North Carolina Basic Law Enforcement Training (BLET) State Practice Exam

Which of the following is NOT one of the five major phases of enforcement action?

1. Detection

2. Apprehension

3. Investigation

4. Penalization

The correct answer is: Investigation

In law enforcement, the five major phases of enforcement action typically include detection, apprehension, investigation, and penalization. The option that is identified as NOT one of these phases would be the correct choice. Detection refers to the process of identifying when a crime is occurring or has occurred, serving as the initial step in the enforcement process. Apprehension involves the actions taken to physically take a suspect into custody following the detection of a crime. Investigation is a critical phase that involves gathering evidence and information to understand the crime, identify suspects, and build a case. Penalization then follows as the phase where legal consequences, such as arrests or charges, are implemented against the suspect based on the findings from the investigation. In this context, although investigation is fundamentally important for understanding and processing crimes, its inclusion in the list might lead to confusion, as it is a core element that supports the enforcement action rather than being an explicit phase in the enforcement sequence itself. The phases are generally focused on immediate actions to control or respond to crime, with investigation being a supportive function rather than a standalone phase like detection, apprehension, and penalization.