Deck 5: Prison Systems

Question 1

Where was the first U.S. penitentiary established?

A) Los Angeles
B) Chicago
C) Philadelphia
D) New York City

Answer 1

Philadelphia

Question 2

About how many inmates did state and federal prisons hold in 1967?

A) 100,000
B) more than 500,000
C) less than 300,000
D) one million

Answer 2

less than 300,000

Question 3

What is the primary function of prisons?

A) to hold convicted felons, usually serving a sentence of a year or more
B) to hold defendants awaiting trial
C) to hold felons serving sentences of all lengths
D) to hold drug offenders serving sentences of less than a year

Answer 3

to hold convicted felons, usually serving a sentence of a year or more

Question 4

Which 1981 Supreme Court decision set forth that housing two inmates in a cell designed for one did not violate the Eighth Amendment's protection from cruel and unusual punishment?

A) Bruscino v. Carlson
B) Rhodes v. Chapman
C) Bell v. Wolfish
D) Morrissey v. Brewer

Question 5

Which of the following is a recommendation of the 1967 report by the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice?

A) Inmates must be given the opportunity and capability to earn a living wage to compensate their victims and support their families.
B) Most inmates derive minimum benefit from their incarceration during the first two years.
C) Community-based corrections are more expensive and less effective than incarceration.
D) The rates of pay for prison inmates should be set at approximately half the wage for similar labor.

Question 6

Which is part of the mission statement of most prisons?

A) to prepare offenders for release and transition to the community
B) to physically discipline inmates who break the rules
C) to provide programs to keep inmates busy
D) to pay prison inmates a living wage to compensate their victims

Question 7

Which of the following is responsible for housing illegal aliens pending a hearing?

A) the Federal Bureau of Prisons
B) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
C) community correctional centers
D) brigs operated by the U.S. military services

Question 8

Which enactment pertains to interstate transportation of stolen vehicles?

A) the Dyer Act
B) the Volstead Act
C) the Harrison Narcotic Act
D) the White Slave Act

Question 9

Which private prison company had the highest revenue in 2016?

A) The GEO Group
B) CoreCivic
C) Management Training Corporation
D) Corrections Corporation of America

Question 10

Which of the following is Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) responsible for?

A) detaining individuals who are convicted of violating the military code
B) detaining individuals arrested for commission of a crime and found to be in the United States without permission
C) detaining Americans arrested for committing a crime in another country
D) detaining individuals arrested for attempting to leave the United States without a valid passport

Question 11

When was the U.S. Department of Justice established?

A) 1941
B) 1776
C) 1870
D) 1967

Question 12

Who was the first director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons?

A) Norman A. Carlson
B) Sanford Bates
C) Myrl E. Alexander
D) Harley G. Lappin

Question 13

Which Act exemplifies criminal statutes extending the authority of the federal government to prosecute new crimes that were difficult for local law enforcement agencies to handle?

A) the Sentencing Reform Act
B) the Volstead Act
C) the Three Penitentiary Act
D) the Hawes-Cooper Act

Question 14

Which type of Federal Bureau of Prison facility handles the highest number of inmates?

A) home confinement
B) jail/short-term detention
C) community correctional centers
D) BOP-operated prisons

Question 15

What is the security level at federal institutions that feature dormitory housing, a relatively low staff-to-inmate ratio, and limited or no perimeter fencing?

A) minimum
B) medium
C) high
D) low

Question 16

What is the security level of U.S. penitentiaries?

A) low
B) minimum
C) high
D) medium

Question 17

Which federal institutions have special missions, such as the detention of pretrial offenders or containment of extremely dangerous inmates?

A) federal correctional institutions
B) federal prison camps
C) administrative facilities
D) brigs

Question 18

Which private prison corporation opened the first for-profit correctional facility in 1984 in Hamilton County, Tennessee?

A) Corrections Corporation of America
B) Management Training Corporation
C) The GEO Group
D) Community Correction Centers Ltd.

Question 19

Which of the following statements is TRUE of a career as a warden?

A) A warden's job is similar to that of a congressperson.
B) A warden is responsible for overseeing a state's correctional system.
C) Wardens are paid more than most chief executives in the private sector.
D) Warden is a job that takes many years of training and experience.

Question 20

Which company received the first private contract to house adult offenders?

A) The GEO Group
B) Cornell Correctional Companies
C) Corrections Corporation of America
D) Management Training Corporation

Question 21

Prisons are a relatively new phenomenon in criminal justice and corrections.

Question 22

The penitentiary was first established because the Pennsylvania Quakers decided that a more humane and efficient way to punish and reform criminals was needed.

Question 23

The role of prisons in the U.S. criminal justice system over the past several years has grown tremendously.

Question 24

Retribution was strongly emphasized as the goal of prisons until the 1970s.

