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DSST Criminal Justice study materials
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DSST Criminal Justice practice questions

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Question 1Criminal behavior

Cesare Lombroso's theory of the 'born criminal' is best described as an example of which approach to explaining criminal behavior?

  1. Biological positivism Correct answer.
  2. Classical deterrence theory
  3. Routine activity theory
  4. Labeling theory

Explanation

Lombroso argued that criminals could be identified by inherited physical stigmata, an atavistic throwback. This is the hallmark of biological positivism, which locates the cause of crime inside the individual's constitution rather than in free choice or social reaction.

Question 2Criminal behavior

According to Cesare Beccaria and the classical school, what primarily determines whether a person commits a crime?

  1. Unconscious conflicts formed in early childhood
  2. The strength of the person's social bonds to conventional society
  3. The rational calculation of pleasure versus pain Correct answer.
  4. Inherited genetic defects

Explanation

Classical criminology rests on the assumption that people are free-willed, rational actors who choose crime when the expected pleasure outweighs the expected pain. Beccaria therefore urged proportionate, certain, and swift punishment to tip that calculation toward conformity.

Question 3Criminal behavior

Travis Hirschi's social bond theory holds that delinquency is least likely when a youth has which combination of characteristics?

  1. Strong ties to delinquent peers and weak ties to parents
  2. Low attachment but high involvement in conventional activities
  3. High attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief Correct answer.
  4. High commitment to future goals but weak belief in the law

Explanation

Hirschi identified four elements of the social bond: attachment to others, commitment to conventional goals, involvement in conventional activities, and belief in the moral validity of norms. Strong bonds on all four dimensions restrain delinquency; weakness in any element frees the person to deviate.

Question 4Criminal behavior

A researcher finds that a neighborhood's crime rate rises after a factory closes and many residents lose stable employment. Which theoretical tradition most directly addresses this finding?

  1. Trait theory
  2. Strain or anomie theory Correct answer.
  3. Demonological theory
  4. Rational choice theory

Explanation

Strain and anomie theories, from Durkheim through Merton and later Agnew, link blocked access to legitimate means such as steady work to pressure toward deviance. The factory closure is a structural change in opportunity, which is precisely the kind of variable strain theory highlights.

Question 5Criminal behavior

Which theorist is most closely associated with the concept of 'differential association'?

  1. Walter Miller
  2. Edwin Sutherland Correct answer.
  3. Travis Hirschi
  4. Lawrence Cohen

Explanation

Edwin Sutherland introduced differential association, proposing that criminal behavior is learned through interaction with intimate groups that transmit definitions favorable to law violation. Later scholars, including Akers, extended the idea into social learning theory.

Question 6Criminal behavior

In routine activity theory, a crime is most likely to occur when which three elements converge in time and space?

  1. A motivated offender, a suitable target, and the absence of a capable guardian Correct answer.
  2. Poverty, weak bonds, and low IQ
  3. Stigma, labeling, and secondary deviance
  4. Anomie, strain, and blocked opportunity

Explanation

Cohen and Felson's routine activity theory explains crime events through the convergence of a motivated offender, a suitable target, and the absence of a capable guardian. The theory is about opportunity structures in everyday life rather than about the offender's underlying motivation.

Question 7Criminal behavior

Which of the following is an example of a status offense in the juvenile justice context?

  1. Robbery at knifepoint
  2. Aggravated assault
  3. Burglary of a dwelling
  4. Chronic truancy from school Correct answer.

Explanation

A status offense is conduct that is unlawful only because the actor is a minor, such as truancy, running away, or curfew violations. Burglary, robbery, and assault are delinquent acts that would also be crimes if committed by an adult.

Question 8Criminal behavior

The terms 'mala in se' and 'mala prohibita' describe what distinction in criminal behavior?

  1. Crimes by adults versus crimes by juveniles
  2. Felonies versus misdemeanors by statutory penalty
  3. Violent crimes versus property crimes
  4. Acts inherently wrong versus acts wrong only because prohibited by law Correct answer.

Explanation

Mala in se offenses are considered inherently immoral or harmful, such as murder, while mala prohibita offenses are wrong only because a legislature has declared them so, such as licensing violations. The distinction turns on the source of the wrongfulness rather than on the penalty or the offender's age.

