MA Police Civil Service flashcards
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32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Subject-Verb Agreement
- A verb must match its subject in number. Prepositional phrases between subject and verb do not change agreement, so 'the box of files is' is correct.
- Comma Splice
- A comma splice incorrectly joins two independent clauses with only a comma. Correct it with a period, a semicolon, or a coordinating conjunction such as 'and' or 'but'.
- Who versus Whom
- Use 'who' when the pronoun serves as the subject of a clause, and 'whom' when it serves as the object of a verb or preposition.
- Parallel Structure
- Items in a list or comparison must share the same grammatical form, such as all gerunds or all infinitives, so the sentence reads evenly and clearly.
- Active versus Passive Voice
- In active voice the subject performs the action; in passive voice the subject receives it. Active voice is usually clearer and shorter in police reports.
- Main Idea
- The main idea is the central point a passage makes about its topic. It is often stated in the first or last sentence and is broader than any single detail.
- Inference
- An inference is a conclusion drawn from evidence in the passage rather than stated outright. It must be supported by the text, not by outside opinion.
- Tone
- Tone is the author's attitude toward the subject, revealed through word choice. Words such as 'unfortunately' or 'admirably' signal a critical or approving tone.
- Cause and Effect Signals
- Words such as because, therefore, since, and as a result mark a causal relationship, showing that one event produced or explains another.
- Scope Distractor
- A scope distractor is an answer choice that is too broad, too narrow, or off-topic compared with the passage. Eliminate it even if the statement is true.
- Weapon Focus
- Weapon focus is the tendency for a witness to concentrate on a weapon and therefore recall fewer details about the face and clothing of the person holding it.
- Serial Position Effect
- People remember the first and last items in a sequence better than the middle ones. In a lineup, the first and last positions may draw more selections.
- Estimator Variables
- Estimator variables are factors present at the time of a crime that affect eyewitness accuracy, such as lighting, distance, stress, and duration of exposure. Police cannot control them.
- Chunking
- Chunking groups separate pieces of information into meaningful units, such as a phone number in three parts, so more items can be held in short-term memory.
- Post-Event Contamination
- Post-event contamination occurs when information encountered after an event, such as another witness's account or a news report, alters a person's memory of what happened.
- Contrapositive
- The contrapositive of 'If A then B' is 'If not B then not A.' A conditional statement and its contrapositive are always logically equivalent.
- Necessary Condition
- A necessary condition must be present for something to occur but does not by itself guarantee it. For example, oxygen is necessary for fire but not sufficient.
- Correlation versus Causation
- Two events occurring together does not prove that one caused the other. A third factor may explain both, or the relationship may simply be coincidental.
- Assumption
- An assumption is an unstated premise that an argument requires to reach its conclusion. Negating a true assumption tends to weaken or destroy the argument.
- Validity versus Truth
- Deductive validity concerns whether the conclusion follows necessarily from the premises. A valid argument can still reach a false conclusion if a premise is false.
- Procedural Justice
- Procedural justice is the idea that people accept decisions more readily when the process seems fair, involving voice, neutral decision-making, respectful treatment, and trustworthy motives.
- Chain of Command
- The chain of command is the formal line of authority running from a supervisor upward. Officers report problems to their immediate supervisor rather than skipping levels of authority.
- Use of Force Continuum
- A use of force continuum ranks response options from officer presence and verbal commands through physical control, intermediate weapons, and deadly force, matched to the subject's actions.
- De-escalation
- De-escalation uses communication, time, distance, and cover to reduce the intensity of a situation so that force becomes less likely or less severe.
- Duty to Intervene
- Duty to intervene requires an officer who sees a colleague using excessive or unlawful force to stop it and report it, regardless of rank or friendship.
- Distance Formula
- Distance equals rate multiplied by time (d = rt). Rearranged, rate equals distance divided by time, and time equals distance divided by rate.
- Percent Change
- Percent change equals the new value minus the old value, divided by the old value, then multiplied by 100. A negative result indicates a decrease.
- Median
- The median is the middle value when data are arranged from least to greatest. With an even number of values, it is the average of the two middle values.
- Unit Rate
- A unit rate expresses a quantity per one unit of another, such as miles per hour or cost per item. Divide the first quantity by the second.
- Map Scale
- A map scale states how map distance relates to real distance, for example one inch equals one mile. Multiply measured map distance by the scale factor.
- Grid Coordinates
- Grid coordinates are read with the easting, the horizontal position, first and the northing, the vertical position, second.
- Compass Bearing
- A bearing is measured clockwise from north, so north is 0 or 360 degrees, east is 90 degrees, south is 180 degrees, and west is 270 degrees.