OPOTA Final Exam (SPOs) Study Guide
Questions And Answers Verified 100% Correct
Bias-based profiling and criminal profiling - ANSWER -•Bias-based profiling,
racial profiling, and illegal profiling have the same meaning and are used
interchangeably
•Bias-based profiling is unequal treatment by a law enforcement officer of any
person by stopping, questioning, searching, detaining or arresting him/her on the
basis of the person's ethnic or racial characteristics, gender, religion, or sexual
orientation
•Criminal profiling - based on observed behaviors and characteristics
•Bias-based profiling - the factors of race/ethnicity and bias towards that race are
initiating factors for law enforcement intervention
Two types of bias - ANSWER -Explicit bias and implicit bias - common
characteristics
•Everyone possesses them
•They have real-world effects on behavior
•They can relate, for example, to race, religion, gender, sexuality, disability, height,
weight, or age
Explicit bias - conscious preference (positive or negative) for a social category
Implicit bias - preference (positive or negative) for a social category based on
stereotypes or attitudes that we hold and tend to develop early in life and that
operate outside of our awareness
•Implicit biases are related to explicit biases, but they are still distinct concepts
‒While the two types of biases may reinforce each other, implicit biases can be
dissociated from explicit biases - our implicit biases do not necessarily align with
our explicit beliefs
‒Implicit biases are largely hidden from us, but their effects are pervasive and
powerful, and understanding implicit biases is important because they have the
potential to impact our interactions and efforts to effectively use procedural justice
tactics to promote police legitimacy
Two modes of thinking - ANSWER -1. Automatic (system 1)
,‒Characteristics
•Unconscious
•Effortless
•Automatic
•Uses associative memory
•Very fast
•Practical purpose - simplifies tasks (e.g., driving, tying shoes) which most adults
can do without having to systematically and deliberatively think about each step2.
More deliberative (system 2)
‒Characteristics
•Conscious
•Effortful
•Controlled
•Deliberative
•Slower
•Protection mechanism - we evaluate everything we see and everyone we meet
within 200 milliseconds to determine if something is threatening or not
Strategies to counter implicit biases - ANSWER -•Guarding against its influence
in decision making
‒Recognize that everyone has biases and think critically about your own potential
biases
‒Seek greater awareness and more education to increase motivation to be fair
‒Know when you are susceptible
•Conditions
‒Ambiguous or incomplete information
‒Time constraints
‒Compromised cognitive control
•High cognitive load (i.e., processing many thoughts at one time)
•Fatigue (i.e., tired)
•Result - when the previous factors are present, which they often are in the law
enforcement profession, we are more apt to switch to System 1 thinking
•Response - engage deliberative processing; slow down your thinking
•Overcoming biases
,‒Recognizing your stereotypes and reflecting on why the response occurred creates
a process to consider how to avoid the biased response and replace it with an
unbiased one
‒Counter-stereotypic imaging - develop new associations by looking at positive
examples that challenge negative associations
‒Obtain specific information about others by intentionally engaging in a
meaningful way with others who are different from you, rather than relying on
stereotypical references
‒Be empathetic
•Effort required
‒"Intention, attention, and time" are needed to build new associations well enough
for them to compete with a person's implicit biases
Two- pronged approach to procedural justice - ANSWER -•Person-based
approach - emphasizes the importance of face-to-face interactions between an
officer and a citizen
•Community-based model - ultimate goal is to achieve police legitimacy
throughout entire society
The community bank account concept as it relates to procedural justice -
ANSWER -•Every encounter is either a deposit or withdrawal (i.e., an opportunity
to increase or decrease the public's perception of police legitimacy)
‒Deposits - police must build up reserves of public trust through actions that reflect
courtesy, kindness, and honesty
‒Withdrawals - occur from the community bank account when police actions
reflect overreaction, discourteousness, or disrespectful behavior, or when police
ignore people or betray their trust
‒If a large reserve of trust is not sustained by continual deposits, the community-
police relationship will deteriorate
•Significant decrease in public approval of the police after major publicized
incidents of misconduct
•Studies show that even simple, brief encounters can be used to build police
legitimacy when ...
