Can You Answer These Random Questions About Law Enforcement?

Of course, it's "Investigation." The name indicates that the job of an FBI agent involves a lot of questioning, paper-trail-following, and interviewing. FBI agents aren't usually on the front lines of public safety (i.e, in skirmish lines during riots, etc).

We're not sure how often police or prosecutors actually refer to "alibis," but it's certainly a popular term in crime fiction, TV and movies. The late Sue Grafton named her debut crime novel "A is for Alibi."

Generally, crimes are divided into felonies and misdemeanors. A crime like burglary might qualify as either, depending on the monetary value of the items taken.

If the word "emancipant" caught your eye, that one *is* related to being a minor. That is, "emancipation" is a legal process wherein someone younger than 18 -- but usually 15 or older -- can sue to become a legal adult, if they can show the ability to support themselves financially and otherwise.

The famous warning beginning "You have the right to remain silent" is named for Ernesto Miranda. In Miranda v. Arizona, the suspect was not informed of his right to an attorney, and the right to stay silent without one. As a result, his confession was rendered inadmissible.

"Larceny" is a broad term for stealing. You'll most often hear it in legal settings, not in everyday speech.

This was popularized by television and the movies, to the point that some novice officers actually do it, but it's not good procedure. Photographs and sketching are used to render a crime scene, and a uniformed officer blundering into the middle of a crime scene to make a chalk outline is actually considered to be "contaminating" it.

The "ten-code" is the long list of numerical codes officers use to talk "among themselves" on the radio. A commonly used one is "10-9," meaning "Say again" or "Please repeat."

Law enforcement officers and prosecutors tend to have a close working relationship. Prosecutors consult with officers while preparing a case for trial, prep those officers for their testimony, and generally rely on their testimony.

These abbreviations means "Last Known Address" and "No Known Address." They're commonly applied to low-level, frequent offenders.

You might remember Jay Leno's "Police Blotter" segment on "The Tonight Show." Like his "Headlines," the items were drawn from real police blotters. Our favorite: A farmer called police to say that five pounds of bacon had been stolen from his refrigerator in the night. Later, the farmer's wife contacted police to admit she'd gotten up in the middle of the night and eaten it all. (Holy cow, her arteries!)

Judges must sign off on warrants, and it's usually prosecutors who ask judges to grant them. It doesn't matter how high-ranking a police or sheriff's officer is -- they can't issue warrants.

To qualify as arson, the fire-setting must be deliberate and with malicious intent. If you start a fire for personal or recreational purposes that gets out of hand and destroys property, you could be charged with civil infractions and fined, but this doesn't rise to the level of arson.

Both of these are kinds of theft. Robbery implies the use of force, weapons or fear; burglary implies a break-in or stealth.

A federal crime is simply one that is listed in the United States Code. Beyond that, what makes federal crimes "federal" is complicated -- they are as diverse as mail fraud, skyjacking, child pornography and much more.

The Allan Pinkerton Agency was so big in 19th-century America that "Pinkerton" was a casual term for P.I., and many middle-class or wealthy people turned to them in time of trouble rather than the police. As law-enforcement agencies adopted stricter professional standards and better training for officers, the influence of the Pinkerton Agency waned.

The Texas Rangers have an investigative role now, but they are still associated in the popular imagination with Texas's lawless, pre-statehood days. Writers such as James Lee Burke and Larry McMurtry have created memorable Ranger or ex-Ranger characters.

If you get in trouble with a campus or airport police officer, we suggest treating them the same way you would a metro police officer. A statement to the effect of "You're just a glorified security guard!" is an excellent way to make your day a whole lot more complicated.

Of course, it was 9/11. The Patriot Act is formally styled the USA PATRIOT act, meaning "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism." (How long did someone chew on the end of a pencil to make *that* work?)

The "perp walk" is a way to show off a high-profile arrest. Civil-liberties advocates object to it as a public humiliation, but it has been defended when wealthy, well-connected suspects are "perp-walked," as a way of showing that no one is above the law.

Hoover brought the FBI into the 20th century, and expanded its powers. However, he's also been criticized for abuses of power, such as assembling dossiers of secret information on public figures, especially leftists and activists, potentially for use in extortion.

Though a few apocryphal stories exist about fingerprints being used as personal seals before the 19th century, it wasn't until the mid-19th century that it really became a science. The history of fingerprints is full of colorful characters and stories; whole books have been written about it.

Our understanding of DNA is very much a 20th-century phenomenon, with Watson and Crick making their "double helix" breakthrough in the 1950s. It was three decades later, in the mid-'80s, that DNA began to be used in solving crimes.

London's main police department is called "Scotland Yard." It's actually named for the street that its rear entrance opened out onto, which was called Great Scotland Yard.

Glock, Sig Sauer and Smith & Wesson are all common handguns in American law enforcement. The Derringer, in contrast, was the classic "lady's weapon" of the Old West -- very small, short-barreled and concealable.

The keyword "department" might have been a tip-off here. The Justice Department isn't a law-enforcement agency per se, like the other three. It's a part of the federal government that oversees the FBI, DEA, U.S. Marshals, the BATF and more.

The FBI Academy is commonly called "Quantico," but that's the name of the Marine base where it's located. The FBI has no greater connection to the Marines than to any other U.S. military branch -- it seems the location of the FBI Academy was just a matter of where space for training could be found.

If somebody ran onto the grounds of a country club, after hours, and jumped into the swimming pool, that'd be trespassing. But if he or she was suffering from a hallucination of being on fire, that would be a mitigating circumstance.

OK, it *was* the name of a 2009 comedy with Anna Faris. But "Observe and Report" is an actual police practice, which stops short of arresting or even making contact with a suspect.

While "desk jockey" might also be suitable, police have long used "house mouse." This term also describes a detective on call for weekend duty, because they need to stay at home, ready to respond, instead of going out partying.

The name varies a bit, but all states have a version of the FBI. And like the national bureau, an SBI's duties are mostly investigative, rather than functioning as peacekeepers.

The Supreme Court has ruled there's no expectation of privacy for an outdoor trash can. In fact, law enforcement personnel have no particular privilege here -- anyone can take something from your outdoor trash can (although if it's not at the curb, but on your grounds, a trespassing charge might stick).

In court, a defense attorney might try to challenge a client's confession on the grounds that he or she was kept in interrogation room so long it was coercive. However, there's no controlling legal standard -- and if a suspect simply refuses to answer questions, and sticks to that resolve, an interrogation will come to an end pretty quickly.

All of the circumstances listed give officers reason to search without a warrant. If drugs are clearly visible through a car window, if fire threatens a suspect's property, if the home's or car's owner has been arrested ... these are all examples. Also, if a suspect consents, officers are allowed to conduct a search.

Roosevelt had a storied history as an outdoorsman, Rough Rider, police commissioner, and finally, U.S. president. A few historical mystery novelists have made Commissioner Roosevelt a character in their books.