Deck 5: Alternatives to Confinement

Question 1

An offender takes responsibility for vandalizing a local community centre and, with the assistance of the local police, arranges to paint it back to its original colour within 30 days. The offender meets these conditions and is NOT processed further in the justice system. What alternative to confinement does this scenario exemplify?

A) pre-charge diversion
B) post-charge diversion
C) post-sentencing diversion
D) pre-confinement diversion

Answer 1

pre-charge diversion

Question 2

Which statement best describes diversion programs in the Canadian criminal justice system?

A) They are designed to allow an offender to progress through the educational system while in prison.
B) They allow prisoners to enter reintegration programs earlier in their sentence.
C) They are designed to keep offenders from being processed further into the formal criminal justice system.
D) They entitle a prisoner to be given religious and cultural freedom to practise their religious and cultural traditions.

Answer 2

They are designed to keep offenders from being processed further into the formal criminal justice system.

Question 3

An offender is being considered for electronic monitoring. The criminal justice actors must consider whether this system should be used as a "front end" or "back end" program. What do "front end" and "back end" refer to?

A) the stage of the correctional process at which the strategy is used
B) how the device is mounted onto the offender's body
C) whether the monitoring company can see offenders as they leave their home
D) whether the GPS system can monitor offenders within a specific distance around their home

Answer 3

the stage of the correctional process at which the strategy is used

Question 4

Which is an example of a system-oriented objective underlying the use of intermediate sanctions?

A) controlling offenders
B) reducing rates of recidivism
C) ensuring real punishment is imposed
D) securing some degree of incapacitation

Question 5

What type of electronic monitoring is at work when a federal offender is released on day parole and is required to wear a monitoring device to fulfil a mandatory condition of the parole certificate?

A) active electronic monitoring
B) passive electronic monitoring
C) back-end electronic monitoring
D) front-end electronic monitoring

Question 6

What alternative to confinement does a judge impose when an offender is sentenced to an alternative to confinement that requires 18 months of supervision in the community and the conditions of supervision are numerous and difficult, requiring the offender to be under house arrest from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 a.m.?

A) probation
B) suspended sentence
C) conditional discharge
D) conditional sentence order

Question 7

An offender is in court for breaching the conditions of his alternative to confinement. The offender must prove to the judge that the allegations are false and that the breach did NOT occur. Which alternative to confinement has the offender been serving in the community?

A) suspended sentence
B) conditional discharge
C) conditional sentence order
D) intensive supervision probation

Question 8

What term refers to a sentence imposed on an offender by a criminal court judge that provides for the supervision of the offender in the community by a government agent, either as an alternative to custody or in conjunction with a period of incarceration?

A) parole
B) suspended sentence
C) probation
D) absolute discharge

Question 9

Which alternative to confinement is the most widely used in Canada?

A) probation
B) community service
C) electronic monitoring
D) conditional sentence orders

Question 10

When must an adult offender be placed on probation?

A) when the offender must pay a fine
B) when the offender receives a suspended sentence
C) when the offender receives a conditional sentence
D) when the offender receives a prison term of two years or less

Question 11

Over the past few years, what has been the average length of probation orders?

A) 9 months
B) 12 months
C) 15 months
D) 18 months

Question 12

What is the maximum length of time that an adult offender can be placed under probation supervision?

A) 1 year
B) 2 years
C) 3 years
D) 4 years

Question 13

Which is a feature of probation?

A) An administrative tribunal makes the decision.
B) It is available to federal and provincial/territorial offenders.
C) Breach of condition may result in suspension or revocation.
D) When used in conjunction with imprisonment, it is limited to provincial/territorial offenders.

Question 14

An offender is released on day parole from an institution in British Columbia that houses offenders serving sentences of less than two years. Who will supervise the parolee in the community?

A) a federal parole officer
B) a provincial parole officer
C) a federal probation officer
D) a provincial probation officer

Question 15

What category of activities is represented when a probation officer spends an entire day writing progress reports for probationers?

A) assessment
B) investigation
C) officer of the court
D) surveillance/enforcement

Question 16

Which term is defined as "a document prepared by the probation officer for the judge that contains information on the convicted offender, including for example, socio-biographical information"?

A) risk assessment
B) pre-sentence report
C) community assessment
D) judicial monitoring report

Question 17

Which principle of effective correctional treatment programming is reflected when an offender is enrolled in a correctional treatment program that targets her cocaine addiction?

A) the risk principle
B) the need principle
C) the responsivity principle
D) the criminogenic principle

Question 18

A woman offender is sentenced to a period of probation, and a risk assessment tool reveals that she is at risk to reoffend due to a lack of education and a poor record of employment. What risk assessment tool did the probation officer use to measure her level of risk?

A) Case Management Inventory (CMI)
B) Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R)
C) Female Case Management Inventory (F-CMI)
D) Female Level of Service Inventory-Revised (FLSI-R)

Question 19

Which challenge in probation practice is represented when a probation officer complains about the increasing amount of paperwork that must be completed for parole hearings and court hearings?

A) high caseloads
B) heavy workloads
C) increasing needs and risks of probationer
D) a lack of PO-offender contact and intervention

Question 20

What has research evidence revealed about the experiences of many persons on probation?

A) Many believe probation is an effective deterrent.
B) Many had a negative overall experience of probation.
C) Many faced difficulty accessing programs while on probation.
D) Many did NOT think their probation officers treated them fairly.

Question 21

What has research evidence revealed about the effectiveness of alternatives to confinement?

A) RNR-based probation practices are successful.
B) Success rates for conditional sentence orders are high.
C) Restorative justice alternatives do NOT reduce rates of reoffending.
D) Diversion programs do NOT widen the net by focusing on low-risk, first-time offenders.

Question 22

What has research evidence revealed about the effectiveness of probation?

A) Traditional probation practice reduces reoffending.
B) Traditional probation practice results in net widening.
C) Intensive supervision probation is more costly than incarceration.
D) Probation outcomes are impacted by low program completion rates.

Question 23

What has research evidence revealed about the effectiveness of specialized supervision units?

A) They do NOT reduce rates of reoffending.
B) They do NOT promote offender accountability.
C) They reduce institutional correctional populations.
D) They have a positive impact on victim satisfaction.

Question 24

Name the nine areas that are incorporated into all pre-sentence reports that are completed by a probation officer, upon the request of the presiding judge.