OPOTA Exam 2023/ 420 Questions with
100% correct answers.
Explain the relationship between a SPO and a test question - -A test question must
respond directly to an SPO and every SPO may be the basis of a test question
-Explain the ultimate reason for law enforcement training - -To be able to protect the
life and property of yourself and the public
-List a peace officer's main goals - -- Enforce the laws
- Preserve the peace,
- Prevent crime
- Protect civil rights and liberties
- Provide services
-Explain items to consider when exercising discretion - -- Use sound judgment to
determine which laws are to be formally enforced
- Determine if there is a more constructive remedy without arrest or citation
-Explain the factors necessary for the commission of crime - -Desire - the motivation
behind criminal behavior
Victim - potential target, unaware of surroundings
Opportunity - crime prevention strategies
-State the core concepts of community policing - --partnership between community and
police
-crime prevention
-organizational change of agency
-problem solving approach to police role is proactive
-Considerations for off duty situations - -Behavior - social media, uphold ethics
Situational Awareness- be alert, pre plan, off duty weapon policy, be a good witness
-State the purpose of Bill of Rights - -protect a individual's freedoms
-prevent government from interfering in protected rights
-Describe the major components of the criminal justice system - -Law Enforcement
Courts - hold fair & impartial trials, guilt or innocence, Impose sentences
Corrections - supervise offender
-Goals of Sentencing - --protect society
-punish offender/rehabilitate
-restore the victim
-Recognize the tenets of the Below 100 - --wear your seatbelt
-wear your vest
-WIN what's important now
-watch your speed
,-complacency kills
-Lawful - -defined by laws and standards
-Criminal Law - -identifies what actions are prohibited
-Rules of Agency - -Administrative rules, general orders
-Constitutional Law - -amendments
-Police Legitimacy - -exists when the public view the police as authorized to exercise
power in order to maintain social order, manage conflicts, and solve problems in
community
-Judgement 1/3
public trust and confidence in police as being honest, trying to do jobs well, and
protecting community - -Result
individuals are more likely to become actively involved in police community
partnerships
-Judgment #2
public willingness to defer the law and police authority - -Result
Correlation between those who obey and those who view police as legitimate, cooperate
by reporting crimes and providing information
-Judgement #3
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 - --one party consents
-as long as it does not interfere with officers carrying out their duties
-Race - -modern concept used to classify people by similar, observable physical
characteristics
-Genetically influenced traits - -Skin color, hair, eye shape, blood type, intelligence
-connection between in / out groups, and police legitimacy - -some people interpret
their encounters with police in terms of their group's societal position rather than
immediate circumstances of the police contact
-Types of Racism - -individual, interpersonal, institutional, structural
-Individual Racism - -internalized, unexpressed biases and prejudices based on race
-Interpersonal Racism - -occurs between individuals, public expressions of racial
prejudice and hate
-institutional racism - -discriminatory policies and treatment by institutions
, -Structural Racism - -Collective way of history, culture, power inequality, unequal
access to opportunities
-Components of bias - -stereotypes, prejudice, attitude
-Stereotypes - -generalizations about the perceived typical characteristics of a social
category
-Prejudice - -a often negative prejudgment based on characteristics such as race, age
-Attitude - -positive or negative feelings associated with individuals or groups
-Bias-based profiling - --Racial/illegal profiling
-unequal treatment by officers by stopping, questioning, searching, detaining on basis of
their ethnicity
-Criminal profiling - -Based on observed behaviors and characteristics
-Two types of Bias - -explicit and implicit
-Explicit Bias - -conscious preference for a social category
-Implicit bias - -preference for a social category based on stereotypes that we hold and
tend to develop in early life
-Two modes of thinking - -automatic (system 1)
deliberative (system 2)
-System 1 thinking - -automatic, effortless, unconscious, very fast
-System 2 thinking - -Conscious, controlled, effortful, slower
-practical purpose - -simplifies tasks which most adults do without having to
systematically think about each step
-protection mechanism - -we evaluate everything we see to determine if threatening or
