Deck 10: Ethics and Institutional Corrections

Question 1

Crime control theology consists of articles of faith, based on assumptions about human nature and idealized world views, that include proponents' greatest hopes and their deepest fears.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The "no-frills movement" relating to prisons and jails sought to restrict or end inmate access to personal items such as televisions, radios, or computers.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Issues such as who should be imprisoned, what do the imprisoned deserve, and whether corporate entities should be allowed to run and profit from prisons are considered in arguments concerning prisons for punishment.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Among criminal justice officials and the courts is an unspoken commitment to a doctrine of penal civility: that conditions inside prison should be no better than those an inmate would experience in the outside world.

Question 5

Prisons as punishment addresses issues involving the personnel working in them and their day-to-day activities, corruption, and the delivery of services to inmates.

Question 6

The fundamental attribution error suggests people tend to explain the bad behavior of others by overstating the importance of personality traits or dispositions and underestimating the power of situational forces.

Question 7

According to some critics, relying on profit-making organizations to build and run prisons is problematic in part because doing so could change citizen expectations such that "profit" or "profitability" becomes associated with imprisonment.

Question 8

The Yale Prison Experiment revealed the potentially negative effects of imprisonment on both guards and inmates.

Question 9

Arguments concerning prisons for punishment tend to address issues surrounding the day-to-day operation of prisons, including supervision of inmates and the delivery of services to them.

Question 10

The job-related responsibilities of correctional officers often create opportunities to engage in unethical or illegal behavior.

Question 11

These are a "type" of correctional officers who are extreme enforcers of the rules:

A) Rule enforcers
B) Hard liners
C) Synthetic officers
D) Loners

Question 12

This term describes what occurs when correctional officers develop relationships with inmates that revolve around mutual benefits:

A) Reciprocity
B) Prison Corruption
C) Misfeasance
D) Malfeasance

Question 13

Which of the following describes the intentional violation of organizational rules and/or procedures for personal on the part of public employees working in correctional facilities?

A) Reciprocity
B) Prison Corruption
C) Misfeasance
D) Malfeasance

Question 14

This occurs when a correctional officer improperly performs the duties he or she is legally expected or required to fulfill:

A) Reciprocity
B) Prison Corruption
C) Misfeasance
D) Malfeasance

Question 15

This occurs when correctional officials intentionally abuse their discretion for personal gain:

A) Nonfeasance
B) Misuse of authority
C) Malfeasance
D) Misfeasance

Question 16

Which of the following behaviors would not typically be considered an example of prison corruption?

A) Trafficking in contraband goods or services
B) Misuse of authority
C) Failing to protect the confidentiality of inmate treatment records
D) Each of the above is an example of corruption

Question 17

The Lucifer Effect:

A) Is a product of certain dynamics including deindividuation, bystander apathy, and obedience to authority
B) Was first described by Phillip Zimbardo in a book by the same name
C) Describes typically good people succumbing to the social and psychological pressures of the situation, resulting in the worst possible outcomes
D) All of the above

Question 18

Steps that can be taken to help prevent prison corruption, especially that involving correctional officers, include which of the following?

A) Reduce visiting privileges for inmates to reduce opportunities for outside assistance with illegal behavior
B) Create "open prisons" such as those found in Scandinavia
C) States implementing improved management of material practices in each prison (e.g., creating written guidelines for the exercise of discretion by correctional officials)
D) Rewriting model standards for prison employees, such as those created by the ACA

Question 19

Ethical issues involving treatment staff working in prisons are often a function of which of the following?

A) An "us-versus-them" separation of staff from offenders
B) The presence of criminal gangs in the facility
C) The paramilitary-based staff hierarchy typically found in prisons
D) All of the above

Question 20

This term describes the steady flow of admissions and releases occurring in the nation's jails:

A) "Churn"
B) "Reciprocity"
C) "Agitation"
D) None of the above

Question 21

The _________ prison experiment was a simulation conducted in 1971 that vividly revealed the effects of imprisonment on guards and inmates.

Question 22

_________ shows how far people will go to inflict pain on others under the guidance or auspices of an authority figure

Question 23

__________ is a phenomenon of officers unwilling to conform to behaviors which are then ostracized by the group.

Question 24

_________ is when people lose their sense of individual identity.

Question 25

________ occurs when there is a steady flow of admissions occurring.

Question 26

________ refers to correctional officers developing relationships with inmates that revolve around mutual benefit.

Question 27

An intentional violation of organizational rules and/or procedures by public employees working in prison for personal gain is known as _____________.

Question 28

____________ describes a correctional officer or treatment professional failing to fulfill his or her responsibilities or duties (i.e., acts of omission).

Question 29

____________ describes situations, such as crowds, where individual restraints on behavior may be lessened and aggression occur.

Question 30

____________ in the correctional environment mainly involves the competency of the treatment staff delivering the services.

Question 31

Discuss the role of model standards for correctional officers. What sorts of ideals and obligations are found in them? Are they realistic, given the context in which correctional officers work?

Question 32

Discuss the ethical issues associated with treatment staff working in prisons. Are these issues effectively addressed by the Standards for Mental Health Practices in Correctional Contexts? Why or why not?

Question 33

Discuss the Lucifer Effect and the dynamics associated with it. Is it a reasonable explanation for the unethical/illegal behavior in which correctional officers engage? Why or why not?

Question 34

If the entire criminal justice system can be justified on ethical grounds, is it possible for an ethical system to engage in unethical practices, such as incarceration? Discuss.