POST Community Policing Principles 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A community policing officer is working with a neighborhood that has historically had negative experiences with police. What communication strategy is MOST effective?
- Explain departmental policies to justify past actions
- Use active listening, acknowledge past harms, and focus on current community needs (Correct answer)
- Avoid discussing history and focus only on current enforcement goals
- Assign a senior officer to speak on behalf of the department
Correct answer: Use active listening, acknowledge past harms, and focus on current community needs
Acknowledging past harms and practicing active listening are essential first steps in rebuilding trust with historically marginalized communities.
Question 2: Which of the following BEST defines 'hot spots policing' and how it can align with community policing?
- Arresting the same repeat offenders regardless of location
- Concentrating resources on high-crime micro-locations while engaging residents to address root causes (Correct answer)
- Deploying officers only during peak crime hours with no community engagement
- Using thermal imaging to detect criminal activity in buildings
Correct answer: Concentrating resources on high-crime micro-locations while engaging residents to address root causes
Hot spots policing identifies crime-concentrated areas, and when combined with community engagement, it addresses both symptoms and root causes.
Question 3: A community policing officer discovers that a spike in auto thefts correlates with unlocked vehicles in a specific lot. Under SARA, the officer's BEST response is to:
- Conduct surveillance of the lot and arrest the next thief
- Notify the lot owner, post crime prevention tips, and target the lot with increased patrols and community outreach (Correct answer)
- Write a report and wait for the problem to resolve itself
- Transfer enforcement responsibility to the traffic division
Correct answer: Notify the lot owner, post crime prevention tips, and target the lot with increased patrols and community outreach
The Response phase of SARA involves implementing multi-faceted solutions, including environmental changes and community education.
Question 4: The term 'guardian mindset' in modern policing refers to officers who:
- Guard agency property and equipment as a primary function
- View themselves as protectors of constitutional rights and community wellbeing, not just crime fighters (Correct answer)
- Guard departmental secrets from public scrutiny
- Stand guard at fixed posts rather than patrolling
Correct answer: View themselves as protectors of constitutional rights and community wellbeing, not just crime fighters
The guardian mindset positions officers as protectors of rights and community health, contrasted with a purely warrior-based enforcement mentality.
Question 5: Which of the following practices would UNDERMINE community policing efforts?
- Officers attending community events in plain clothes
- Sharing crime data with community stakeholders
- Applying enforcement selectively based on race or neighborhood demographics (Correct answer)
- Collaborating with schools on youth outreach programs
Correct answer: Applying enforcement selectively based on race or neighborhood demographics
Biased or selective enforcement destroys the trust and legitimacy that community policing depends on.
Question 6: What is the PRIMARY purpose of a community policing 'foot beat' assignment?
- To punish officers by removing them from vehicle patrols
- To maximize officer visibility and foster face-to-face relationships with residents and business owners (Correct answer)
- To reduce department vehicle maintenance costs
- To respond faster to calls for service than vehicle patrols can
Correct answer: To maximize officer visibility and foster face-to-face relationships with residents and business owners
Foot beats prioritize relationship-building and informal contacts that deepen officer knowledge of and trust within a community.
Question 7: In community policing, 'environmental design' strategies (CPTED) are used to:
- Landscape public parks for aesthetic purposes only
- Design or modify physical spaces to reduce opportunities for crime and increase natural surveillance (Correct answer)
- Build police substations in high-crime areas
- Install surveillance cameras operated by law enforcement
Correct answer: Design or modify physical spaces to reduce opportunities for crime and increase natural surveillance
Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) uses lighting, sight lines, and space management to naturally deter criminal activity.
POST Community Policing Principles 5
A community policing officer is working with a neighborhood that has historically had negative experiences with police.
What communication strategy is MOST effective?