Deck 11: Prison Systems

Question 1

Which of the following is not one of the major correctional institutions in the state systems?

A) Close prisons
B) Medium security prisons
C) Supermax prisons
D) Weekend confinement prisons

Answer 1

Weekend confinement prisons

Question 2

The primary emphases of state prison facilities are

A) security and custody.
B) security and rehabilitation.
C) detention and punishment.
D) rehabilitation and punishment.

Answer 2

security and custody.

Question 3

Which type of correctional system is more common in the northeast than in other parts of the United States?

A) Prison farms
B) Small prisons specializing in specific types of offenders
C) Agricultural prisons
D) Large industrial prisons

Answer 3

Large industrial prisons

Question 4

Agricultural prisons began in

A) the Midwest.
B) the southern states.
C) the western frontier.
D) the northeast.

Question 5

Which of the following is not a reason why many states are abandoning the use of prison farms?

A) Farm organizations are complaining that the competition is unfair.
B) Inmates do not find farming experience useful after release.
C) State agencies are often unwilling to purchase food grown by inmates.
D) The mechanization of farming methods has made prison farms less profitable.

Question 6

Realistically, offenders are assigned to programs based on

A) criminal history reports.
B) personal interest.
C) rehabilitation potential.
D) institutional needs.

Question 7

Many times, reclassification decisions are based on perceptions of the individual's ability to

A) handle the next-lowest security level.
B) conform to their treatment plan.
C) develop regular work habits.
D) meet all institutional needs.

Question 8

In 2005, the Supreme Court ruled that new inmates may not be segregated by ________ during the classification process.

A) gender
B) race
C) security level
D) escape potential

Question 9

Which group comprises the fastest-growing segment of the state prison population?

A) Caucasians
B) African-Americans
C) Hispanics
D) Asians

Question 10

More than half of state prison inmates are incarcerated for what type of crime?

A) Violent
B) Drug
C) Corporate
D) Property

Question 11

Which of the following was not a reason for the increase in the state prison population between 1980 and 2010?

A) The Great Recession
B) The War on Drugs
C) Increasing rates of parole revocation
D) The War on Crime

Question 12

Which type of correctional facility is most expensive to construct and operate?

A) A supermax prison
B) A maximum-security prison
C) A medium-security prison
D) A minimum-security prison

Question 13

Which of the following statements about male inmates incarcerated in state prisons is false?

A) They are more likely to have medical problems than non-incarcerated men.
B) More than half witnessed domestic abuse while children.
C) More than half were sexually abused while children.
D) More than half have male relatives who have been incarcerated.

Question 14

A consent decree gives a correctional institution permission to

A) move a problematic inmate into solitary confinement.
B) continue operating until a problem has been fixed within a specific time frame.
C) allow inmates to participate in work-release programs.
D) transfer an inmate to another facility against the inmate's wish.

Question 15

What law provides for the principal means of allowing inmate complaints into the federal court system?

A) International Declaration of Human Rights
B) United Nations Convention against Torture
C) Civil Rights Law of 1871
D) Civil Rights Law of 1964

Question 16

The explosion in correctional construction between 1987 and 2012 was in response to

A) the deteriorating conditions of many prisons.
B) the need to relocate prisons away from expanding urban and suburban areas.
C) the development of new custody techniques.
D) problems of prison overcrowding.

Question 17

The War on Drugs led to an increase in the number of which type of inmates?

A) Mentally ill individuals
B) Terminally ill offenders
C) Street gang members
D) The elderly

Question 18

A special housing unit, or SHU, houses

A) offenders considered the worst of the worst.
B) offenders who are too mentally disabled to be incarcerated in the general population.
C) juveniles incarcerated in an adult facility.
D) terminally ill inmates.

Question 19

Which is an example of a security threat group?

A) A prison gang
B) Armed corrections staff
C) Prison psychologists responsible for inmate evaluation
D) Juvenile offenders vulnerable to assault

Question 20

In 1930, Congress created the

A) Bureau of Prisons.
B) Office of General Counsel.
C) Office of Inspections.
D) U.S. Department of Justice.

Question 21

Which of the following did not contribute to the increase in federal inmates?

A) A reduction of the power of the federal parole board
B) The War on Drugs
C) Truth-in-sentencing laws
D) Change in state sentencing laws

Question 22

Male military offenders are housed at the

A) Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.
B) Naval Consolidated Brig in San Diego, California.
C) U.S. Military Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
D) Homestead Air Reserve Base in Homestead, Florida.

