Law Enforcement Ch 4 5 Study Guide Ch 4 Review Questions 1 What do the terms weeding out and screening in mean Weed out The funneling principle illustrates the practice of weeding out unacceptable applicants Means investigators approach each application looking for grounds to disqualify that person from further consideration profile of what a good police officer should look like Implies that the agency is looking for people who match a Screen in 2 What is the Civil Rights Act and how does it affect employment criteria The 1964 Civil Rights Act and its 1972 Title VII Amendment are federal directives that monitor unfair labor employment practices The Act specifically prohibits employers from refusing to hire someone because of that person s race color religion sex or national origin In addition an employer cannot limit segregate or classify his employees or applicants solely because of race color religion sex or national origin 3 What does the term bona fide occupational qualification mean Despite this protection gender specific hiring practices can continue on one basis That is the employer must show that a particular hiring practice is needed to operate the business in a safe and efficient manner This exception is known as a bona fide occupational qualification or more simply a BFOQ 4 What is meant by prima facie discrimination Griggs v Duke Power Company introduced the notion of prima facie discrimination Prima facie discrimination exists when an employment prerequisite disproportionately excludes a protected group from being hired More important the burden of proof now shifts from the plaintiff to the employer who must demonstrate a viable connection b w the entrance and actual job performance 5 What are the four ingredients necessary for a prima facie discrimination case First the person filing the complaint must be a minority member or a female in order to establish that he or she belongs to a protected class Second the person filing the complaint must meet the minimum entrance requirements for the position Third the employer must have rejected the applicant even though the person satisfied the entrance requirements Finally the employer must have continued to interview other candidates after making the decision to hire the individual who is bringing the complaint 6 Outline the stages of the typical police selection process and what takes place at each point The Application The prospective employee initiates the 1st step by submitting an employment application The Written Psychological Exam Use psychological testing to reassure that the people they hire are psychologically sound The Background Investigation Many departments look for a history of good work habits This means no unacceptable job terminations few unscheduled absences being on time and having a good rapport with other workers The person should have no criminal arrests and present good references from upstanding community members Polygraph Testing Lie detector examination The instrument is used to capture elusive info such as drug use and other problematic behavior The polygraph measures deviations in heart rate blood pressure respiration and galvanic skin respiration during the interview The Psychological Interview Questions here cover such things as why the person wants to become a law enforcement officer what hobbies interest the candidate and what the person does to relieve stress The Oral Board Interview Face to Face encounter b w the applicant and board members Interviewers ask applicants a series of questions that invariably produce contradictory responses The Eligibility List Once the process is completed agency personnel will review the candidate scores and compile a list of prospective police recruits The Medical Check Purpose is to ensue that the applicant meets minimum health standards 7 What are minimum standards Regulations or least standards one has to have to become to be a police officer 8 Describe the authoritarian personality The authoritarian personality describes an individual who carries a narrow and unbending outlook about what is morally right and wrong An authoritarian is very rigid and dogmatic in his or her thinking Such a person holds political attitudes that border on the conservative has prejudicial attitudes towards minority group members and is quite domineering and cynical 9 What implications does the authoritarian personality carry for law enforcement These traits do not describe the model or ideal law enforcement officer Interestingly studies show that police officers tend to be more authoritarian and dogmatic than most civilians 10 What are the three explanations for why police officers tend to be authoritarians First some writers claim that self selection is operative That is only authoritarians apply to become police officers A second view is that law enforcement agencies only hire people with authoritarian outlooks In other words departments are comfortable hiring persons who resemble current employees A final prospective maintains that the police occupation extracts such hefty personality adjustments that even the most reticent recruit cannot help but become transformed into an authoritarian personality 11 What is the pathology of power The sudden transformation of normal college students into sadistic and power hungry ogres 12 Why have police agencies not compiled yet with recommendations to upgrade educational standards for incoming personnel A college education does not automatically diminish prejudicial attitudes towards minorities Criminal justice curricula often isolate police officers from the rest of the college community This gulf nullifies any beneficial effects that might be gained from exposure to a liberl arts philosophy Another possibility is that in order to be effective and efficient police officers recruits must learn to adapt and become more authoritarian Blame goes to organizational operations Many officers are hired for a 30 year stint so ne recruits are not very likely 13 Explain whether black people are under represented or over represented in law enforcement What is the basis for your comparison National census materials showed that black officers represented less than 1 of all police officers in 1930 and 1940 The President s Commission on Civil Disorders 1968 found that the percentage of black officers in most local agencies did not mirror the racial composition of the surrounding community Thus the conclusion was that minority members were at a
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