not
-strategies to counter implicit biases - --Guarding against influence in decision making
-awareness
-know when you're susceptible ( in complete info, cognitive load, fatigue)
-slow down thinking
-empathetic
-effort (intention, attention, time)
-Two-pronged Approach to Procedural Justice - -person based approach
community based model
, -person based approach - -emphasizes the importance of face to face interactions
between officer and a citizen
-Community based model - -ultimate goal is to achieve police legitimacy through entire
society
-community bank account concept as it relates to procedural justice - -every encounter
is either a deposit or withdrawal (increase or decrease public perception of police)
-four core principles of procedural justice - -giving others a voice, neutrality in decision
making, respectful treatment, trustworthiness
-explain the generally accepted ethical responsibilities of officers - --owed to your
community, citizens, profession, agency, family, yourself
-treat everyone professionally
-never allow cynicism, excessive force, perjury and accept gratuities
-External Influences on behavior - -relationships with family and friends, citizens,
media, regulations, politics, subculture
-Internal influences on behavior - -officer's own ethical and moral beliefs, anger, greed,
lust
-Denial of victim - -argue that violated party deserves to be victimized
-Denial of responsibility - -acted improperly because no other options
-Denial of injury - -argue that action did not hurt anyone so no ethical misconduct
-Social Weighting - -makes comparisons to justify unethical misconduct
-moral justification - -argues that it's necessary to break rules for the greater good
-Continuum of Compromise - --being exposed on a regular basis to "special authority"
and at the same time being exposed on a daily basis to that element of society that
operates without values, combines to severely challenge an officer's core values system
- can lead to a sense of entitlement where officers believe they are owed professional
courtesy and that the rules don't apply to them
-acts of omission - -officer rationalize and justify not doing things they are responsible
-Acts of commission - -administrative violations
-acts of commission - --criminal
-theft
-Rationalization - -nobody is being hurt, except for bad guys who deserve it anyway
-Steps in Decsion Making Model - -#1- Define problem
100% correct answers.
Explain the relationship between a SPO and a test question - -A test question must
respond directly to an SPO and every SPO may be the basis of a test question
-Explain the ultimate reason for law enforcement training - -To be able to protect the
life and property of yourself and the public
-List a peace officer's main goals - -- Enforce the laws
- Preserve the peace,
- Prevent crime
- Protect civil rights and liberties
- Provide services
-Explain items to consider when exercising discretion - -- Use sound judgment to
determine which laws are to be formally enforced
- Determine if there is a more constructive remedy without arrest or citation
-Explain the factors necessary for the commission of crime - -Desire - the motivation
behind criminal behavior
Victim - potential target, unaware of surroundings
Opportunity - crime prevention strategies
-State the core concepts of community policing - --partnership between community and
police
-crime prevention
-organizational change of agency
-problem solving approach to police role is proactive
-Considerations for off duty situations - -Behavior - social media, uphold ethics
Situational Awareness- be alert, pre plan, off duty weapon policy, be a good witness
-State the purpose of Bill of Rights - -protect a individual's freedoms
-prevent government from interfering in protected rights
-Describe the major components of the criminal justice system - -Law Enforcement
Courts - hold fair & impartial trials, guilt or innocence, Impose sentences
Corrections - supervise offender
-Goals of Sentencing - --protect society
-punish offender/rehabilitate
-restore the victim
-Recognize the tenets of the Below 100 - --wear your seatbelt
-wear your vest
-WIN what's important now
-watch your speed
,-complacency kills
-Lawful - -defined by laws and standards
-Criminal Law - -identifies what actions are prohibited
-Rules of Agency - -Administrative rules, general orders
-Constitutional Law - -amendments
-Police Legitimacy - -exists when the public view the police as authorized to exercise
power in order to maintain social order, manage conflicts, and solve problems in
community
-Judgement 1/3
public trust and confidence in police as being honest, trying to do jobs well, and
protecting community - -Result
individuals are more likely to become actively involved in police community
partnerships
-Judgment #2