Question 9Criminal behavior

A person who commits a purse snatching and later, after being publicly labeled a thief, begins associating with thieves and escalating to armed robbery is best explained by which concept?

  1. Deterrence
  2. Biological atavism
  3. Primary and secondary deviance Correct answer.
  4. Routine activity

Explanation

Lemert distinguished primary deviance, the initial act, from secondary deviance, which arises when society's labeling and the person's resulting identity change produce further offending. The escalation after public labeling fits that sequence.

Question 10Criminal behavior

Merton's anomie theory identifies 'innovation' as a mode of adaptation. Which pattern describes innovation?

  1. Rejecting both cultural goals and legitimate means
  2. Accepting cultural goals and using legitimate means
  3. Rejecting cultural goals while retaining legitimate means
  4. Accepting cultural goals while using illegitimate means Correct answer.

Explanation

In Merton's typology, innovation occurs when people embrace culturally approved goals such as financial success but lack legitimate access to them, so they adopt illegitimate means. This is the adaptation most associated with utilitarian property crime.

Question 11Criminal behavior

Which statement best captures the core claim of Akers's social learning theory of crime?

  1. Criminal behavior is caused by unconscious hostility toward a parent
  2. Criminal behavior is learned through imitation, differential association, definitions, and differential reinforcement Correct answer.
  3. Criminal behavior is the product of neighborhood disorganization alone
  4. Criminal behavior results from low self-control formed before age eight

Explanation

Akers extended Sutherland's differential association by adding behavioral learning principles: people learn criminal definitions and behavior through imitation and are influenced by the rewards and punishments they experience. The theory is therefore about learning processes, not about fixed traits or purely structural conditions.

Question 12Criminal behavior

A city installs bright lighting and security cameras in a parking garage and the number of car break-ins drops sharply. Which perspective best explains the reduction?

  1. Differential association
  2. Situational crime prevention through increased guardianship Correct answer.
  3. Labeling theory
  4. Anomie theory

Explanation

Situational crime prevention reduces opportunities by hardening targets and increasing guardianship, exactly what lighting and cameras do. Routine activity theory predicts that a capable guardian reduces the likelihood that a motivated offender will act on a suitable target.

Question 13Criminal behavior

What distinguishes a 'crime' from a 'tort' in criminal justice terms?

  1. A crime requires intent, while a tort requires negligence
  2. A crime always involves physical violence, while a tort never does
  3. A crime is tried by a judge, while a tort is tried by a jury
  4. A crime is prosecuted by the state as a public wrong, while a tort is a private civil wrong redressed by the injured party Correct answer.

Explanation

Crimes are public wrongs prosecuted by the government on behalf of society, and the sanction is punishment such as imprisonment or a fine. Torts are civil wrongs in which the injured party sues for compensation; the same conduct can sometimes be both.

Question 14Criminal behavior

Which of the following best illustrates the concept of 'victim precipitation'?

  1. A bank installs a vault that resists drilling
  2. A police officer patrols a high-crime district
  3. A homeowner leaves a door unlocked and is burglarized
  4. A person provokes a fight and is then assaulted by the person provoked Correct answer.

Explanation

Victim precipitation refers to situations in which the victim's own conduct contributes to the offense, as when a person provokes an attack. It is a concept from victimology that examines the interaction between offender and victim.

Question 15Criminal behavior

The 'dark figure of crime' refers to which phenomenon?

  1. Crimes committed at night
  2. Crimes committed by organized criminal syndicates
  3. Crimes that are cleared by arrest
  4. Crimes that are never reported to or recorded by authorities Correct answer.

Explanation

The dark figure of crime is the gap between offenses that actually occur and those that appear in official statistics. Because many crimes go unreported, arrest and offense data undercount criminal behavior and must be supplemented by victim surveys and self-report studies.

Question 16Criminal behavior

A defendant is charged with a crime and the prosecution must prove the elements beyond a reasonable doubt. Which element generally refers to the prohibited act itself?

