Deck 1: Understanding Corrections: Where Are We

Question 1

What percentage of offenders are supervised by the community either by probation or parole?

A) 40%
B) 50%
C) 60%
D) 70%

Answer 1

D

Question 2

A second major trend in corrections is a demand for ____________ of criminals.

A) greater punishment
B) lesser punishment
C) equal punishment
D) proportionate punishment

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Prison costs became an issue of intense concern and debate when prisons became more expensive than state spending on ________.

A) transportation
B) health care
C) education
D) assistance for the poor

Answer 3

C

Question 4

At midyear 2008, approximately what percentage of federal and state prisoners were located in privately run facilities?

A) 8%
B) 10%
C) 12%
D) 14%

Question 5

Many state policymakers are calling for the adoption of ________ practices.

A) hypothesis-based
B) evidence-based
C) theory-based
D) tested-based

Question 6

__________ is concerned with managing prison and community corrections populations as efficiently as possible.

A) New corrections
B) New penology
C) Old corrections
D) Old penology

Question 7

A 1982 study found that ________ of high school seniors reported having used an illegal drug in the previous month.

A) one-half
B) one-fourth
C) one-third
D) one-fifth

Question 8

Which president asked Congress for 100,000 police officers in 1994 and for more in his 1999 State of the Union Addresses?

A) Ronald Reagan
B) George Bush
C) Bill Clinton
D) George W. Bush

Question 9

In 2007, 53 percent of federal prisoners and almost 20 percent of state prisoners were in prison for what type of offense?

A) Murder
B) Rape
C) Arson
D) Drugs

Question 10

Which president created the drug czar position in hope of more effectively addressing illicit drug use in the United States?

A) George Bush
B) Bill Clinton
C) George W. Bush
D) Barack Obama

Question 11

During what decade did the rehabilitation philosophy in American corrections come to a halt?

A) 1980s
B) 1970s
C) 1960s
D) 1950s

Question 12

Political conservatives often prefer to explain behavior as primarily a matter of what?

A) Destiny
B) Free choice
C) Fate
D) Predetermined circumstances

Question 13

A recent study indicates that the voting public is in favor of rehabilitative series for prisoners as opposed to a punishment-only system by a(n) ________ margin.

A) 2 to 1
B) 4 to 1
C) 6 to 1
D) 8 to 1

Question 14

The focus in corrections has often been on the _____________.

A) offender and the victim
B) victim and the state
C) offender and the state
D) victim and the public

Question 15

Community justice began with a focus on what?

A) Restorative justice
B) Punitive justice
C) Retributive justice
D) Rehabilitative justice

Question 16

Justice used to be more of a ________ task and responsibility.

A) police
B) corrections
C) courts
D) community

Question 17

According to the text, __________ does not mean what it meant even 50 years ago

A) retribution
B) community
C) rehabilitation
D) corrections

Question 18

Both community policing and community justice seem to be ________ when community, in the traditional sense, seems to be _______.

A) arising; declining
B) declining; arising
C) stable; changing
D) changing; stable

Question 19

Historically, retribution can be traced back to the ancient law of lex talionis (law of talion) or a(n) __________.

A) "tooth for a tooth"
B) "eye for an eye"
C) "toe for a toe"
D) "finger for a finger"

Question 20

Since the writings of Beccaria in the eighteenth century, what has been considered an essential justification for sanctioning and is the philosophical foundation of the criminal justice system?

A) Retribution
B) Rehabilitation
C) Deterrence
D) Revenge

Question 21

Beccaria argued that the "punishment should fit the crime", meaning what?

A) The punishment should be proportionate to the crime committed.
B) The punishment should be equal to the crime committed.
C) The punishment should be more than the crime committed.
D) The punishment should be less than the crime committed.

Question 22

Beccaria claimed that the ______ of punishment was the most important and the _______ of the punishment was least important.

