Deck 12: Putting the Brakes on Correctional Populations

Question 1

What are opportunity costs of prison expenditures?

A) Spending on building prison to solve overcrowding issues
B) The money the inmates are given upon release to cover their initial costs
C) The money the prisons charge for various services
D) Channeling criminal justice resources to rehabilitation

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Applying diminishing returns to corrections suggests that the more

A) money we put into incarceration, the less we get out.
B) incarceration is increased, the more crime will be reduced.
C) incarceration is increased, the less the benefit.
D) incarceration is increased, returning incarceration costs will decrease.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

One criticism of any economic analysis of crime and punishment is the difficulty of accurately evaluating all of the costs and benefits. Which of the following is an example of an indirect cost?

A) The hospitalization costs and days of work lost
B) The victim's pain and suffering and lost productivity
C) Criminal justice related costs
D) The tangible economic cost

Answer 3

B

Question 4

What was the average cost of holding an inmate in a federal prison for a year, in 2015?

A) $31,977
B) $39,977
C) $41,977
D) $43,977

Question 5

Which special needs populations in prison are very costly to house?

A) Transgender offenders
B) Illegal aliens
C) Female prisoners with children and elderly inmates
D) Female juveniles

Question 6

Why should we release elderly inmates convicted of nonviolent crimes if suitable community alternatives exist?

A) They can pay for their own health care.
B) This would make more room for young offenders.
C) It would free resources.
D) They have a lower recidivism risk.

Question 7

The concept of the justice reinvestment refers to investing money on programs proven to reduce the recidivism of offenders who pose the highest risk of recidivism. Its other component is to provide them

A) spending money.
B) shelter.
C) health care.
D) effective supervision.

Question 8

Maintaining family relationships can be very beneficial for the inmate because it

A) gives them hope and makes things less stressful.
B) reduces prison misconduct and recidivism once the inmate is free.
C) helps them to cover the extra costs of prison.
D) prevents them from escaping.

Question 9

The key features of effective correctional rehabilitation models are

A) risk, needs, and responsivity.
B) risk, evaluation, and responsivity.
C) risk, evaluation, and treatment.
D) risk, treatment, and responsivity.

Question 10

What is the rate of U.S. recidivism?

A) 20 percent
B) 40 percent
C) 60 percent
D) 62 percent

Question 11

Despite the budget crisis that started in 2008, the support for mass imprisonment remains as strong as ever.

Question 12

Mass incarceration policies have serious negative consequences on individuals, families, and communities.

Question 13

It is not very difficult to accurately predict the likelihood of recidivism for different types of prisoners.

Question 14

Researchers sometimes use the same data and reach different conclusions.

Question 15

It costs as much to incarcerate an inmate as it does to enroll a student in a private college.

Question 16

Each taxpayer contributed about $1551 per year to keep jail inmates and offenders imprisoned.

Question 17

The more barriers we construct to community reintegration, the more likely the individual will return to jail or prison.

Question 18

Parental incarceration is associated with a higher likelihood of mental health and behavioral problems in children.

Question 19

Spending on rehabilitation represents half of the overall correctional budgets.

Question 20

Private facilities reduce costs by making prisoners work on production lines.