Deck 16: Current and Future Issues in Corrections

Question 1

Which of the following is a reason for the slowdown in the growth of incarcerated offenders?

A) There has been a decrease in the use of alternatives to incarceration.
B) There has been considerable publicity about the merit of tough sentencing laws.
C) Few states have implemented sanctions between probation and incarceration.
D) There are not enough prisons to house all convicted inmates.

Answer 1

There has been considerable publicity about the merit of tough sentencing laws.

Question 2

Which of the following represents the percentage increase in the number of inmates between 2000 and 208 held in private prisons?

A) 30 percent
B) 22 percent
C) 48 percent
D) 105 percent

Answer 2

48 percent

Question 3

Which of the following statements is TRUE regarding the U.S. state prison population from 1978 to 2009?

A) It increased rapidly.
B) It decreased significantly.
C) It remained the same.
D) It increased slightly

Answer 3

It increased rapidly.

Question 4

An approach to use evidence-based policies and programs to create community alternatives to prison to both slow the increase or reduce the prison population and save money is known as ________.

A) the Justice Reinvestment Initiative
B) restrictive housing status
C) privatization
D) mass incarceration

Question 5

Which of the following is a consequence of mass incarceration?

A) decreased political support
B) increased mental and physical health issues for prisoners
C) increased employment and earnings for former inmates
D) decreased fiscal pressure on the government

Question 6

Which of the following defines mass incarceration?

A) It is reducing offenders' ability or capacity to commit further crimes.
B) It is the overuse of prisons and jails for sentencing and detaining offenders beyond what is effective and necessary to protect society and at too great a cost.
C) It is a requirement that for certain crimes or for certain types of offenders, there must be a sentence to prison for at least a minimum term.
D) It is an emphasis on the rational and efficient deployment of control strategies for managing and confining high-risk criminal populations.

Question 7

Which of the following is a growing method used by correctional agencies to reduce their costs?

A) to contract some services or the entire operation of prisons to the private sector
B) to divert low-level offenders from prison to the community
C) to reduce physical and mental health care for prisoners
D) to increase the use of special housing units

Question 8

Which of the following is an issue that is key to any deliberation regarding the use of private prisons?

A) their disregard for U.S. Supreme Court rulings
B) the location of private prisons
C) their tie to the ACLU
D) the cost and efficiency of private prisons

Question 9

Which of the following is the practice of isolating inmates in cells for 22-24 hours a day, with limited human contact, usually for several months at a time?

A) privatization
B) supermax prisons
C) solitary confinement
D) mass incarceration

Question 10

Correctional jobs are ________.

A) jobs that anyone can perform with minimal training
B) like jobs in any public agency or private-sector company
C) jobs that can be handled by only certain ethnic groups
D) difficult to perform, and not every person who expresses an interest is suited for it

Question 11

Which of the following statements is TRUE regarding corrections as a career opportunity?

A) There are few available jobs in the field of corrections.
B) Correctional agencies have frequent layoffs and therefore the jobs are not very stable.
C) Correctional jobs are easy to perform.
D) Correctional jobs pay better than most people believe, and the benefits are often good.

Question 12

The Association of State Correctional Administrators suggests which practice be used for managing inmates on restrictive status housing?

A) a subjective decision-making process for assigning inmates to restrictive status housing
B) progressive levels with increased privileges as incentives for positive behavior
C) mental health assessments within two weeks of placement in restrictive housing
D) no visiting or exercise while on restrictive status housing

Question 13

Kansas elected officials implemented a plan to reduce prison admissions by providing counties with financial incentives to create ________.

A) electronic monitoring systems
B) community correctional systems
C) identification systems
D) global positioning systems

Question 14

Which of the following is a step adopted by one or more states for the purpose of reducing recidivism and helping prisoners reenter society?

A) allowing violent offenders to serve up to 180 days of their prison sentence at home
B) investing money in building more prisons so that more offenders can be incarcerated
C) adopting legislation creating or expanding community corrections options for nonviolent offenders, including the use of drug courts
D) implementing a plan to increase prison admissions and providing more correctional programs

Question 15

Which of the following is a reason for the high turnover rates experienced in corrections?

A) low stress levels
B) compliant clients
C) normal working hours
D) threats of violence

Question 16

Which of the following is TRUE of correctional jobs?

A) The jobs are unstable.
B) The pay is worse than most people believe.
C) There are many available jobs.
D) The jobs are devoid of risk and much responsibility.

Question 17

What is the approximate rate of increase in the number of correctional employees working at the federal, state, and local levels in the United States between 1992 to 2010?