A) celerity; certainty
B) celerity; severity
C) severity; certainty
D) certainty; severity

Question 23

Respected evaluation of incapacitation found that the strategy has _______ effects on crime rates

A) zero
B) minimal
C) decent
D) great

Question 24

The initiative for prisoner reentry is ideally comprised of how many phases?

A) 2
B) 3
C) 4
D) 5

Question 25

Although corrections is currently a major growth industry in our country, imprisonment rates are decreasing.

Question 26

The federal prison system has outlawed weightlifting equipment in new federal prisons.

Question 27

The Aos, Miller, and Drake (2006) study indicated that cognitive-behavioral therapy, drug treatment programs, adult basic education, and early childhood intervention programs are ineffective strategies for reducing recidivism.

Question 28

One impact of the war on drugs has been a disproportionate increase in the incarceration of African Americans.

Question 29

Conservative citizens and politicians are more inclined to support rehabilitation.

Question 30

Discuss the current state of corrections in the United States. What trends are taking place? How do you assess the current trends? Are we going where we should be going, or do you think that the direction of American corrections has taken the wrong turn? What needs to be done in American corrections?

Question 31

What are the traditional goals of corrections? Which is the most important? Which is the least important? Is there another goal that should be mentioned?

Question 32

This chapter (see especially Box 1.3) indicates that "Scared Straight" programs have not been very effective in reducing delinquency. Why do you think that "Scared Straight"−type programs have not been particularly effective in deterring youngsters from crime and delinquency?

Question 33

Eliminating frills from prison has been one recent trend in corrections. What constitutes a frill? List what you consider to be necessities versus frills in prison life. How do you distinguish between the two categories? What would your prison look like? (Note: We will return to this issue in Chapter 7 on prison life.)

Question 34

What do you think prisons will look like in 15 years? How might they be different from today's prisons?

Question 35

Cost concerns constitute an important issue in corrections. How much should society spend on its prisons?

Question 36

Ethics Focus: Should We "Hurt" or "Help" Offenders?
Offenders are tried and convicted of all types of crimes, ranging from passing bad checks and theft of property to planning and carrying out the murder of another person. As human beings we often feel that those criminals who physically harm an innocent victim should themselves experience similar pain. While our laws, except in capital cases, do not support an "eye for an eye" justice, human desire to punish those who commit acts of violence against us runs deep throughout human history. There are other persons who believe we should attempt to understand why criminals, even violent ones, act the way they do and try to correct their behavior. These persons would be more supportive of encouraging and helping offenders to change into law-abiding, productive citizens. They would be more supportive of rehabilitation than punishment.
-Which of these approaches do you feel is most appropriate?

Question 37

Ethics Focus: Should We "Hurt" or "Help" Offenders?
Offenders are tried and convicted of all types of crimes, ranging from passing bad checks and theft of property to planning and carrying out the murder of another person. As human beings we often feel that those criminals who physically harm an innocent victim should themselves experience similar pain. While our laws, except in capital cases, do not support an "eye for an eye" justice, human desire to punish those who commit acts of violence against us runs deep throughout human history. There are other persons who believe we should attempt to understand why criminals, even violent ones, act the way they do and try to correct their behavior. These persons would be more supportive of encouraging and helping offenders to change into law-abiding, productive citizens. They would be more supportive of rehabilitation than punishment.
-Why do you feel your choice is more effective in correcting offenders?

Question 38

Ethics Focus: Should We "Hurt" or "Help" Offenders?
Offenders are tried and convicted of all types of crimes, ranging from passing bad checks and theft of property to planning and carrying out the murder of another person. As human beings we often feel that those criminals who physically harm an innocent victim should themselves experience similar pain. While our laws, except in capital cases, do not support an "eye for an eye" justice, human desire to punish those who commit acts of violence against us runs deep throughout human history. There are other persons who believe we should attempt to understand why criminals, even violent ones, act the way they do and try to correct their behavior. These persons would be more supportive of encouraging and helping offenders to change into law-abiding, productive citizens. They would be more supportive of rehabilitation than punishment.
-What might be a just balance between punishing and helping offenders to change?