  1. Attendant circumstances
  2. Mens rea
  3. Actus reus Correct answer.
  4. Causation

Explanation

Actus reus is the guilty act, the voluntary physical conduct or omission that the statute prohibits. Mens rea is the guilty mental state, and both are typically required for criminal liability.

Question 17Criminal behavior

According to Gottfredson and Hirschi's self-control theory, low self-control is most likely to produce which pattern of behavior?

  1. Spontaneous, risky, and immediately gratifying acts across many life domains Correct answer.
  2. Offending limited to a single developmental stage in adolescence
  3. Crimes committed only in neighborhoods with weak social ties
  4. Carefully planned white-collar offenses over many years

Explanation

Gottfredson and Hirschi argue that low self-control, formed through ineffective parenting before age eight, produces a general propensity toward impulsive, risky, and short-sighted behavior. The theory predicts versatility across offense types rather than specialization, and stability over the life course.

Question 18Criminal behavior

A prosecutor charges a defendant under a statute that criminalizes 'loitering with intent to commit a drug offense.' Which legal principle is most directly implicated by the phrase 'with intent'?

  1. The requirement of mens rea Correct answer.
  2. The right to a speedy trial
  3. The prohibition on double jeopardy
  4. The rule against hearsay

Explanation

'With intent' specifies a required mental state, so the prosecution must prove mens rea in addition to the prohibited conduct. Criminal liability generally requires concurrence of a guilty act and a guilty mind.

Question 19Criminal behavior

Which statement best describes the difference between 'specific deterrence' and 'general deterrence'?

  1. Specific deterrence targets the individual offender, while general deterrence targets the public who might offend Correct answer.
  2. Specific deterrence applies to juveniles, while general deterrence applies to adults
  3. Specific deterrence uses fines, while general deterrence uses imprisonment
  4. Specific deterrence is a civil remedy, while general deterrence is a criminal one

Explanation

Specific deterrence aims to discourage the punished individual from reoffending, while general deterrence aims to discourage others in the population who observe the punishment. Both rest on the classical assumption that people weigh the certainty and severity of sanctions.

Question 20Criminal behavior

The concept of 'social disorganization' in the Chicago School tradition attributes high crime rates in certain neighborhoods primarily to which factor?

  1. The presence of a single dominant criminal gang
  2. The biological traits of residents
  3. The inability of residents to realize common values and solve shared problems Correct answer.
  4. The low intelligence of neighborhood youth

Explanation

Shaw and McKay linked crime to neighborhoods characterized by poverty, residential mobility, and heterogeneity that weakened informal social controls. Social disorganization is the diminished capacity of residents to solve problems and realize common values, not a trait of individuals.

Question 21Criminal behavior

A defendant is charged with murder after the victim dies because the defendant refused to call for medical help after a lawful but accidental injury the defendant caused. Which doctrine is most relevant to whether an omission can support liability?

  1. The corpus delicti rule
  2. Legal duty to act arising from the creation of the peril Correct answer.
  3. The exclusionary rule
  4. The doctrine of transferred intent

Explanation

Criminal liability for an omission requires a legal duty to act, and one recognized source of that duty is when the defendant created the peril. Because the defendant caused the injury, a duty to summon aid may arise, making the omission culpable.

Question 22Criminal behavior

Which scenario best illustrates 'secondary deviance' as Lemert defined it?

  1. A youth caught shoplifting is processed as a delinquent and later adopts a criminal self-identity Correct answer.
  2. A teenager experiments with alcohol at a single party and never repeats it
  3. An offender commits a crime while intoxicated
  4. A person commits fraud because of intense financial pressure

Explanation

Secondary deviance occurs when societal reaction to an initial act produces a change in the person's self-concept and behavior, leading to further deviance. The processing and subsequent identity adoption are the defining features, distinguishing it from the initial primary act.

Question 23Criminal behavior

A state adopts a 'three strikes' law imposing life imprisonment for a third felony. Which theoretical assumption is most directly tested by evaluating whether such laws reduce repeat offending among released offenders?

