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OPOTA Final exam study guide, Study Guides, Projects, Research of Criminal Law

Virginia State University (VSU)Criminal Law

OPOTA Final exam study guideOPOTA Final exam study guide

Typology: Study Guides, Projects, Research

2025/2026

Available from 01/10/2026

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OPOTA Final exam study guide
1. Police officer main goals: - enforce Laws
-
Preserve
the
peace
-
prevent
crime
-
protect
civil
rights
and
liberties
-
provide
services
2. Easiest crime triangle to change:
Opportunity
3. Factors necessary for the commission of a crime (Crime Triangle): - Desire
-
Victim
-
Opportunity
4.
Purpose of the bill of rights: - Protect an individual's
freedoms
-
Prevent
the
government
from
interfering
in
protected
rights
5. 3 major components of the criminal justice system:
Law
enforcement
-
Keep
the
peace
-
Apprehend
violators
and
combat
crime
pf3
pf4
pf5
pf8
pf9
pfa
pfd
pfe
pff
pf12
pf13
pf14
pf15
pf16
pf17
pf18
pf19
pf1a
pf1b
pf1c
pf1d
pf1e
pf1f
pf20
pf21
pf22
pf23

Partial preview of the text

Download OPOTA Final exam study guide and more Study Guides, Projects, Research Criminal Law in PDF only on Docsity!

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OPOTA Final exam study guide

  1. Police officer main goals: - enforce Laws
  • Preserve the peace
  • prevent crime
  • protect civil rights and liberties
  • provide services
  1. Easiest crime triangle to change: Opportunity
  2. Factors necessary for the commission of a crime (Crime Triangle): - Desire
  • Victim
  • Opportunity
  1. Purpose of the bill of rights: - Protect an individual's freedoms
  • Prevent the government from interfering in protected rights
  1. 3 major components of the criminal justice system: Law enforcement
  • Keep the peace
  • Apprehend violators and combat crime

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  • Prevent crime Courts
  • hold fair and impartial trials
  • determine guilt or innocence
  • impose sentences on the guilty Corrections
  • responsible for supervising the ottender
  • prison/county jails
  • parole/probation
  • work release programs
  1. Goal of sentencing: - Punish the ottender in many cases, rehabilitate the ottender
  • Protect society
  • Restore the victim as much as possible
  1. Race: - Modern concept used to classify people by similar, observable physical characteristics
  • It is not, as many people think based on genetics

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  1. Plus model: P= Policies- is it consistent with my agency's policies? L= Legal- is the action lawful U= Universal- does it conform to the universal principles and values of my agency S= Self- does it align with my beliefs of what is right, good, and fair
  2. what is recorded in your field notes: - complete information on victims, witnesses, and suspects involved
  • relevant dates and times
  • location of occurence
  • types of place where offense or incident took place
  • details of offense or incident being reported
  • disposition of evidence, property, and subjects
  • corresponding report number
  1. Essential questions answered in a report: who what when where why

5 / 35 how

  1. Components to be a well written report FACTO: - Factual
  • Accurate
  • Complete
  • Objective
  • Concise
  • Clear
  • Grammatically and mechanically correct
  1. Culpable mental states: - Purposely
  • knowingly
  • recklessly
  • negligently
  1. General power to exercise authority over people: Jurisdiction
  2. Force: Any violence, compulsion, or constraint physically exerted by any means on or against a person or thing
  3. Different examples of court cases: Criminal, tort, statute
  4. Deadly force: Any force that carries a substantial risk that will proximate result in the death of any person

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  1. John was driving drunk and got into an accident killing someone, is there a crime?: Yes Aggravated vehicular homicide
  2. Susan hops in the car with john and after a fight she wants to get out of the car, but john keeps driving, is there a crime?: Yes Unlawful restraint
  3. Sexual conduct: Vaginal intercourse between a male and female; anal intercourse, fellatio, and cunnilingus between persons regardless of sex; and, without privilege to do so, the insertion, however slight, of any part of the body or any instrument, apparatus, or other object into the vaginal or anal opening of another
  4. Sexual activity: Sexual conduct, sexual contact, or both
  5. Guy threatens to stab Susan if she does not give him her purse, she gives it up and he runs away, is there a crime?: Yes Aggravated robbery
  6. John is mad at the cops for being charged with disorderly conduct so he stabs the

