Deck 10: Judgment Calls

Question 1

When police officers are making arrest/no arrest decisions, they are performing their __________ duties

A) law enforcement
B) order maintenance
C) service
D) none of the above

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Sometimes laws are vague and therefore difficult to understand.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Who said "[w]hen I serve alcohol, they call it bootlegging. When they serve it on Lakeshore Drive, they call it hospitality?"

A) Mae West
B) Hugh Hefner
C) George McKerrow
D) Al Capone

Answer 3

D

Question 4

When police are operating in the service mode, they are generally using

A) a Kantian ethical formalism frame of reference
B) a utilitarian frame of reference
C) a Nicomachean frame of reference
D) no particular frame of reference

Question 5

Laws can be

A) multiple
B) conflicting
C) vague
D) all of the above

Question 6

The most cogent truism about police work is that it is all about common sense.

Question 7

When the police make arrest/no arrest decisions, they use a guilt beyond a reasonable doubt standard.

Question 8

People who apply rules or laws need not read between the lines to ascertain the intent of those rules or laws.

Question 9

When justice (fairness) conflicts with beneficence, the former becomes paramount.

Question 10

In order to arrest someone there must be

A) probable cause to believe they committed a crime
B) specific evidence of a crime
C) the elements of a crime
D) all of the above

Question 11

When police decide to take away freedom by making an arrest, they are generally applying

A) Kantian ethical formalism rules
B) utilitarian rules
C) Nicomachean rules
D) home court rules

Question 12

When maintaining order, and not dealing with law enforcement-oriented decisions, police officers spend their time calculating

A) how much physical abuse they can get away with
B) what is best for their own personal interest
C) what is best for the state and all of the people
D) police don't calculate, they just act

Question 13

When police are operating in the order maintenance mode, they are generally using

A) a Kantian ethical formalism frame of reference
B) a utilitarian frame of reference
C) a Nicomachean frame of reference
D) no particular frame of reference

Question 14

The "harm principle" was developed by John Locke.

Question 15

The drug war might be an exception to the "harm principle."

Question 16

One kind of judgment call occurs when

A) benevolence conflicts with beneficence
B) benevolence conflicts with virtue
C) virtue conflicts with beneficence
D) beneficence conflicts with justice

Question 17

For the police officer out on the street, academic learning is essential in every situation, all the time.

Question 18

Edmund Burke was a classical liberal.

Question 19

Multiple roles for police officers include

A) law enforcement
B) order maintenance
C) service
D) all of the above

Question 20

There are occasions where different laws conflict with each other.

Question 21

Discuss victimless crimes. What are examples and what are the elements they all have in common? With an eye toward Part III's discussion of particular types of police misconduct, consider why victimless crimes almost invariably produce police corruption.

Question 22

The "harm principle"

A) easily applies to drug use
B) is irrelevant to drug use
C) creates problems for police when applied to drug use
D) none of the above

Question 23

Discuss the difference between an ethical question and an ethical dilemma. First, consider examples from life in general. Then discuss examples from police work.

Question 24

Victimless crime

A) involves no direct harm to others
B) involves direct harm to others
C) is opposed by all Americans
D) includes crimes of violence

Question 25

Police ought to be a part of life's scenery except in

A) cases of violence
B) felony crimes
C) cases that involve direct harm to others
D) all of the above

Question 26

Who coined the "harm principle"?

A) John Locke
B) Edmund Locke
C) Edmund Burke
D) John Stuart Mill

Question 27

Which classical theorist said that individuals should be left alone to live their own lives without interference from the state or government?

A) John Locke
B) Edmund Locke
C) Edmund Burke
D) Edmund Fitzgerald

Question 28

Using Joycelyn Pollock's analytical steps to clarifying ethical dilemmas, police should

A) review all the facts
B) identify relevant potential values of the parties
C) identify the most immediate moral or ethical issue
D) all of the above

Question 29

Which classical theorist said that people cannot be trusted with their own decisions?

A) John Locke
B) Edmund Locke
C) Edmund Burke
D) Edmund Fitzgerald

Question 30

What are the elements of the police officer's "craft"? How would you describe the multiple sorts of types of practical skills involved in being a good, competent officer?

Question 31

Police may apply a "sliding scale" to

A) crimes of violence
B) gambling, prostitution, and alcohol-related crimes
C) UCR index crimes
D) capital offenses

Question 32

When justice (fairness) conflicts with beneficence

A) justice is paramount
B) they should be treated equally
C) beneficence is paramount
D) neither is important

Question 33

When faced with conflicting courses of action that have good, solid, ethical duties attached, police officers should

A) make sure the facts are clear
B) make sure assumptions, prejudices, and predictions are left out of decision making
C) be clear what the relevant interests are, what ethical duties present themselves to all parties, and what constitute the most immediate ethical duties
D) all of the above

Question 34

Characteristics of victimless crime include

A) consenting participants
B) ongoing demand
C) risk of official corruption
D) all of the above

Question 35

When officers make justice decisions, they should

A) consider race and color
B) consider creed
C) consider class
D) none of the above

Question 36

Which statement most closely fits John Stuart Mill's thoughts about people's personal lives and government power?

A) usually, people know better than bureaucrats
B) on those occasions when the government knows better what is good for the people, it is still usually best to leave decisions to individuals
C) we should always remain reluctant to create more government
D) all of the above

Question 37

So much time and effort has been spent since 1969 in the pursuit of the war on drugs that it is a very, very touchy subject in the police world. The overwhelming majority of police officers and administrators are committed "drug warriors." They accept America's drug laws and participate in the war willingly. On the other hand, not only are there a substantial number of citizens who are in favor of legalizing drugs, but a steadily increasing number of police officers, a "substantial minority," are as well. In the midst of this controversy, the American police officer must soldier on.
Write an essay about victimless crimes, focusing in particular upon drug laws. Discuss the classic elements of victimless crimes, which of course include huge profits, an ongoing demand, and official corruption. Discuss how this corruption is created by the fact that (1) so much money is involved and, at the same time, (2) often there are no specifically "victimized" citizens present at times of potential arrests. (In fact, drug dealers and police officers are usually the only people present, and the dealers want the police to take some payoff money and "just go away.") Include a discussion of these realities in your essay and include the debate about how legalizing drugs might lessen police corruption of authority. Finally, take your own stand on the issues involved. Where are you with regard to, say, the legalization of drugs-marijuana (in particular)?

Question 38

People show their character when they

A) leave
B) are faced with ethical questions
C) speak without thinking
D) argue

Question 39

Discuss the idea that the two parts of our ethic to live by, beneficence and justice, can conflict. First consider examples from civilian life where they conflict. Then discuss police examples. In each case discuss why beneficence must be the controlling principle.

Question 40

When applying the "harm principle" police ask themselves

A) will anyone be harmed if I act?
B) will anyone be harmed if I don't act?
C) will anyone be harmed if I think about acting?
D) will anyone be harmed by the actions of another?