  1. Biological positivism
  2. Specific deterrence Correct answer.
  3. Labeling theory
  4. Social disorganization

Explanation

Evaluating whether harsh sanctions reduce reoffending among those punished tests specific deterrence, which predicts that the experience of punishment will discourage future crime by that individual. If recidivism does not fall, the specific deterrent effect is called into question, though incapacitation may still reduce crime.

Question 24Criminal behavior

Which statement most accurately distinguishes 'conflict theory' from 'consensus theory' in explaining criminal law?

  1. Conflict theory denies that crime exists, while consensus theory affirms it
  2. Conflict theory applies only to violent crime, while consensus theory applies only to property crime
  3. Conflict theory focuses on individual biology, while consensus theory focuses on individual psychology
  4. Conflict theory sees law as reflecting the interests of dominant groups, while consensus theory sees law as reflecting shared societal values Correct answer.

Explanation

Consensus theory holds that law codifies values broadly shared by society, whereas conflict theory, associated with Marxian and radical traditions, holds that law serves the interests of powerful groups and defines their opponents as criminals. The debate concerns whose interests the criminal law expresses.

Question 25Criminal behavior

A researcher finds that self-report surveys show roughly similar rates of minor delinquency across social classes, while official arrest data show offenses concentrated among lower-income groups. What is the most defensible interpretation?

  1. Self-report surveys are always more reliable than official records for all offenses
  2. Official statistics are entirely fabricated and should be discarded
  3. Lower-income groups commit all serious offenses at higher rates regardless of measurement
  4. The discrepancy may reflect differential enforcement and reporting rather than true differences in behavior Correct answer.

Explanation

The gap between self-report and official data is a classic measurement problem: police surveillance and arrest practices may concentrate on disadvantaged neighborhoods, inflating official rates relative to actual behavior. The defensible conclusion is that measurement artifacts may explain part of the difference, not that either data source is wholly invalid.

Question 26Criminal behavior

Cesare Beccaria's classical school of criminology is best summarized by which claim about offenders?

  1. Offenders are driven mainly by unconscious conflicts formed in early childhood.
  2. Offenders choose crime when the expected pleasure outweighs the expected pain. Correct answer.
  3. Offenders are produced by the unequal distribution of wealth in a society.
  4. Offenders inherit a constitutional predisposition toward impulsive violence.

Explanation

The classical school treats humans as rational actors who weigh costs and benefits before acting. Beccaria argued that punishment should be swift, certain, and proportionate so that the pain of sanction reliably exceeds the pleasure of the offense, which is the intellectual foundation of deterrence.

Question 27Criminal behavior

A criminologist argues that a neighborhood's high robbery rate stems from weak friendship networks, low participation in local organizations, and few adults willing to intervene on the street. This argument belongs to which perspective?

  1. Labeling theory
  2. Routine activity theory
  3. Social disorganization theory Correct answer.
  4. Rational choice theory

Explanation

Social disorganization theory, developed by Shaw and McKay in the Chicago School, links crime to neighborhoods where informal social controls have broken down. Weak networks, low organizational participation, and unwillingness to intervene are exactly the indicators of that breakdown.

Question 28Criminal behavior

Cesare Lombroso's concept of the 'born criminal' is most closely associated with which approach to explaining criminal behavior?

  1. Sociological positivism
  2. Economic determinism
  3. Biological positivism Correct answer.
  4. Differential association

Explanation

Lombroso's theory held that criminals could be identified by inherited physical stigmata, an approach that treats crime as biologically determined and thus exemplifies biological positivism. Positivism in general seeks causes of behavior through observation rather than through assumptions of free choice.

Question 29Criminal behavior

A jurisdiction adopts a policy of guaranteed, immediate, and publicly known sanctions for drunk driving. According to deterrence theory, the feature most likely to produce the greatest reduction in offenses is which?

  1. The length of time between arrest and final appeal
  2. The certainty that a sanction will actually be imposed Correct answer.
  3. The severity of the maximum possible sentence
  4. The amount of media coverage given to celebrity cases

Explanation

Deterrence research consistently finds certainty of punishment more influential than severity, because offenders discount the likelihood of harsh penalties they believe they will avoid. A guaranteed, immediate sanction raises perceived certainty and therefore raises the expected cost of offending.