Question 23

Adult male offenders comprise the vast majority of state prison inmates.

Question 24

Many state prisons are modeled after the 19th-century concepts of the Auburn penitentiary.

Question 25

More inmates are housed in minimum security facilities than in any other type of prison.

Question 26

The recent abatement in the growth of state prison populations is partly due to state budgetary pressures.

Question 27

The majority of correctional facilities in the United States are under the control of state agencies.

Question 28

The early large industrial prisons were designed to take advantage of cheap prison labor.

Question 29

The industry permitted in large correctional institutions today is sufficient to provide full employment for the inmate population.

Question 30

The lack of real-world application of farming skills has contributed to the decline in the use of prison farms.

Question 31

Some states do not have maximum security facilities but prefer to contract with another state to house their most serious offenders.

Question 32

Once classified, an inmate remains at that level of custody throughout his term of incarceration.

Question 33

An inmate's work assignment is based on institutional needs rather than individual inmate needs.

Question 34

Recently, the Supreme Court permitted racial segregation of inmates on the grounds that it serves institutional interests and has legitimate correctional functions.

Question 35

African American males are incarcerated at a much higher rate than white males.

Question 36

The Great Recession of 2007-2012 contributed to the expansion of the state prison population.

Question 37

When building a new prison, the lower the security level, the higher the cost per bed.

Question 38

Male inmates entering prison tend to have chronic physical conditions and mental health problems.

Question 39

The courts have ordered states to release inmates from prison to deal with overcrowding problems.

Question 40

States have readily accepted court censure of their correctional facilities and practices, welcoming the establishment of clear and binding regulations.

Question 41

Supermax prisons were created to isolate gang members and other dangerous and violent offenders.

Question 42

The federal correctional system is known as the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Question 43

The Bureau of Prisons relies on private-sector corrections to manage its most dangerous inmates.

Question 44

Male military offenders are held in Fort Leavenworth.

Question 45

More offenders are housed in ________ security prisons than in any other security level.

Question 46

________ prisons began in the southern states, using inmates to replace pre-Civil war slave labor.

Question 47

Road prisons which allow inmates to perform labor outdoors, often outside the prison facility, are known as ________ camps.

Question 48

The ________ classification determines the institution to which an inmate will be assigned.

Question 49

The process by which offenders are assigned to types of custody and treatment programs is known as the ________ process.

Question 50

Realistically, work assignments in prison tend to be made to conform to ________ needs.

Question 51

When constructing prisons, the ________ the security level, the less the cost per bed.

Question 52

A(n) ________ decree gives a state permission to continue operating correctional facilities until the problems identified have been fixed within a specific time frame.

Question 53

A(n) ________ prison is designed for the secure control of dangerous, violent, and seriously disruptive prison inmates.

Question 54

The first supermax prison was ________.

Question 55

A prison gang is known as a security ________ group.

Question 56

In 1930, an act of Congress created the Federal ________ of Prisons.

Question 57

Match the type of prison industry to its description .

-Agricultural prison

A) Begun in the southern states using inmates to replace pre-Civil War slave labor
B) Low-security facilities organized around outdoor labor
C) Found in the northeast and designed to take advantage of inmates as a cheap labor force

Question 58

Match the type of prison industry to its description .

-Industrial prison

A) Begun in the southern states using inmates to replace pre-Civil War slave labor
B) Low-security facilities organized around outdoor labor
C) Found in the northeast and designed to take advantage of inmates as a cheap labor force

Question 59

Match the type of prison industry to its description .

-Work camps

A) Begun in the southern states using inmates to replace pre-Civil War slave labor
B) Low-security facilities organized around outdoor labor
C) Found in the northeast and designed to take advantage of inmates as a cheap labor force

Question 60

Describe the various types of prison employment, why they were created, and the problems with each type.

Question 61

Describe the classification process in state prisons.

Question 62

Describe the various factors that contribute to the high cost of building state prisons.

Question 63

Imagine that you are responsible for devising and implementing a state prison's employment program and that, in stark contrast to the restrictions and constraints, budgetary and otherwise, faced by most prison administrators, you have been given broad freedom and adequate resources to establish said program. What would you do? What kinds of programs would you implement? Would you partner with other entities? What kind of evaluation or assessment process would you have?

Question 64

Given what you know about inmate populations, including the high levels of violence found in many facilities, and the restrictions and living conditions associated with Special Housing Units, or SHUs, do you think that SHUs are a good solution to the realities of life in state prisons today? Why or why not?