

a. police training

b. officer age

c. years of experience

d. level of education

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Police and Citizen Interactions
Difficulty Level: Medium

21. In a study by Dai et al. (2011), they found that only police ______ and their reception of citizen voices were significant factors in reducing citizen disrespect and non-compliance.

a. age

b. demeanor

c. level of education

d. years of experience

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Police–Citizen Interactions and Procedural Justice
Difficulty Level: Medium

22. The Supreme Court has declared that the use of deadly force is permitted only when an officer is confronted with ______.

a. a suspect that poses a threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer(s), or others

b. a suspect that advances toward an officer in a threatening manner

c. a fleeing felon who tries to escape

d. a suspect who is suspected of being armed

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: U.S. Supreme Court Decisions on Use of Force
Difficulty Level: Medium

23. In which U.S. Supreme Court case did the Court determine the “reasonableness” standard must be used in judging excessive, but non-deadly force?

a. Tennessee v. Garner

b. Graham v. O’Connor

c. Scott v. Harris

d. Canton v. Harris

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: U.S. Supreme Court Decisions on Use of Force
Difficulty Level: Medium

24. In which U.S. Supreme Court case did the Court validate the use of deadly force during a high speed vehicle pursuit where the suspect endangered the lives of police and innocent third parties?

a. Tennessee v. Garner

b. Graham v. O’Connor

c. Scott v. Harris

d. Canton v. Harris

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: U.S. Supreme Court Decisions on Use of Force
Difficulty Level: Medium

25. According to Clemons (2014), when police speak of their ______ about people who may be suspicious they may be influenced by subconscious associations between race and criminality.

a. gut reactions

b. views

c. bias

d. attitudes

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Policing and Implicit Racial Bias
Difficulty Level: Medium

26. A study by Lawson (2015) of a simplified shooter video game found there was ______ difference in shooter bias between black and white participants.

a. some

b. little

c. major

d. no

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Policing and Implicit Racial Bias
Difficulty Level: Medium

27. Which theoretical approach to the cause of police use of excessive force regards police culture as a determining factor because police are seen as isolated from citizens?

a. psychological

b. sociological

c. organizational

d. geographical

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Explaining Excessive Force
Difficulty Level: Medium

28. Which theoretical approach to the cause of police use of excessive force applies the ‘rotten apple’ theory argument?

a. psychological

b. sociological

c. organizational

d. geographical

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Explaining Excessive Force
Difficulty Level: Medium

29. Officers who are unlikely to learn from their mistakes or change their style of policing and tend to be the subject of a disproportionate number of citizen complaints are known as ______.

a. mistaken apples

b. dysfunctional apples

c. borderline apples

d. rotten apples

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The “Rotten Apple” Explanation
Difficulty Level: Medium

30. The tightening of a suspect’s handcuffs to punish an arrested person is unethical due to which of the following factors identified by Kleinig (1996) in assessing use of force in ethical terms?

a. proportionality

b. minimization

c. seemliness

d. intention

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Assessing the Level of Force
Difficulty Level: Medium

31. According to Kleinig (1996), shooting a person suspected of committing a misdemeanor violates ______.

a. seemliness

b. proportionality

c. minimization

d. practicability

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Assessing the Level of Force
Difficulty Level: Medium

32. According to Kleinig (1996), when police methods shock the conscience or offend even hardened sensibilities, they are not abiding by ______.

a. seemliness

b. proportionality

c. minimization

d. practicability

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Assessing the Level of Force
Difficulty Level: Medium

33. The taser was originally developed during the mid-______.

a. 1930s

b. 1940s

c. 1960s

d1970s

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Police Use of Force: Tasers
Difficulty Level: Easy

34. Which court case held that an officer uses excessive force when they deploy a taser against a person when their crime is minor and they are not actively resisting, attempting to flee, or posing any imminent danger?)

a. Bryan v. McPherson

b. City of Oakland v. Barrows

c. Brown v. City of Golden Valley

d. Casey v. City of Fed. Heights

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Police Use of Force: Tasers
Difficulty Level: Medium

35. Which court case held that tasers constitute an “intermediate, significant level of force that must be justified by a strong government interest that compels the employment of such force”?

a. Bryan v. McPherson

b. City of Oakland v. Barrows

c. Brown v. City of Golden Valley

d. Casey v. City of Fed. Heights

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Police Use of Force: Tasers
Difficulty Level: Medium

36. When analyzing the Dirty Harry situation, which of the following is not one of the four conditions faced by a police officer?

a. The officer has opportunity to achieve morally good end or outcome and intends to do so.

b. The means used to achieve good end are not normally considered morally wrong.

c. The use of means is perceived by the officer to be the best or only practicable means of ensuring the good end is met.

d. The good likely to be achieved by using dirty hands far outweighs the bad consequences of using dirty means.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Excessive Use of Force: Dirty Harry/Dirty Hands and Jack Bauer in 24
Difficulty Level: Medium

37. During the 1970s and 80s what emerged to explain the increasing number of persons with mental illness entering the justice system?

