Deck 6: Community Corrections: Probation and Intermediary Sanctions

Question 1

What was John Augustus known for?

A) passing the National Probation Act
B) providing the first judicial reprieve
C) developing the first probation system
D) innovating the hybrid approach to probation

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The Massachusetts legislature's authorization of Boston's hiring of probation officers in 1878 marked the beginning of ______.

A) probationers receiving supervision
B) probation officers receiving pay.
C) offenders having an alternative to incarceration
D) the first probation program in America

Answer 2

B

Question 3

______ of all sentences handed down by U.S. courts are probation orders.

A) A small minority
B) Just under half
C) Slightly over half
D) The vast majority

Answer 3

D

Question 4

What effect did the National Probation Act of 1925 have?

A) outlawed indefinite suspension of a sentence
B) made probation legal based on judge discretion
C) established the first probation system in the United States
D) declared probation illegal for violent offenders

Question 5

According to the most recent statistics, ______ of probationers exited successfully.

A) a small minority
B) about half
C) nearly two-thirds
D) the vast majority

Question 6

Which offender is most likely to be on probation?

A) White male
B) Black male
C) Hispanic female
D) White female

Question 7

For each offender placed on probation rather than incarcerated, taxpayers save about ______ per year.

A) $10,000
B) $25,000
C) $50,000
D) $75,000

Question 8

Community corrections is a good solution for ______.

A) all offenders
B) offenders who do not threaten public safety
C) female offenders
D) offenders in their early 20s

Question 9

Probation allows offenders to ______.

A) work during the day while they are incarcerated on nights and weekends
B) keep their criminal records free of convictions
C) maintain the relationships they have in the community
D) learn military-style discipline in a boot camp program

Question 10

According to the U.S. Marshals Service, ______ of people in the witness protection program are criminals.

A) a small minority
B) just under half
C) slightly more than half
D) the vast majority

Question 11

According to the U.S. Marshals Service, ______ of people in the witness protection program commit crimes within a year of receiving a new identity.

A) a small minority
B) just under half
C) about two-thirds
D) the vast majority

Question 12

Which statement is true about probation officers who work with offenders who live in dangerous areas?

A) They must spend ample time in the communities in order to understand the culture.
B) They may require the offender to travel to a safer area for daily meetings.
C) They are prohibited from carrying firearms to avoid contributing to violent situations.
D) They cannot recommend resources in areas that are known to be dangerous.

Question 13

An offender is assigned a probation officer who is known for being strict. She emphasizes compliance with the terms of the probation and is not lenient with those who trespass on any of them. This probation officer is most likely following a ______ role.

A) law enforcement
B) social worker
C) hybrid
D) parental

Question 14

What is an example of a successful hybrid probation program?

A) Hawaii's Opportunity Probation With Enforcement (HOPE)
B) Victim-Offender Reconciliation Program (VORP)
C) National Probation Program (NPP)
D) Delaware's Work Release Program (DWRP)

Question 15

In one study, ______ of probationers received technical violations when supervised by a treatment-oriented officer.

A) a small minority
B) just under half
C) slightly more than half
D) the vast majority

Question 16

In 2012, ______ of probationers were ultimately incarcerated.

A) just under half
B) a small minority
C) slightly more than half
D) the vast majority

Question 17

What is the term for an increasing seriousness of a violation that is met with an increasing severity of punishment?

A) probation violation
B) technical sanction
C) technical violation
D) graduated sanction

Question 18

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median salary for probation officers is about ______ a year.

A) $20,000
B) $35,000
C) $50,000
D) $65,000

Question 19

Job stressors for probation officers include ______.

A) lack of resources from the community
B) overwhelming number of promotion opportunities
C) meager health and dental benefits
D) boredom during the workday

Question 20

You are a probation officer in a large inner city. Which of the following is likely to be a cause of stress for you?

A) low pay
B) lack of job security
C) lack of benefits
D) threat of violence on the job

Question 21

Offenders ought to be thought of in terms of ______.

A) crimes committed rather than crimes deterred
B) crimes deterred rather than crimes committed
C) pathologies rather than deficiencies
D) deficiencies rather than pathologies

Question 22

An individual within the community who dropped out of high school and does not have a job committed property theft. Some theorists would argue that this individual committed a crime due to lack of ______.