8 / 35 cops tires. later the cops can't respond to another call due to the tires being flat. Is there a crime?: Yes Disrupting public service

  1. Semi-automatic firearm: Any firearm designed or specially adapted to fire a single cartridge and automatically chamber a succeeding cartridge ready to fire, with a single function of the trigger
  2. Dangerous ordnance: Any automatic or sawed-ott firearm, zip-gun, or ballistic knifeAny explosive device or incendiary device-Any firearms, rocket launcher, mortar, artillery piece, grenade, mine, bomb, torpedo, or similar weapon, designed and manufactured for military purposes, and the ammunition for that weapon-Any firearm muffler or suppressor-Any combination of parts that is intended by the owner for uses in converting any firearm or other device into a dangerous ordnance.
  3. Sarah offers John a hand job if he agrees to buy her drinks all night. Is there a charge?: Yes Soliciting
  4. 4th amendment: Protection against Unreasonable Search and Seizure
  5. When is a person considered to be seized: A person is seized on when, in view of all the circumstances surrounding the incident, a reasonable person would believe that he was not free to leave.
  6. An officer asks the person for I.D. and he asks if he is detained and the officer says no. The man was patted down and placed in the back of the cruiser. Was the man ever detained?: Yes

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  • The search is limited to only those places and things that the person expressly or impliedly authorized to be searched
  • The search is not unduly intrusive *while officers may be thorough in their search, they are not permitted to be destructive
  • in addition, the length of the search must be consistent with the type and complexity of the search for which permission is granted
  1. Exigent circumstances: When there is an immediate threat to public safety or the risk that evidence will be destroyed, officers may search, arrest, or question suspects without obtaining a warrant or following other usual rules of criminal procedure
  2. Five (5) factors a court will consider in determining if an "inventory" search of a motor vehicle is reasonable: 1. The car was lawfully impounded.
  3. The inventory was conducted after the impoundment.
  4. The owner was not present to make other arrangements for the safe keeping of the vehicle.
  5. The inventory was prompted by valuables in plain view and was pursuant to standard police procedure.
  6. The inventory was not a pretext to conceal an investigatory search.
  7. factors are in determining if force was reasonable: - severity of the crime
  • immediate threats to oflcer(s) or others
  • whether suspect is actively resisting
  • suspect was evading arrest by flight

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  1. Active/Passive resistance: Active - Fighting, physical resistance Passive - Nonphysical (refusal to move or obey commands)
  2. Civil liability: a legal obligation that requires a party to pay for damages or to follow other court-enforcements in a lawsuit.
  3. James beats his wife with the butt of the gun and turns the gun to the officer. the officer shoots and realizes the gun was unloaded without a magazine. was this justified?: Yes
  4. when is an officer governed on when responding to an emergency call: Sov- ereign immunity
  5. Emergency call: A call to duty, including, but not limited to, communications from citizens. police dispatch- ers, and personal observations by peace officer of inherently dangerous situations that demand an immediate response of the part of a peace officer
  6. Steps in preparing for court: - Ensure all evidence required for the case is accounted for safely secured, and can be obtained prior to court
  • Call and meet with the prosecutor to determine if additional assistance or information is needed
  • Review notes and or reports pertinent to the case
  1. Interacting with the media: - Prepare to think on your feet
  • Familiar with policy and procedures

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  1. The four (4) categories of persons who fall within the meaning of fami- ly/household member: - Any residing or has resided with the ottender- a spouse, person living as spouse, former spouse of ottender.
  • Parent, foster parent, child of ottender.
  • Parent or child of spouse, former spouse of offender or another person related by blood.
  • Natural parent of child of whom the offender is the natural parent.
  1. John beats Jenny, they are dating, but never married and are not living together. Can John be charged with Domestic Violence?: No
  2. How to determine who the primary aggressor is in a DV: - history of domestic violence
  • self-defense
  • fear of physical harm
  • injuries suffered
  1. Factors that couples with mental illness produce the greatest increase in the potential for violence: - Male
  • Forty years of age or younger, with untreated psychosis
  • Paranoid symptoms