public willingness to defer the law and police authority - -Result
Correlation between those who obey and those who view police as legitimate, cooperate
by reporting crimes and providing information
-Judgement #3
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 - --one party consents
-as long as it does not interfere with officers carrying out their duties
-Race - -modern concept used to classify people by similar, observable physical
characteristics
-Genetically influenced traits - -Skin color, hair, eye shape, blood type, intelligence
-connection between in / out groups, and police legitimacy - -some people interpret
their encounters with police in terms of their group's societal position rather than
immediate circumstances of the police contact
-Types of Racism - -individual, interpersonal, institutional, structural
-Individual Racism - -internalized, unexpressed biases and prejudices based on race
-Interpersonal Racism - -occurs between individuals, public expressions of racial
prejudice and hate
-institutional racism - -discriminatory policies and treatment by institutions
, -Structural Racism - -Collective way of history, culture, power inequality, unequal
access to opportunities
-Components of bias - -stereotypes, prejudice, attitude
-Stereotypes - -generalizations about the perceived typical characteristics of a social
category
-Prejudice - -a often negative prejudgment based on characteristics such as race, age
-Attitude - -positive or negative feelings associated with individuals or groups
-Bias-based profiling - --Racial/illegal profiling
-unequal treatment by officers by stopping, questioning, searching, detaining on basis of
their ethnicity
-Criminal profiling - -Based on observed behaviors and characteristics
-Two types of Bias - -explicit and implicit
-Explicit Bias - -conscious preference for a social category
-Implicit bias - -preference for a social category based on stereotypes that we hold and
tend to develop in early life
-Two modes of thinking - -automatic (system 1)
deliberative (system 2)
-System 1 thinking - -automatic, effortless, unconscious, very fast
-System 2 thinking - -Conscious, controlled, effortful, slower
-practical purpose - -simplifies tasks which most adults do without having to
systematically think about each step
-protection mechanism - -we evaluate everything we see to determine if threatening or
not
-strategies to counter implicit biases - --Guarding against influence in decision making
-awareness
-know when you're susceptible ( in complete info, cognitive load, fatigue)
-slow down thinking
-empathetic
-effort (intention, attention, time)
-Two-pronged Approach to Procedural Justice - -person based approach
community based model
, -person based approach - -emphasizes the importance of face to face interactions
between officer and a citizen
-Community based model - -ultimate goal is to achieve police legitimacy through entire
society
-community bank account concept as it relates to procedural justice - -every encounter
is either a deposit or withdrawal (increase or decrease public perception of police)
-four core principles of procedural justice - -giving others a voice, neutrality in decision
making, respectful treatment, trustworthiness
-explain the generally accepted ethical responsibilities of officers - --owed to your
community, citizens, profession, agency, family, yourself
-treat everyone professionally
-never allow cynicism, excessive force, perjury and accept gratuities
-External Influences on behavior - -relationships with family and friends, citizens,
media, regulations, politics, subculture
-Internal influences on behavior - -officer's own ethical and moral beliefs, anger, greed,
lust
-Denial of victim - -argue that violated party deserves to be victimized
-Denial of responsibility - -acted improperly because no other options
-Denial of injury - -argue that action did not hurt anyone so no ethical misconduct
-Social Weighting - -makes comparisons to justify unethical misconduct
-moral justification - -argues that it's necessary to break rules for the greater good
-Continuum of Compromise - --being exposed on a regular basis to "special authority"
and at the same time being exposed on a daily basis to that element of society that
operates without values, combines to severely challenge an officer's core values system
- can lead to a sense of entitlement where officers believe they are owed professional
courtesy and that the rules don't apply to them
-acts of omission - -officer rationalize and justify not doing things they are responsible
-Acts of commission - -administrative violations
-acts of commission - --criminal
-theft
-Rationalization - -nobody is being hurt, except for bad guys who deserve it anyway
-Steps in Decsion Making Model - -#1- Define problem