Question 30Criminal behavior

In Sykes and Matza's techniques of neutralization, a person who says 'I only stole from a large chain that cheats its customers anyway' is using which technique?

  1. Denial of injury
  2. Condemnation of the condemners Correct answer.
  3. Denial of responsibility
  4. Appeal to higher loyalties

Explanation

Condemnation of the condemners shifts attention from the offender's act to the alleged wrongdoing of those who disapprove. By portraying the victim as exploitative, the speaker neutralizes guilt and makes the theft seem a response to the victim's own misconduct.

Question 31Criminal behavior

Travis Hirschi's social bond theory holds that conformity is most likely when a person's bonds to society are strong. Which element of the bond refers to the time and energy invested in conventional activities such as school and work?

  1. Commitment
  2. Attachment
  3. Involvement Correct answer.
  4. Belief

Explanation

Involvement refers to the sheer amount of time consumed by conventional activity, which leaves little opportunity for delinquency. Commitment, by contrast, refers to the stake or investment a person would risk losing, while attachment concerns affection for others and belief concerns endorsement of conventional norms.

Question 32Criminal behavior

A state's criminal code punishes attempted burglary less severely than completed burglary, and punishes conspiracy to commit burglary even less. Which principle of criminal law best explains this graduated scale of punishment?

  1. The legality principle, since offenses must be defined by statute
  2. The culpability principle, since intent alone is never punishable
  3. The harm principle, since punishment tracks the actual injury caused
  4. The proportionality principle, since punishment should fit the gravity of the wrong Correct answer.

Explanation

Proportionality requires that the severity of punishment correspond to the seriousness of the offense, and inchoate crimes are treated as less grave because the intended harm was not completed. The graduated penalties for attempt and conspiracy are a direct application of that ranking.

Question 33Criminal behavior

A city sharply increases the number of police officers on foot patrol in a high-crime district, and recorded robberies rise in the following quarter. Which interpretation is most consistent with criminological research on measurement?

  1. Foot patrol cannot affect robbery at all, so the change must be random noise.
  2. Recorded crime and actual crime always move in opposite directions when policing increases.
  3. The increase in recorded robberies proves the patrol caused more robbery.
  4. The rise may reflect increased reporting and detection rather than more offending, since police presence converts unreported incidents into recorded crimes. Correct answer.

Explanation

Official crime data measure crimes known to police, not all crimes committed, so more officers can raise counts by increasing victim reporting and officer-initiated discovery. This is a classic caution against treating recorded-crime changes as direct measures of offender behavior.

Question 34Criminal behavior

A legislature creates a new offense that criminalizes a specific form of online harassment after a widely publicized case. Which concept best describes the process by which this behavior became defined as a crime?

  1. Adjudication
  2. Decriminalization
  3. Diversion
  4. Criminalization Correct answer.

Explanation

Criminalization is the process by which a legislature designates conduct as criminal and attaches a penalty, often in response to public concern or advocacy. The creation of a new statutory offense is the clearest institutional form of that process.

Question 35Police

Under the Fourth Amendment, a police officer's warrantless search of a suspect's home is generally presumed unreasonable unless it falls within a recognized exception. Which of the following best describes the underlying purpose of this presumption?

  1. To protect individuals from arbitrary governmental intrusion into their reasonable expectation of privacy Correct answer.
  2. To guarantee that every arrest is reviewed by a magistrate before it occurs
  3. To require officers to obtain consent before any investigatory stop
  4. To ensure that all evidence collected by police is admissible at trial

Explanation

The Fourth Amendment's core function is shielding people from unreasonable government searches and seizures, anchored in the reasonable expectation of privacy doctrine. The warrant requirement exists to interpose neutral judicial review between officers and the citizenry. It does not guarantee admissibility of evidence, nor does it require pre-clearance for every arrest or stop.

Question 36Police

An officer observes a driver run a red light and pulls the vehicle over. During the stop, the officer notices a handgun in plain view on the passenger seat. Which doctrine most directly supports the officer's authority to seize the weapon?