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  • Delusions~Narcissism
  1. Describe the differences between traditional encounters and special popu- lation encounters: 1) Difference is the increased need to be non-confrontational.
  1. Special population encounters frequently benefit from a change in response to one in which de-escalation is the foundation.
  1. Paraphrasing and summarizing are examples of?: Active listening
  2. Ear model stand for: E= Engage A= Assess R= Resolve
  3. LOSS model: Loss of
  • Reality
  • Hope
  • Control
  • Perspective
  1. Why do victims feel their sexual assault will not be believed?: - they know the suspect
  • they are related to or closely acquainted with the suspect
  • intimidated
  • engaged in drug or alcohol use

16 / 35 adult?: No

  1. Most at risk of being trafficked: - runaways/throwaways
  • Foreign born persons, whether in the country legally or illegally
  • migrant workers
  • persons with drug addictions/substance use disorders
  • persons with mental disabilities or illness
  • persons with prior trauma including, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and/or neglect
  1. 2 forms of trafficking: Sex Labor
  2. Proactive control Responding to a call?: No
  3. Steps to respond to a crime in progress: - Urgency of situation
  • Safety of any victim
  • Traflc conditions for other responding units
  • Anyone/anything that appears to be out of ordinary
  • Record license plate numbers of vehicles leaving scene

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  • Arrive quietly
  • Make arrival using parallel streets do not park directly in front of location
  1. Identify ways to maintain situational awareness while conducting searches: - Be conscious of an avoid normalcy bias that develops from taking multiple similar calls that do not produce a threat.
  • Avoid locking your focus on any one thing at the expense of what is happening around you.
  • If working alone, continually stop, look and listen so you are aware of your environment.
  • If working with other, have one person focused on the search and one focused on covering the searching oflcer.
  1. Dog's tongue out, what is the dog's behavior?: Relaxed dog
  2. Is an officer allowed to shoot a dog?: Yes, dog's are classified as property, but it will be judged by the case/situation
  3. 2 types of building searches?: Unknown High risk
  4. Cover vs. Concealment: - Cover - a position or situation affording protection from gunfire
  • Concealment - anything that protects you from being observed
  1. 2 categories of vehicle stops: Unknown High risk
  2. What does each ORC traffic chapter cover?: 4510 - License suspensions

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  1. indicators for a stolen vehicle: - abnormal driver behavior
  • license plate irregularities
  • condition of the vehicle
  • unusual transportation of other vehicles or equipment
  • apprehension and recovery
  • vehicle stops
  • question driver and passengers separately
  1. methods used to defeat federal certification level: - Removal and reapplication of a ditterent label from a donor car
  • alteration of the existing label
  • replacement with a counterfeit label
  1. A group of friends meets at a park every day. They are all matching clothes and have a group name. They say they meet every day to "do what has to be done" none of them have a record of criminal activity. Are they considered a gang?: No
  2. Known signs of gang membership: - admits membership to a group that meets the criteria
  • resides in or frequents a particle gangs area
  • adopts its style of dress, symbols, tattoos, colors

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  • has a documented criminal history
  • has been arrested in the company of identified gang members for offenses consistent with gang activity
  • an individual meets two or more the indicators to be considered a gang member
  1. Joe calls John who is an officer and asks John to run a plate. Can John give Joe the information on running the plate?: No
  2. severity of using LEADS inappropriately: Felony 5th degree
  3. Your supervisor tells you to get inmate John and perform a cavity search. What should be done?: obtain a search warrant
  4. John did fingerprints and they came up faint, What is the cause of this?: Insuf- ficient ink
  5. Definition of a MOB: - A collection of people assembled for an unlawful purpose and intending to do damage or injury to anyone, or pretending to exercise correctional power over other persons by violence and without authority of law.
  6. Concepts for a perimeter control: Sectioning Cordoning Linear
  7. Common uses for mobile field force: 1. Remove the individual from the contaminated area
  8. Encourage the individual to remain calm