Deck 8: The Corrections Experience for Staff

Question 1

The old English shire reeves were the equivalent of modern day ______.

A) prison guards
B) probation officers
C) correctional officers
D) watchmen

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Most jobs in ______ do not meet the criteria for professional status.

A) criminology
B) criminal justice
C) law enforcement
D) corrections

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Over the past several decades, the number of people working in state and local corrections has ______.

A) decreased slightly
B) decreased dramatically
C) increased dramatically
D) increased slightly

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which statement accurately describes the numbers of correctional staff in comparison to numbers of inmates over time?

A) The number of correctional staff has increased, but not as much as the number of inmates.
B) The number of correctional staff has increased at the same rate as the inmate population.
C) The number of correctional staff has decreased, while the inmate population continues to increase.
D) The number of correctional staff has decreased at the same rate as the inmate population.

Question 5

Jails continue to operate at ______ of their capacity.

A) more than three-quarters
B) just under half
C) a small minority
D) nearly all

Question 6

What is a common reason why someone might work in public corrections?

A) high potential for promotion
B) desire to help others
C) secure working conditions
D) high pay and bonuses

Question 7

You are performing research on why people choose correctional work. You would most likely find those who report finding it rewarding chose the work because of the ______.

A) potential for promotion
B) regular on-the-job training
C) lucrative paycheck associated with it
D) opportunity to break the cycle of criminality

Question 8

What is a concern of unions?

A) They have collective bargaining power.
B) They advocate for better working conditions.
C) They allow workers to voice their concerns.
D) It is harder to fire incompetent people.

Question 9

One way to help professionalize corrections is to ______.

A) require a college degree
B) prohibit underage hiring
C) form an isolated subculture
D) provide uniforms for staff

Question 10

Which statement accurately compares the Stanford prison experiment with the Abu Ghraib scandal?

A) Countless people died in both the Stanford prison experiment and at Abu Ghraib.
B) The Stanford prison experiment displayed correctional officers at their best, whereas Abu Ghraib displayed them at their worst.
C) Both the Stanford prison experiment and Abu Ghraib saw correctional officers abusing their power.
D) The Stanford prison experiment resulted in hunger strikes among the inmates, while the Abu Ghraib scandal resulted in staff starving the inmates.

Question 11

The ______ was an investigation into the effects of authority and was discontinued after mere days when it found that guards quickly began to abuse inmates.

A) Abu Ghraib scandal
B) Stanford prison experiment
C) Corrections Compendium survey
D) Attica Prison riot

Question 12

What was one way in which the Stanford prison experiment does not accurately reflect correctional reality?

A) Officers worked in teams.
B) The officers were not given any training.
C) The conditions were freezing.
D) Inmates were the same race as officers.

Question 13

Compared to other professions, the typical correctional job ______.

A) has higher educational requirements
B) requires less formal training
C) tends to pay more on average
D) had less job security

Question 14

Ill-informed choices and unethical behavior can result when correctional officers ______.

A) lack college degrees
B) defer to the handbook
C) act in human service roles
D) use their discretion

Question 15

One way correctional agencies attempt to prevent ethical abuses is by ______.

A) having officers reread guidelines
B) hiring people over 18
C) adopting a code of ethics
D) allowing inmates to give feedback

Question 16

You are in charge of hiring new staff at a correctional facility where there have been several ethical violations. What method would be most helpful to use during hiring to ensure that ethical guidelines are followed in the future?

A) hire primarily men, to avoid sexual misconduct
B) require all hires to have obtained college degrees
C) use selection instruments that assess ethical instincts
D) ensure that all new hires have passed physical fitness tests

Question 17

What might be one reason that the general public does not view correctional work as desirable?

A) They see the training as too rigorous.
B) They do not understand it.
C) They are hoping for greater job security.
D) They want to break the cycle of criminality.

Question 18

It is 1963, and you are a hiring manager for a correctional institution. Which of these candidates is most likely going to be hired?

A) 17-year-old White male
B) 30-year-old White male
C) 22-year-old White female
D) 25-year-old Black male

Question 19

Which is true about sexual harassment in the correctional workplace?

A) Sexual harassment rarely happens in the correctional workplace.
B) Both genders are likely to be harassed equally.
C) Males are more likely to be harassed by female coworkers.
D) Females are more likely to be harassed by male coworkers.

Question 20

Women and minorities did not work in corrections until after the ______ Act.

A) Civil Rights
B) Criminal Justice
C) Equal Pay
D) Fair Employment

Question 21

Why do correctional agencies tend to hire younger workers?

A) They are better at counseling.
B) The job is physically demanding.
C) The job requires a college degree.
D) They often have military experience.

Question 22

An advantage of hiring correctional officers over 40 years old is they ______.

A) are more physically fit than younger workers
B) have more experience and wisdom
C) cost less to hire and provide benefits for
D) do not complain as much

Question 23

Which individual would have preference over the others in the correctional hiring process?

