Which of the following is NOT listed as an element of police power by Klockars?

Which of the following is NOT listed as an element of police power by Klockars?

• A. Power
• B. Persuasion
• C. Duty
• D. Authority

Answer: (C)

Klockars treats police power as made up of three active resources you can rely on to influence behavior: power, persuasion, and authority. Power is the capacity to compel or threaten action—your ability to physically or coercively influence outcomes. Persuasion is the use of communication, information, and social influence to guide choices and gain voluntary compliance. Authority is the recognized right to command and require obedience, grounded in legal and institutional legitimacy. Duty, while essential as a professional obligation of officers, is not a mechanism of how police exert influence. It describes what officers ought to do in their role, not a tool they deploy to shape behavior or enforce norms. In practice, a stop or investigation relies on authority to command, persuasion to secure voluntary cooperation, and, if needed, power to back it up. Duty underpins those actions but isn’t itself a component of police power.

Klockars treats police power as made up of three active resources you can rely on to influence behavior: power, persuasion, and authority. Power is the capacity to compel or threaten action—your ability to physically or coercively influence outcomes. Persuasion is the use of communication, information, and social influence to guide choices and gain voluntary compliance. Authority is the recognized right to command and require obedience, grounded in legal and institutional legitimacy.

Duty, while essential as a professional obligation of officers, is not a mechanism of how police exert influence. It describes what officers ought to do in their role, not a tool they deploy to shape behavior or enforce norms. In practice, a stop or investigation relies on authority to command, persuasion to secure voluntary cooperation, and, if needed, power to back it up. Duty underpins those actions but isn’t itself a component of police power.