Exam 12: Discretion and Dilemmas in Corrections

When were the first exclusively women's prisons built in the United States?

Because of the transitory nature of the population, officers working in ___________ may not know much about the inmates they supervise.

You are a rookie correctional officer at a state prison. The day is coming to an end and the inmates are in their cells. As you make your rounds to count heads, one of the inmates asks you if you'd bring him a piece of dental floss. He says he has an uncooked grain of rice from dinner stuck in his back teeth and it is very painful. He only needs a small piece, surely not enough to pose any problem. According to prison rules, dental floss may only be used in the shower area, under observation. It is apparent to you that the inmate is in discomfort, and you know this inmate to be well-behaved. You are inclined to provide the dental floss. After all, this inmate has never given you trouble, and in fact you think that he might be helpful in the future when it comes to relations with troublesome inmates. Such a relationship would illustrate the concept of:

Discuss the different ways treatment and security concerns clash for treatment professionals.

Which of the following statements about women in prison is false?

According to Souryal's typology, which type of probation and parole officers may have a tendency to violate a client's rights of privacy and autonomy?

___________________ are perceived to be more of a threat to the community, so the officers' "supervision" role is emphasized much more strongly than in probation.

Some inmates claim the lack of human sympathy shown by their COs is worse than the physical deprivation they have endured.

Sheriff's deputies are often assigned to serve as correctional officers in which type of facility?

According to Souryal's typology, the type of probation or parole officer who has a tendency to use illegal threats and violate the due-process protections of his/her clients, is called the:

You are a rookie correctional officer at a state prison. The day is coming to an end and the inmates are in their cells. As you make your rounds to count heads, one of the inmates asks you if you'd bring him a piece of dental floss. He says he has an uncooked grain of rice from dinner stuck in his back teeth and it is very painful. He only needs a small piece, surely not enough to pose any problem. According to prison rules, dental floss may only be used in the shower area, under observation. It is apparent to you that the inmate is in discomfort, and you know this inmate to be well-behaved. Another officer, a veteran, sees that you have retrieved dental floss and asks what you intend to do with it. After you explain, he warns that it is not a good idea. Sometimes, a seemingly innocent request to break the rules turns out to just be the start, and once you have broken the rules, the inmate has something to hold over you. This can lead to more and more problematic requests and demands. This process is known as:

You are a psychiatrist on call with a state prison. You have been called in to examine an inmate who has been behaving erratically. Prison officials are concerned that he poses a danger to himself and others. They have confined him in a bare solitary cell to be sure he can't hurt himself, and have asked you to evaluate him. Immediately, you recognize an ethical dilemma. Your duty as a psychiatrist requires you to act in the best interests of your patient, but at the same time, you recognize that the prison setting brings with it certain duties that favor institutional security over patient rights. In the end, the inmate refuses to consent to medication but you have determined that it is medically necessary for the inmate's safety and well-being that he be given the medication. According to the Supreme Court decision in Washington v. Harper , which of the following is correct?

The Prison Litigation Reform Act made it easier for inmates to file lawsuits by removing the time limits that previously were used to reject lawsuits.

You are a rookie correctional officer at a state prison. The day is coming to an end and the inmates are in their cells. As you make your rounds to count heads, one of the inmates asks you if you'd bring him a piece of dental floss. He says he has an uncooked grain of rice from dinner stuck in his back teeth and it is very painful. He only needs a small piece, surely not enough to pose any problem. According to prison rules, dental floss may only be used in the shower area, under observation. It is apparent to you that the inmate is in discomfort, and you know this inmate to be well-behaved. To decide how you will act, you consider the ethical systems that might apply to the situation. If you decide to provide the dental floss because you believe it will alleviate the inmate's suffering, even though it means breaking the rules, which ethical system would this illustrate?

"Tune-ups" were a form of abuse conducted in ________ prisons.

You are an inmate at a state prison. The facility does not provide air conditioning in the cells and you find this to be unreasonable, considering the summers have been unusually hot. In the end, the court rejects your case. The court's decision is consistent with the concept of _______________, which allows prison administration latitude to establish policy as it sees fit.

Correctional officer is the term that replaced the old label of:

You are a prison warden in Arkansas. The days of the Tucker Telephone are long behind you, but a rise in gang violence within the walls of your prison has led some of the correctional officers under you to take matters into their own hands. An informant has recently brought your attention to the existence of a "boom boom room" which lacks surveillance cameras and is, therefore, ideal for roughing up prisoners. How will you maintain authority while still bringing discipline to the officers who work for you? Explain in detail.

You are an inmate at a state prison. The facility does not provide air conditioning in the cells and you find this to be unreasonable, considering the summers have been unusually hot. Your research in the prison law library is discouraging. You discover that a 1996 law called ________________ drastically curtailed the ability of inmates to file lawsuits.

According to a Bureau of Justice Statistics report in 2005, more than 67 percent of released prisoners were re- arrested within three years of being released.