A) 25-year-old female with military experience
B) 40-year-old female returning to work after taking care of her kids
C) 30-year-old male with a master's degree in criminal justice
D) 18-year-old male who just graduated from high school

Question 24

Why might a former military service member feel more comfortable than non-military officers in a correctional workplace?

A) Correctional officers enjoy a great deal of discretion.
B) Corrections is also a highly professionalized endeavor.
C) The hierarchy of power and command is similar.
D) The job security and benefits are much greater.

Question 25

As discussed in the chapter, a role within corrections is ______.

A) determined by what someone does at their job on a daily basis
B) formally assigned and strictly adhered to
C) the same for all correctional officers
D) defined solely by one's job description

Question 26

Two different correctional roles include the correctional officer and the ______.

A) police officer
B) probation officer
C) prison guard
D) watchman

Question 27

In comparison to probation officers, correctional officers within the prison are ______.

A) more likely to interact regularly with repeat felons
B) more likely to feel safer on the job
C) less likely to have to use force
D) less likely to be paid well

Question 28

According to Lipsky, ______ are entry-level public sector workers who tend to be overworked and underpaid.

A) hacks
B) detectives
C) correctional officers
D) street-level bureaucrats

Question 29

Current scholars in corrections use the term hack to refer to the people who used to be called ______.

A) watchmen
B) thief-takers
C) sheriffs
D) guards

Question 30

A hack is most likely to focus on ______ in their interactions with inmates.

A) goods and services
B) human service
C) brute force
D) advocacy

Question 31

Which of the following scenarios best represents a hack role?

A) An officer finds contraband on an inmate and confiscates it.
B) A staff member physically breaks up a fight between two inmates.
C) An officer reads over an inmate's resume to help with finding employment.
D) A staff member provides information on prison gangs to a researcher.

Question 32

Most correctional officers focus on ______, serving as advocates for inmates and helping them transition into prison life.

A) bureaucracy
B) power
C) human service
D) professionalization

Question 33

Which of the following scenarios best represents a human service role?

A) An officer finds contraband on an inmate and confiscates it.
B) A staff member physically breaks up a fight between two inmates.
C) An officer reads over an inmate's resume to help with finding employment.
D) A staff member provides information on prison gangs to a researcher.

Question 34

What makes it more likely for a subculture's norms to diverge from those of the broader community?

A) greater isolation
B) older age of members
C) degree of professionalization
D) large size of subculture

Question 35

Which of the following scenarios most suggests the presence of a negative subculture?

A) A correctional officer rushes to pull an inmate off of another officer.
B) A correctional officer looks the other way when a coworker assaults an inmate.
C) A staff member acts as a character reference for an inmate seeking employment.
D) A staff member alerts the warden to the potential of overcrowding in the facility.

Question 36

Why can't correctional officers use force to get inmates to comply with all orders?

A) It would be impractical.
B) Staff are not strong enough.
C) Use of force is prohibited.
D) Inmates tend to be compliant.

Question 37

A correctional officer has worked for 10 years with adult prisoners. He has recently gotten a job in which he will be working with youth. What strategy should he use going into his new job?

A) With youth, it is best to take on the role of a hack.
B) If he uses force, he will be able to scare the children into behaving.
C) He should take on a human service role.
D) He should use the same approach he used with adults.

Question 38

An officer is helping a group of inmates smuggled contraband, usually prescription pills, into the facility in exchange for cooperation and a cut of the profit. This is an example of ______.

A) a subculture
B) human service
C) use of force
D) abuse of power

Question 39

An abuse of power would be most likely to occur when most of the staff members are ______.

A) young
B) former military
C) excessively trained
D) college-educated

Question 40

You are the commissioner for the department of corrections in your state. You have just learned that a correctional officer engaged in the use of force at one of the facilities. Which type of facility would you guess it happened at?

A) minimum
B) medium
C) maximum
D) juvenile

Question 41

You are the new warden at a facility where use of force has been excessive in the past. What new policy would be most likely to lead to limited use of force in the future?

A) instating a policy of swift punishment for noncompliance
B) hiring a large number of new, younger staff
C) isolating the staff from the outside world
D) encouraging staff-inmate communication

Question 42

About three times as many men as women work with inmates as correctional officers.

Question 43

A concern of unions is that it is harder to fire incompetent people.

Question 44

Prior military service is not a valuable attribute of those working in corrections.

Question 45

Correctional officers and probation officers have the same roles.

Question 46

Everyone who works in a criminal justice agency starts as a street-level bureaucrat.

Question 47

Staff are more likely to abuse their power when they are not supervised.

Question 48

Abuse of power is likely to occur in environments where staff are younger.

Question 49

How are correctional officers in the role of the street-level bureaucrat?

Question 50

Discuss and explain the two roles that correctional staff can take on.

Question 51

How is the correctional role different when supervising juveniles compared to adults?

Question 52

Explain what a profession is. Do you believe corrections is a profession? Justify your answer.