‒Processes are explained, and
‒Words are used that communicate respect
, •For a person holding negative attitudes toward police, a single positive encounter
may not be sufficient to shake preexisting views, but a sustained exposure to
positive interactions can start to reshape them
The four core principles/ pillars of procedural justice - ANSWER -- giving other a
voice
- neutrality in decision making
- respectful treatment
- trustworthiness
Generally accepted ethical responsibilities of peace officers - ANSWER -•Are
found in professional codes of ethics and professional codes of conduct
•Are owed to
‒Your community and its citizens
‒The law enforcement profession
‒Your agency
‒Your family
‒Yourself
•Includes acting with integrity and treating everyone professionally
External influences on behavior - ANSWER -•Relationships with friends and
family
•Local citizens
•Local media
•Department regulations
•Interdepartmental politics
•Police subculture
•Officer's own ethical and moral beliefs and values
•Anger
•Greed
•Lust
•Internal rationalizations made prior to or after misconduct
Continuum of compromise - ANSWER -Transformation from idealistic, ethical
officer to a self-serving, unethical officer is typically a subtle process
Questions And Answers Verified 100% Correct
Bias-based profiling and criminal profiling - ANSWER -•Bias-based profiling,
racial profiling, and illegal profiling have the same meaning and are used
interchangeably
•Bias-based profiling is unequal treatment by a law enforcement officer of any
person by stopping, questioning, searching, detaining or arresting him/her on the
basis of the person's ethnic or racial characteristics, gender, religion, or sexual
orientation
•Criminal profiling - based on observed behaviors and characteristics
•Bias-based profiling - the factors of race/ethnicity and bias towards that race are
initiating factors for law enforcement intervention
Two types of bias - ANSWER -Explicit bias and implicit bias - common
characteristics
•Everyone possesses them
•They have real-world effects on behavior
•They can relate, for example, to race, religion, gender, sexuality, disability, height,
weight, or age
Explicit bias - conscious preference (positive or negative) for a social category
Implicit bias - preference (positive or negative) for a social category based on
stereotypes or attitudes that we hold and tend to develop early in life and that
operate outside of our awareness
•Implicit biases are related to explicit biases, but they are still distinct concepts
‒While the two types of biases may reinforce each other, implicit biases can be
dissociated from explicit biases - our implicit biases do not necessarily align with
our explicit beliefs
‒Implicit biases are largely hidden from us, but their effects are pervasive and
powerful, and understanding implicit biases is important because they have the
potential to impact our interactions and efforts to effectively use procedural justice
tactics to promote police legitimacy
Two modes of thinking - ANSWER -1. Automatic (system 1)
,‒Characteristics
•Unconscious
•Effortless
•Automatic
•Uses associative memory
•Very fast
•Practical purpose - simplifies tasks (e.g., driving, tying shoes) which most adults
can do without having to systematically and deliberatively think about each step2.
More deliberative (system 2)
‒Characteristics
•Conscious
•Effortful
•Controlled
•Deliberative
•Slower
•Protection mechanism - we evaluate everything we see and everyone we meet
within 200 milliseconds to determine if something is threatening or not
Strategies to counter implicit biases - ANSWER -•Guarding against its influence
in decision making
‒Recognize that everyone has biases and think critically about your own potential
biases
‒Seek greater awareness and more education to increase motivation to be fair
‒Know when you are susceptible
•Conditions
‒Ambiguous or incomplete information
‒Time constraints
‒Compromised cognitive control
•High cognitive load (i.e., processing many thoughts at one time)
•Fatigue (i.e., tired)
•Result - when the previous factors are present, which they often are in the law
enforcement profession, we are more apt to switch to System 1 thinking
•Response - engage deliberative processing; slow down your thinking
•Overcoming biases
,‒Recognizing your stereotypes and reflecting on why the response occurred creates
a process to consider how to avoid the biased response and replace it with an
unbiased one
‒Counter-stereotypic imaging - develop new associations by looking at positive
examples that challenge negative associations
‒Obtain specific information about others by intentionally engaging in a
meaningful way with others who are different from you, rather than relying on
stereotypical references
‒Be empathetic
•Effort required
‒"Intention, attention, and time" are needed to build new associations well enough
for them to compete with a person's implicit biases
Two- pronged approach to procedural justice - ANSWER -•Person-based
approach - emphasizes the importance of face-to-face interactions between an
officer and a citizen
•Community-based model - ultimate goal is to achieve police legitimacy
throughout entire society
The community bank account concept as it relates to procedural justice -
ANSWER -•Every encounter is either a deposit or withdrawal (i.e., an opportunity
to increase or decrease the public's perception of police legitimacy)
‒Deposits - police must build up reserves of public trust through actions that reflect
courtesy, kindness, and honesty
‒Withdrawals - occur from the community bank account when police actions
reflect overreaction, discourteousness, or disrespectful behavior, or when police
ignore people or betray their trust
‒If a large reserve of trust is not sustained by continual deposits, the community-
police relationship will deteriorate
•Significant decrease in public approval of the police after major publicized
incidents of misconduct
•Studies show that even simple, brief encounters can be used to build police
legitimacy when ...
‒Processes are explained, and
‒Words are used that communicate respect
, •For a person holding negative attitudes toward police, a single positive encounter
may not be sufficient to shake preexisting views, but a sustained exposure to
positive interactions can start to reshape them
The four core principles/ pillars of procedural justice - ANSWER -- giving other a
voice
- neutrality in decision making
- respectful treatment
- trustworthiness
Generally accepted ethical responsibilities of peace officers - ANSWER -•Are
found in professional codes of ethics and professional codes of conduct
•Are owed to
‒Your community and its citizens
‒The law enforcement profession
‒Your agency
‒Your family
‒Yourself
•Includes acting with integrity and treating everyone professionally
External influences on behavior - ANSWER -•Relationships with friends and
family
•Local citizens
•Local media
•Department regulations
•Interdepartmental politics
•Police subculture
•Officer's own ethical and moral beliefs and values
•Anger
•Greed
•Lust
•Internal rationalizations made prior to or after misconduct
Continuum of compromise - ANSWER -Transformation from idealistic, ethical
officer to a self-serving, unethical officer is typically a subtle process