a. Emancipation hypothesis

b. Masculinity hypothesis

c. Mental hypothesis

d. Criminalization hypothesis

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Policing, Mental Illness, and Crisis Intervention Teams (CITs)
Difficulty Level: Medium

38. What is a constitutional and moral right a person possesses in relation to others, particularly with regard to information possessed by others or in relation to the observation of others?

a. rights

b. privileges

c. privacy

d. legal ethics

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Privacy
Difficulty Level: Easy

39. In which Supreme Court case did the Court propose an objective test that focused on the nature of the police conduct, as opposed to the predisposition of the offender?

a. Sharon v. United States

b. Taylor v. United States

c. Sybil v. United States

d. Sherman v. United States

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Entrapment
Difficulty Level: Medium

40. When dealing with targeted entrapment by the police, which of the following conditions is considered to be the most morally problematic?

a. There is sufficient evidence to believe target is likely to commit a crime.

b. The person would have committed the crime or a similar crime whether he or she was a victim of the entrapment or not.

c. The entrapment succeeds as a technique of detection where other methods, such as complaints investigation, have failed.

d. All are equally morally problematic.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge | Comprehension | Application

Answer Location: Entrapment
Difficulty Level: Medium

41. Individuals who supply information about other people covertly to the authorities are known as ______.

a. witnesses

b. victims

c. informants

d. undercover officers

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Informants
Difficulty Level: Medium

42. Police interrogation practices involve some serious moral and etghical issues. What are the key issues?

a. The imbalance of power and control between the interrogator and the suspect, resulting in the suspects loss of autonomy.

b. Violation of the rights of a suspect who is innocent and abuses of any suspect’s privacy rights.

c. The possibiliyu that physical coercion could be used.

d. any or all of these

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge | Comprehension

Answer Location: Interrogatory Deception
Difficulty Level: Medium

43. Which U.S. Supreme Court case governs interrogations of suspects in the custody of police?

a. U.S. v. Sherman

b. Miranda v. Arizona

c. Terry v. Ohio

d. McCulloch v. Maryland

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Interrogatory Deception
Difficulty Level: Medium

44. Studies have revealed that for jurors ______ evidence is a potent indicator of guilt, possibly exceeding eyewitness evidence.

a. hard

b. polygraph

c. confession

d. scientific

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Confessions
Difficulty Level: Medium

45. According to Meijer and Verschuere, what is the value of using the polygraph for the monitoring of sex offenders?

a. collecting accurate information about exactly what illegal act offenders have performed

b. intimidating offenders into revealing important information

c. detecting offenders’ lies and deception

d. collecting false confessions

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge | Comprehension | Application

Answer Location: Confessions
Difficulty Level: Medium

46. Which of Barker and Carter’s (1995) typographies of police lying deals with the lie being made to pursue a legitimate organizational goal?

a. accepted lying

b. justified lying

c. tolerated lying

d. deviant lying

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Accepted Lying
Difficulty Level: Medium

47. Which of Barker and Carter’s (1995) typographies of police lying involves lying when it is necessary to the policing mission?

a. accepted lying

b. justified lying

c. tolerated lying

d. deviant lying

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Tolerated Lying
Difficulty Level: Medium

48. Which popular manual on confession-eliciting techniques details a nine-step process that includes directing the interrogator to first minimize the moral seriousness of the alleged crime that was committed?

a. The Hartwig Manual

b. The Kassin Manual

c. Criminal Investigations and Confessions

d. The CSI Manual

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Confessions
Difficulty Level: Medium

49. Reid (1962) suggests that a trained investigator can achieve ______% accuracy in differentiating truthful and untruthful statements.

a. 65

b. 75

c. 85

d. 95

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Tolerated Lying
Difficulty Level: Medium

50. Which of Barker and Carter’s (1995) typographies of police lying involve police using lies that violate regulations as well as the law?

a. accepted lying

b. justified lying

c. tolerated lying

d. deviant lying

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Tolerated Lying
Difficulty Level: Medium

51. Which act passed by England and Wales in 1984 requires all police interrogations to be recorded?

a. Police and Criminal Evidence Act

b. Electronic Recording Act

c. Electronic Eavesdropping Act

d. Police Interrogation and Criminal Evidence Act

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Electronic Recording of Interrogations
Difficulty Level: Easy

52. Which of the following consequences of lying according to Kleinig (1996) may occur through the liar becoming more evasive for fear of being found out?

a. others are harmed

b. social trust is destroyed

c. The liar is harmed.

d. none of these

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Electronic Recording of Interrogations
Difficulty Level: Medium

53. Which of the following consequences of lying according to Kleinig (1996) argues that a person who is lied to and discovers the lie suffers the consequence of the cynicism?

a. others are harmed

b. social trust is destroyed

c. The liar is harmed.

d. all of these

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Electronic Recording of Interrogations
Difficulty Level: Medium

54. Which type of police lying is considered the most harmful, as it violates the law and police regulations?

a. accepted lying

b. justified lying

c. tolerated lying

d. deviant lying

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Deviant Lying
Difficulty Level: Easy