A) 80 percent
B) 44 percent
C) 3 percent
D) 15 percent

Question 18

Many jurisdictions still strongly believe that the best way to manage potentially dangerous prisoners is through ________ or by removing them from the general population and keeping them in a very secure setting.

A) retribution
B) deterrence
C) incapacitation
D) rehabilitation

Question 19

One of the reasons for the slowdown in the growth of incarcerated offenders is that many states have increased their use of alternatives to incarceration.

Question 20

The state prison population slightly decreased in 2013.

Question 21

Corrections policy is at a critical crossroad where tight budgets and politics intersect.

Question 22

Key drivers of increased costs are inmate health care and salaries for staff.

Question 23

Offenders can be diverted from prison either on the front end of sentencing or on the back end.

Question 24

Many state correctional reforms have come from states' participation in the Justice Reinvestment Initiative.

Question 25

In 2016, the United States had one of the lowest incarceration rates worldwide.

Question 26

Mass incarceration leads to better physical and mental health care for prisoners.

Question 27

The first private contract to house adult offenders was in 1950.

Question 28

Correctional jobs are difficult to perform, and not every person who expresses an interest in corrections is suited for this type of work.

Question 29

There is minimal controversy surrounding the privatization of prisons.

Question 30

One of the challenges of having private prisons is the ethical concerns of an offender's freedom being taken away by a for-profit company.

Question 31

A 2015 report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that on any given day, 15% of prison inmates were held in solitary confinement.

Question 32

Over the past few years, the attention to solitary confinement has decreased.

Question 33

Proponents of incarceration argue that ________ offenders in prison reduces crime.

Question 34

Many states have ________ their use of alternatives to incarceration.

Question 35

The ________ and budget challenges at the federal, state, and local levels have had an impact on incarceration rates as governments try to reduce the cost of corrections.

Question 36

________-based practices are programs and policies that research finds effective.

Question 37

________ incarceration is generally a term used to refer to the fact that the U.S. prison population has grown dramatically over the past forty years, and the United States incarcerates a much higher ratio of people than any other country.

Question 38

The 1980s growth in incarceration rate was largely drive by the increase in prison commitments by ________.

Question 39

A growing method used by correctional agencies to reduce their costs is to contract some services or the entire operation of prisons to the ________ sector.

Question 40

A(n) ________ prison is any secure correctional facility operated by an organization other than a governmental agency, and usually in a for-profit manner, that contracts with the government to provide security, housing, and programs for adult offenders.

Question 41

Solitary ________ is the practice of isolating inmates in cells for 22-24 hours a day, with limited human contact, usually for several months at a time.

Question 42

________ status housing designates the housing for inmates whose continued presence in the general prison population would pose a serious threat to life, property, self, staff or other inmates, or to the security or orderly operation of a correctional facility.

Question 43

Corrections is a(n) ________ business, meaning that it is not the bars, fences, policies, or equipment that successfully carry out the goals of a correctional sanction.

Question 44

A(n) ________ in corrections is beginning work for a correctional agency with the intent of working in corrections until retirement.

Question 45

Match the term with the appropriate definition.

-Evidence-based practices

A) Overuse of prisons and jails beyond what is effective and necessary
B) Programs and policies that research finds effective
C) Practice of isolating inmates in cells for 22-24 hours a day
D) Any secure correctional facility operated by an organization other than the government

Question 46

Match the term with the appropriate definition.

-Mass incarceration

A) Overuse of prisons and jails beyond what is effective and necessary
B) Programs and policies that research finds effective
C) Practice of isolating inmates in cells for 22-24 hours a day
D) Any secure correctional facility operated by an organization other than the government

Question 47

Match the term with the appropriate definition.

-Private prison

A) Overuse of prisons and jails beyond what is effective and necessary
B) Programs and policies that research finds effective
C) Practice of isolating inmates in cells for 22-24 hours a day
D) Any secure correctional facility operated by an organization other than the government

Question 48

Match the term with the appropriate definition.

-Solitary confinement

A) Overuse of prisons and jails beyond what is effective and necessary
B) Programs and policies that research finds effective
C) Practice of isolating inmates in cells for 22-24 hours a day
D) Any secure correctional facility operated by an organization other than the government

Question 49

Explain why there has finally been a slowdown in the incarceration rate in the United States.

Question 50

Discuss the key drivers of the increase in correctional costs.

Question 51

Should inmates be subjected to solitary confinement? Explain your beliefs.

Question 52

Provide support on your opinion regarding the comparable treatment of private versus government-funded prisons.