The Attorney General Has Hired You to Review Inmate Complaints

Multiple Choice

The Attorney General has hired you to review inmate complaints emanating from a state prison. Your investigation reveals that a group of six correctional officers is responsible for most of the issues. All six were part of the same training class and began work at the prison together. You are summarizing your findings for the Attorney General. While investigating the complaints, you noticed that several housing units were empty, while the others were clearly overcrowded. Cells designed for two inmates were occupied by three or four. When you asked the warden about this situation, he explained that it was more cost-effective to double-up the inmates. The empty cells did not require monitoring, cleaning, maintenance, and so on. He did not seem concerned that this policy resulted in undue suffering on the part of the inmates. This situation would be classified as:

A) systemic abuse.
B) "trickle¬down" abuse.
C) informal misconduct.
D) negligent abuse.