True/False

1. Although entrapment may be unethical, that is never a defense available to suspects.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge | Application

Answer Location: Entrapment
Difficulty Level: Medium

2. The use of deception by police in investigation and interrogation is both unethical and illegal.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Entrapment
Difficulty Level: Medium

3. The “Dirty Harry” problem or dilemma involves using unethical or illegal means to obtain desirable ends.)

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Excessive Use of Force: Dirty Harry Hands and Jack Bauer in 24
Difficulty Level: Medium

4. The police are not the only authority empowered to use physical force.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Police Use of Force
Difficulty Level: Medium

5. The Taser was originally developed during the mid-1970s.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Police Use of Force: Tasers
Difficulty Level: Medium

6. Dirty means are not limited to actual torture.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Excessive Use of Force: Dirty Harry/Dirty Hands and Jack Bauer in 24
Difficulty Level: Medium

7. Officers are concerned with mentally ill persons because of their perceived unpredictability.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Do police commonly use force against those perceived to be mentally ill?
Difficulty Level: Medium

8. The right to privacy is absolute.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Privacy
Difficulty Level: Medium

9. Deception by police is not acceptable at any stage.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge | Comprehension

Answer Location: Deception
Difficulty Level: Medium

10. Studies reveal that confession evidence is the most potent indicator of guilt for jurors.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Confessions
Difficulty Level: Medium

Short Answer

1. U.S. rates of police shooting and killing compared to a rate of about ______ per year in Canada.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Police Use of Force: Arrest-Related Deaths
Difficulty Level: Medium

2. What are the steps of Skolnick and Fyfe’s (1993) linear continuum of force policy?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Continuum of Force
Difficulty Level: Medium

3. Which level of Skolnick and Fyfe’s (1993) linear continuum of force policy involves actions that are designed to overcome resistance that is forcible but is not life threatening?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Continuum of Force
Difficulty Level: Medium

4. List two of the requirements of Miami-Dade Police Department that officers must follow if force is used in an interaction with the public.

See page for list

An injury results or may result from a struggle.

There is a complaint of an injury.

A chemical agent is discharged.

A baton is used.

The neck restraint is utilized.

There is an injury or complaint of an injury that results from guiding, holding, directing, or handcuffing a person who offers resistance (Alpert and Dunham 2004: 21). John Kleinig observes that the overtightening of handcuffs is an exemplar of excessive force. He suggests that this is aggravated by U.S. practice that gives officers no discretion in the handcuffing of persons. Whatever their age, everyone arrest is handcuffed (Kleinig 2014: 88).

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Police Perspectives on Use of Force
Difficulty Level: Medium

5. In 2016, The Police Executive Resesrch Forum issued their report “Guiding Prinicples of Use of Force” that recommended what?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Police Perspectives on Use of Force
Difficulty Level: Medium

6. In which court case did the Supreme Court note that there is no precise definition of reasonableness, but gave four factors that are relevant?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: U.S. Supreme Court Decisions on Use of Force
Difficulty Level: Medium

7. Identify and briefly describe two of the five factors Kleinig (1996) considers relevant to assessing the use of force in ethical terms.

Seemliness: Police methods must be socially acceptable, or seemly, not shocking. They shouldn’t offend or shock citizens’ consciousness.

Proportionality: the level of force should be in proportion to the suriusness of the crime alleged or threatened.

Minimization: Use the least means needed to secure police aims.

Practicability: Show that the use of force will achieve its purpose.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge | Comprehension

Answer Location: Assessing the Level of Force
Difficulty Level: Medium

8. In which country did a crime survey find that 18.5% of those reporting believe that retired police and military personnel most frequently commit crimes?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Excessive Force: Other Countries
Difficulty Level: Medium

9. What is one of the most common forms of Taser?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Police Use of Force: Tasers
Difficulty Level: Medium

10. What name was given to the use of force that is conducted based on an attempt to achieve a morally good end or outcome?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Excessive Use of Force: Dirty Harry/Dirty Hands and Jack Bauer in 24
Difficulty Level: Medium

11. What right is not absolute and needs the balance to be achieved between it and confidentiality and rights to protection from crime

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge | Comprehension

Answer Location: Privacy
Difficulty Level: Medium

Essay

1. In what circumstances is it appropriate and permitted for an officer to use force?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: When to Use Force
Difficulty Level: Hard

2. Discuss the impact of the Supreme Court case of Tennessee v. Garner (1985) on the issue of the use of force.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: U.S. Supreme Court Decisions on Use of Force
Difficulty Level: Medium

3. Identify and briefly describe the five factors Kleinig (1996) considers relevant to assessing the use of force in ethical terms.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Assessing the Level of Force
Difficulty Level: Medium

4. What are the perception police officers have regarding the mentally ill that they encounter?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Police Perception of Mentally Ill Persons
Difficulty Level: Medium

5. Describe each of the types of deception used by law enforcement. Of these, which do you see as most problematic for suspects/defendants? Why?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Deception
Difficulty Level: Medium