  1. The automobile exception
  2. The plain view doctrine Correct answer.
  3. The exigent circumstances exception
  4. The inventory search exception

Explanation

The plain view doctrine allows officers lawfully positioned to seize items whose incriminating character is immediately apparent. Because the stop was lawful and the gun was in open view, seizure is justified. The automobile exception concerns warrantless vehicle searches based on probable cause, not observation from a lawful vantage point.

Question 37Police

Which standard of proof is required for a police officer to make a lawful arrest?

  1. Clear and convincing evidence
  2. Probable cause Correct answer.
  3. Reasonable suspicion
  4. Preponderance of the evidence

Explanation

Probable cause is the constitutional threshold for arrest, meaning facts that would lead a reasonable officer to believe an offense has been committed. Reasonable suspicion is a lower standard applicable to brief investigatory stops. Preponderance and clear-and-convincing standards govern civil and certain other proceedings, not arrests.

Question 38Police

During a custodial interrogation, a suspect invokes the right to remain silent. Under Miranda doctrine, what must the officer do?

  1. Ask the suspect to sign a waiver form
  2. Transfer the case to a prosecutor immediately
  3. Continue questioning but record the invocation
  4. Stop questioning and scrupulously honor the invocation Correct answer.

Explanation

Once a suspect unambiguously invokes the right to remain silent, officers must cease questioning and honor the invocation. Interrogation may resume only if the suspect initiates further communication. Continued questioning after invocation risks suppression of any statements obtained.

Question 39Police

An officer stops a pedestrian based on a vague hunch that the person might be involved in a recent burglary, without any specific facts. This stop is most likely improper because it lacks:

  1. Reasonable suspicion supported by articulable facts Correct answer.
  2. Consent from the pedestrian
  3. Probable cause for arrest
  4. A warrant

Explanation

An investigatory stop requires reasonable suspicion grounded in specific, articulable facts, not a mere hunch. Without such facts, the seizure violates the Fourth Amendment. Probable cause and a warrant are not required for a brief stop.

Question 40Police

Which of the following best describes the exclusionary rule?

  1. It requires police to exclude suspects from interrogation without counsel
  2. It excludes officers from testifying at trial if they lack training
  3. It prevents courts from hearing cases involving minor offenses
  4. It bars evidence obtained through unconstitutional police conduct from being used at trial Correct answer.

Explanation

The exclusionary rule is a judicially created remedy that prevents the prosecution from using evidence obtained in violation of constitutional rights. Its primary purpose is deterring police misconduct. It does not bar officer testimony generally or limit jurisdiction over minor offenses.

Question 41Police

A police department's use-of-force policy is most consistent with constitutional standards when it requires that force be:

  1. Applied only after supervisor approval in every encounter
  2. Limited to deadly force in all felony arrests
  3. Used whenever a suspect refuses to comply with any command
  4. Objectively reasonable under the totality of the circumstances Correct answer.

Explanation

Use-of-force standards derive from the objective reasonableness test, which weighs the totality of circumstances including the severity of the offense and the threat posed. Force must be proportional and necessary. Blanket rules requiring force for any noncompliance or limiting all force to deadly force misstate the standard.

Question 42Police

Which of the following is a primary responsibility of patrol officers?

  1. Deterring crime through visible presence and responding to calls for service Correct answer.
  2. Issuing final rulings on suppression motions
  3. Prosecuting criminal cases in court
  4. Conducting appellate review of convictions

Explanation

Patrol is the backbone of policing, focused on visible presence, deterrence, and rapid response to calls for service. Patrol officers also gather initial evidence and secure scenes. Prosecution, suppression rulings, and appellate review are functions of attorneys and courts, not patrol officers.

Question 43Police

A suspect is arrested in a public place based on probable cause. Which statement best reflects the lawfulness of that warrantless arrest?

  1. The arrest is valid because probable cause exists and the arrest occurred in public Correct answer.
  2. The arrest is valid only if the suspect consents
  3. The arrest requires prior grand jury approval
  4. The arrest is invalid because no warrant was obtained

Explanation

A warrantless arrest in a public place is lawful when supported by probable cause. The Supreme Court has recognized that public arrests do not require a warrant. Consent and grand jury approval are not prerequisites.

Question 44Police

An officer conducts a traffic stop and, based on probable cause that the vehicle contains contraband, searches the passenger compartment. Which doctrine supports this search?