A) intermediate sanctions
B) social capital
C) social bonds
D) restorative justice

Question 23

What is the term for connections to others and to institutions that promote positive behavior and discourage negative behavior?

A) social capital
B) connectivity
C) engagement
D) social bonds

Question 24

Probation in the United States initially began as a ______.

A) means of controlling violent offenders
B) voluntary effort of the community
C) professional extension of the courts
D) way of helping juvenile offenders

Question 25

Why would an offender be most suited to be sentenced to an intermediate sanction?

A) They need stricter supervision than traditional probation but less strict than prison.
B) They are a chronic, violent offender.
C) They have committed their first offense, and it was nonviolent.
D) They are in their early twenties.

Question 26

Which of the following is a benefit of intermediate sanctions in general?

A) They cost less than traditional probation.
B) They contribute to prison overcrowding.
C) They lower recidivism rates over probation.
D) They provide for better public safety than regular probation.

Question 27

Which sanction requires a reduced number of cases for probation officers?

A) intensive supervision
B) work release
C) shock probation
D) parole

Question 28

Work release centers are usually situated ______.

A) in or near a county jail or prison
B) in the probation department
C) near the police department
D) near a hospital

Question 29

What is the relationship between work release programs and recidivism?

A) They are the least effective intermediate sanction at reducing recidivism.
B) They make recidivism more likely because offenders are allowed into the community.
C) Recidivism is less likely because employment is incompatible with the criminal lifestyle.
D) Recidivism is more likely due to resentment against employers.

Question 30

Which offender is most likely to be sent to a correctional boot camp?

A) a 50-year-old convicted of petty theft
B) a 20-year-old convicted of drug possession
C) a 30-year-old convicted of aggravated assault
D) a 40-year-old convicted of simple assault

Question 31

According to research, boot camps ______ recidivism.

A) significantly reduce
B) increase
C) do not affect
D) slightly reduce

Question 32

When VORPs are utilized, ______ of victims invited to participate accept.

A) a small minority
B) slightly under half
C) slightly more than half
D) the vast majority

Question 33

Restorative justice is known as the balanced approach because it equally weights community protection, offender accountability, and ______.

A) victim safety
B) offender competency
C) cost of incarceration
D) crime seriousness

Question 34

Boston's early probation system worked with all offenders regardless of crime.

Question 35

In 2016, about half of probationers successfully completed their conditions of supervision and were released.

Question 36

Men make up the large majority of the adult probation population.

Question 37

Many more offenders get into trouble because of pathologies like mental illness rather than deficiencies like lack of education.

Question 38

Probation and parole officers are officers of criminal investigations.

Question 39

One study found that offenders supervised by law enforcement officers received the largest numbers of technical violations.

Question 40

Job stability is rarely a source of stress for probation officers.

Question 41

Probation officers enjoy a great deal of prestige in some other countries.

Question 42

Many criminals have large stores of social capital.

Question 43

Boot camps as a form of community corrections are generally unpopular with the public.

Question 44

Shock probation is modeled after military training.

Question 45

Relate the concept of judicial reprieve to modern-day probation.

Question 46

Why does the general public not approve of probation?

Question 47

Compare and contrast the roles of a probation officer.

Question 48

Provide at least two examples of job stressors identified by probation officers.

Question 49

What are social bonds? Evaluate their role in community corrections.

Question 50

Explain social capital and its relationship to criminality.

Question 51

What is intensive supervision probation? What type of offenders better fit this type of probation?

Question 52

What are VORPs?

Question 53

Evaluate the relative benefits of probation, as opposed to imprisonment, for communities.

Question 54

Choose one of the three roles probation officers can follow. Provide an example of the types of decisions a probation officer fulfilling that role might make.

Question 55

It is said that the majority of felons have deficiencies rather than pathologies. Analyze this statement in terms of the concept of social capital.

Question 56

What are intermediate sanctions? Choose two types of intermediate sanctions mentioned in this chapter and provide an overview of each.

Question 57

Evaluate the benefits of victim-offender reconciliation programs (VORPs) for victims.