OPOTA Final Exam (SPOs) ACTUAL
Questions And CORRECT Answers
The relationship between a student performance objective and a test question - CORRECT
ANSWER✔✔- A test question must respond directly to an SPO and every SPO may be the
basis of a test question
The ultimate reason for law enforcement training - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- To be able to
protect life and property of yourself and the public
A peace officer's main goals - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 1. Enforce laws
2. Preserve the peace
3. Prevent crimes
4. Protect civil rights and liberties
5. Provide services
Considerations when exercising discretion - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- •Use sound
judgment to determine which laws are to be formally enforced
•Determine if there is a more constructive remedy to a situation without an arrest or citation
(e.g., referring a homeless person to a shelter rather than a trespassing arrest)
Factors necessary for the commission of a crime (crime triangle) - CORRECT
ANSWER✔✔- 1. Desire
•The motivation behind criminal behavior (e.g., financial gain, power, revenge, fear, narcotics
usage)
•This factor is the most difficult to change
2. Victim
•The potential target
•Criminals prefer an easy target that is unaware of his/her surroundings or lacking proper
security precautions
•Difficult to change this factor due to individual personalities
3. Opportunity
,•Removing opportunity for crime with proper security measures applied to the victim's
environment (e.g., locking doors/windows, removing valuables from open view, good
lighting)
•Most effective area to concentrate crime prevention strategies
Core concepts of community policing - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- - a partnership between
the police and the community
- crime prevention
- organizational change of the agency
- a problem- solving approach to the police role that is proactive
Considerations for off duty situations - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 1. Behavior
•An officer's behavior is often scrutinized by the community even when not on duty
•Not only does this refer to physical and verbal actions, but also online activity on social
media
•An officer is expected to uphold the law enforcement code of ethics
2. Situational awareness
•An officer should make every effort to remain alert even when not working
•You never know when you may need to transition quickly from a private citizen to a peace
officer
•Make certain to preplan with your family should a situation arise while together. Create a
number of scenarios for your family to practice
•Familiarize yourself with your agency's off duty weapon policy
Be a good witness if a situation arises when police intervention is necessary
•If the situation involves a reasonable belief of serious physical harm, provide a response as
soon as practical
•However, if the situation is less serious, the best course of action is to observe the incident
until uniformed officers respond
•If you become involved, make contact withdispatch as soon as possible to provide
information about the incident and information about yourself (e.g., clothing you are wearing,
car you are driving, description of offenders and victims, pertinent officer safety information)
,State the purpose of the bill of rights - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- - protect an individual's
freedoms
- prevent the government from interfering in protected rights
Describe the major components of the criminal justice system - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔-
1. Law enforcement
2. Courts
3. Corrections
List the goals of sentencing - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 1. punish the offender and in many
cases, rehabilitate the offender
2. Protect society
3. Restore the victim as much as possible
The concepts of lawful actions and police legitimacy - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- 1. Lawful
- defined by laws and standards
•Criminal law - identifies what actions are prohibited
•Rules of agency (e.g., administrative rules, general orders, standard operating procedures)
•Constitutional law (e.g., Fourth, Fifth, Sixth Amendments)
•Officers can act lawfully and within the parameters of agency policy and the citizenry still
not perceive there to be police legitimacy - there can be lawful, but awful interactions
2. Police legitimacy - exists when the public views the police as authorized to exercise power
in order to maintain social order, manage conflicts, and solve problems in the community
Three resulting judgments of police legitimacy in action that translate into positive results -
CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Judgment
- Public trust and confidence in the police as being honest, trying to do jobs well, trying to
protect the community
Result - Individuals are more likely to become actively involved in police-community
partnerships
Judgment - Public willingness to defer to the law and police authority
, Result - There is a correlation between those who obey the laws and those who view the
police as legitimate; in addition, those who see the police as legitimate have an increased
willingness to cooperate by reporting crimes and providing valuable information about
known and suspected offenders
Judgment - Public belief that police actions are morally justified and appropriate
Result - Citizens are more likely to cooperate and defer in moments of crisis
Circumstances when filming police officers is permissible - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- •At
least one party to the encounter consents or
•When officers are carrying out their duties in public, so long as it does not interfere with the
officers carrying out their duties
The relationship between race, genetics, and physical characteristics - CORRECT
ANSWER✔✔- •Race is a modern concept used to classify people by similar, observable
physical characteristics
•It is not, as many people think, based on genetics
•Despite surface appearances, humans are one of the most genetically similar of all species
and ...
•Within the human species, there is no distinct genetic profile that completely distinguishes
one so-called race from another
•This is because most genetically influenced traits, like skin color, hair, eye shape, blood
type, athleticism, and intelligence, are inherited completely independent of one another
The connection between in-groups, out-groups and police legitimacy - CORRECT
ANSWER✔✔- •Some individuals interpret their encounters with police in terms of their
group's societal position rather than, or in addition to, the immediate circumstances of the
police contact
Types of racism - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Individual racism - Internalized, unexpressed
biases and prejudices based on race
Interpersonal racism - Occurs between individuals. Includes public expressions of racial
prejudice and hate made by individuals