Question 25

Before the 1970s, only the most violent and dangerous offenders went to prison, while property offenders usually got probation and supervision in the community.

Question 26

Currently, drug offenders with no prior involvement in crime often receive short, probation sentences.

Question 27

Inmates consider jail sentences very "easy time," because there is so little to do.

Question 28

Prison administrators try to keep inmates idle in their cells and quiet for as much of the day as possible.

Question 29

Currently, the U.S. public agrees that confinement facilities are the most effective way to protect the public, punish criminals, and deter them from committing further crimes after release.

Question 30

The use of prisons as a criminal sanction has increased, in part, because of the public's increasing fear of crime, decreasing tolerance of criminals, and demand for tougher sentencing laws.

Question 31

The federalization of drug laws has had the greatest effect on the increase in the number of drug offenders in prison.

Question 32

The budgets for all three areas of the criminal justice system (police, courts, and corrections) have increased dramatically.

Question 33

The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 made way for parole, and increased the amount of good time available to federal offenders.

Question 34

As many drug crimes were federalized, the federal prison population declined with less than one-third of all federal prison inmates serving sentences for drug offenses.

Question 35

Most states require that the staff of private prisons be public employees, not employees of the company that owns the prison.

Question 36

An institution designed to house convicted, adult felons serving a sentence of one year or more is a(n) ________.

Question 37

In the late 1960s, the ________ model, with its emphasis on rehabilitating offenders, was the prevailing corrections philosophy.

Question 38

A(n) ________ is a statement of an organization's major function and what it is to accomplish.

Question 39

New ________ is an emphasis on the rational and efficient deployment of control strategies for managing and confining high-risk criminal populations.

Question 40

The war on drugs began as an initiative by President _______ to reduce the availability of and dependence on illicit drugs through interdiction, criminal sanctions, and treatment.

Question 41

Crimes with little sophistication, such as murder, robbery, burglary, assault, and theft are ________ crimes.

Question 42

The decision of Congress to make a crime a federal rather than a state offense is to ________ a crime.

Question 43

The U.S. penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas, was one of the three federal prisons authorized and built under the Three ________ Act of 1891.

Question 44

The Federal Bureau of ________ is the agency within the Justice Department that is charged with housing and managing federal offenders.

Question 45

The ________ Reform Act of 1984 abolished parole, established determinate sentencing, and reduced the amount of good time for federal offenders.

Question 46

Federal prisons are classified into five different ________ levels (minimum, low, medium, high, or administrative), with each type of facility holding inmates with similar risks of violence and escape.

Question 47

Security ________ is a system of matching offenders to institutions with the security and staff resources to prevent escapes and control inmate behavior.

Question 48

In the United States, ________ and Customs Enforcement is responsible for housing illegal aliens pending a hearing or deportation back to their home country.

Question 49

A military correctional facility is also called a(n) ________.

Question 50

A(n) ________ prison is a secure correctional facility operated by a non-governmental agency and usually in a "for profit" manner.

Question 51

Match the piece of legislation with the appropriate description.

-Three Penitentiary Act

A) Prohibition of the sale and consumption of alcohol
B) Criminalization interstate commerce of prostitution
C) The 1891 act of Congress that authorized the construction of the first three federal prisons
D) The act of Congress that abolished parole, established determinate sentencing, and reduced the amount of good time available to federal offenders

Question 52

Match the piece of legislation with the appropriate description.

-Sentencing Reform Act of 1984

A) Prohibition of the sale and consumption of alcohol
B) Criminalization interstate commerce of prostitution
C) The 1891 act of Congress that authorized the construction of the first three federal prisons
D) The act of Congress that abolished parole, established determinate sentencing, and reduced the amount of good time available to federal offenders

Question 53

Match the piece of legislation with the appropriate description.

-White Slave Act of 1910

A) Prohibition of the sale and consumption of alcohol
B) Criminalization interstate commerce of prostitution
C) The 1891 act of Congress that authorized the construction of the first three federal prisons
D) The act of Congress that abolished parole, established determinate sentencing, and reduced the amount of good time available to federal offenders

Question 54

Match the piece of legislation with the appropriate description.

-Volstead Act of 1918

A) Prohibition of the sale and consumption of alcohol
B) Criminalization interstate commerce of prostitution
C) The 1891 act of Congress that authorized the construction of the first three federal prisons
D) The act of Congress that abolished parole, established determinate sentencing, and reduced the amount of good time available to federal offenders

Question 55

How did Rhodes v. Chapman affect the application of the Eighth Amendment in regard to inmate treatment?

Question 56

Explain the effect of the War on Drugs on the corrections system.

Question 57

Although the educational level requirement of a warden position is usually low, they have a difficult job. How can their decisions affect inmates?