  1. The protective sweep doctrine
  2. The stop-and-frisk doctrine
  3. The automobile exception Correct answer.
  4. The community caretaking doctrine

Explanation

The automobile exception permits warrantless searches of vehicles when officers have probable cause to believe contraband or evidence is inside. The reduced expectation of privacy in vehicles and their mobility justify the exception. Stop-and-frisk applies to pat-downs of persons, not vehicle searches.

Question 45Police

A suspect in custody is questioned by officers without being advised of Miranda rights. The suspect makes incriminating statements. What is the most likely consequence?

  1. The statements may be suppressed unless an exception to Miranda applies Correct answer.
  2. The statements are admissible because custody alone does not trigger Miranda
  3. The statements are automatically admissible because the suspect was not coerced
  4. The statements are admissible if a supervisor approves

Explanation

Miranda warnings are required before custodial interrogation, and statements obtained without them are generally subject to suppression. Exceptions, such as a public safety concern, may apply. Custody plus interrogation is precisely what triggers the requirement.

Question 46Police

Which of the following best captures the holding of Terry v. Ohio?

  1. Officers may search a home without a warrant whenever they suspect drug activity
  2. Officers may conduct a pat-down for weapons when they reasonably suspect a person is armed and dangerous Correct answer.
  3. Officers may arrest a suspect based on a hunch
  4. Officers must obtain a warrant before any stop of a pedestrian

Explanation

Terry v. Ohio established that an officer may stop a person based on reasonable suspicion and conduct a limited pat-down for weapons if the officer reasonably believes the person is armed and dangerous. The search must be confined to a frisk for weapons. It does not authorize home searches or warrantless pedestrian stops without suspicion.

Question 47Police

A police department is reviewing its eyewitness identification procedures. Which practice is best designed to reduce mistaken identifications?

  1. Showing a single suspect photo to the witness
  2. Repeating the lineup with the same witness multiple times
  3. Allowing the administrator to give confirming feedback to the witness
  4. Using a double-blind lineup where the administrator does not know the suspect Correct answer.

Explanation

Double-blind lineup procedures reduce the risk of inadvertent cues from administrators who know the suspect's identity. Research indicates that such cues and confirming feedback inflate confidence without improving accuracy. Repeated procedures can also contaminate memory.

Question 48Police

An officer stops a vehicle for a broken taillight. During the stop, the officer orders the driver out of the vehicle. Which statement is most accurate?

  1. The officer may not order the driver out under any circumstances
  2. The officer may order the driver out only if the driver consents
  3. The officer may order the driver out based on the lawful stop, without additional suspicion Correct answer.
  4. The officer may order the driver out only with probable cause of a crime

Explanation

During a lawful traffic stop, officers may order the driver and passengers out of the vehicle as a safety measure without additional justification. This rule reflects the inherent risks of traffic stops. Consent or probable cause of a separate crime is not required for the exit order.

Question 49Police

Which of the following scenarios is most likely to trigger the community caretaking doctrine rather than a criminal investigation?

  1. An officer searches a vehicle for drugs based on a tip
  2. An officer obtains a warrant to search a home for stolen property
  3. An officer removes an unattended child from a hot car to prevent harm Correct answer.
  4. An officer conducts a frisk for weapons after a report of a man with a gun

Explanation

Community caretaking covers non-investigative functions such as protecting the public and rendering aid. Removing a child from danger is a classic example. Searches for drugs, weapon frisks, and warrant-based searches are investigative activities governed by different doctrines.

Question 50Police

A suspect is arrested in her home. Officers conduct a protective sweep of the premises. Which limitation applies?

  1. The sweep requires a separate warrant in all cases
  2. The sweep may be a full search of every room and closed container
  3. The sweep may last as long as officers deem necessary
  4. The sweep is limited to areas where a person could be hiding and must be justified by reasonable suspicion Correct answer.

Explanation

A protective sweep incident to arrest is a quick and limited pass over the premises to look for persons who might pose a danger. It is confined to spaces where a person could hide and must rest on reasonable suspicion. It is not a full evidentiary search.