Corrections in America Module 1 | Chapter 1 & 2

List the five purposes of the presentence investigation

For use in sentencing by the court, for use in determining supervision needs during probation, for use by prison officials in classifying offenders and determining program needs, and for use by parole board in making release decision

list the principles of the positive school of criminology?

*Created by Cesare Lombroso *people commit acts beyond their control *Criminals have traits that make them throwback to earlier stages *Atavism - existence of features common in early stages of evolution

list the principles of the Classical School of criminology?

*Crime is an injury *Prevention (deterrence) more important than punishment *Right to speedy trial and treatment *No secret accusations and torture *Certainty and swiftness more than severity deters crime *Imprisonment should be more widely used as a punishment

what legislative acts influenced the changing operations of prisons?

- Hawes Cooper Act - Ashurst Sumners Act - both limited sale of prison made products on the open market

How did the Irish system contribute to modern correctional operations in the United States?

A four-stage system of graduated release from prison and return to the community 1. Solitary Confinement 2. Special Prison 3. Open Institution 4. Ticket of Leave

What are mandatory minimum sentences?

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

How do drug courts operate, and what are their advantages?

An alternative to traditional court models to deal with the underlying drug problem as the basis of the offender's criminality. They reduce drug use and usually help offenders not to be arrested again.

how did abandonment of the "hands-off doctrine" affect prison operations?

An avoidance by the U.S. Supreme Court of judicial intervention in the operations of prisons and the judgment of correctional administrators.

What are economic sanctions and community service?

An economic sanction is a requirement that an offender pay a fine or restitution to the victim as part of his or her sentence, community service is a requirement that an offender provide personal time to do public good

in what ways does corrections attempt to rehabilitate offenders?

By providing programs to ensure inmates are treated and prepared for reentry. Rehabilitative Era included the option of the medical model

Differentiate between concurrent and consecutive sentences.

Concurrent sentences are sentences that run at the same time, consecutive sentences are sentences that run one after the other

List the pros and cons of three-strikes laws.

Habitual and dangerous lawbreakers will no longer be able to prey on law-abiding citizens and crime rates have dropped. It causes states to pay for offenders who commit petty crimes to be incarcerated for their third strike.

Differentiate between judicial, administrative, and legisla-tive forms of sentencing.

In judicial, judges have primary discretion in creating the sentence; in administrative, administrative bodies have primary discretion in granting good time and determining the release time of offenders; in legislative, legislative bodies create very structured sentencing codes, and therefore have primary discretion in the length of time served by offenders

wat is selective incapacitation?

Incarcerating high risk criminals for what they are expected to do, rather than what they've already done You are limiting crime if you give a repeated felon extended amounts of time for crime he has great potential to commit in advance

how has the victims' rights movement affected correctional policies and operations ?

It is because it provided adjustments which included the victim

how does reintegration differ from rehabilitation?

It is because of the emphasis it puts on strengthening the links between prisons and communities Reintegration was added to the emphasis on rehabilitation. After inmates finished their treatment (rehabilitation), they need more transitional care into the communities (halfway houses)

Describe how truth-in-sentencing legislation works.

It requires completion of 85 percent of the sentence before prisoners are eligible for release

Describe the Manhattan Bail Project and how it has ex-panded and influenced current detention practices.

It was a program started in the 1960s to assist judges in identifying individuals who were good candidates to be released on their own recognizance without commercial or monetary bond, it influenced current practices because of the positive effect it had on the bail system

what is selective incapacitation?

Making the best use of expensive and limited prison space by targeting for incarceration those offenders whose incapacity will do the most to reduce crime in society.

describe restorative justice?

Models of sentencing that shift the focus of the offender and emphasize involving the victim while holding offenders accountable for the harm they caused and finding opportunities for them to repair the damage

Describe the differences in the Pennsylvania and Auburn systems?

Pennsylvania "separate and silent" Reformation, avoidance of criminal contamination. Auburn "congregate and silent" worked together during the day, but had to stay separate and silent at other times.

differentiate between specific and general deterrence ?

Specific deterrence - will stop an individual from committing a certain crime because of the punishment he had already received first hand General Deterrence -presumes that others in society won't commit crimes because they see the punishment that others endured as a result

Describe how sentencing guidelines work.

Structured sentences, based on measures of offense severity and criminal history, to determine the length of the term of imprisonment

Describe the types of diversion programs currently used

The Treatment Alternatives to Street Crimes (TASC) offers drug treatment to offenders and could help them avoid traditional processing through the criminal justice system.

what is general deterrence?

The awareness of punishment of others prevents someone from committing a crime

What is Bentham's hedonistic calculus?

The idea that the main objective of an intelligent person is to achieve the most pleasure and the least pain and that individuals are constantly calculating the pluses and minuses of their potential actions.

List some of the problems with using bail as a requirement for release from jail pending prosecution.

The offender could not return for further processing and the system discriminates against the poor.

what is furlough?

The temporary release of an inmate from a correctional institution for a brief period, usually one to three days, for a visit home. Such programs help maintain family ties and prepare inmates for release on parole.

How do mental health courts operate, and what are their advantages?

They deal with the recycling of mentally ill offenders through the criminal justice system. They treat the mental illness and it reduces the costs that states have to pay to keep them incarcerated.

What is reintegration?

a belief that after offenders complete their treatment in prison they need transitional care, and that the community must be involved in their successful return to society

what is neoclassical school?

a compromise between classical and positive schools while holding offenders accountable for their crimes, allowing for some consideration of mitigating and aggravating circumstances

what is "nothing works"?

a conclusion by Robert Martinson that no connectional treatment program reduces recidivism, it effectively spelled the end of the medical model

Differentiate between a felony and misdemeanor

a felony is crime that is punishable by a year or more incarceration and misdemeanor is crimes that are punishable by less than a year of incarceration

describe the correctional funnel?

a large number difference between the number of crimes reported and the number of offenders convicted and facing a term in prison

What is the penal code?

a legislative authorization to provide a specific range of punishment for a specific crime

what is three-strikes law?

a legislative mandate that judges sentence third-time felons to extremely long or life prison sentences

what is surety?

a person who is legally liable for the conduct of another; someone who grantees the accused person's appearance in court

what is presumptive sentencing?

a predetermined range of a minimum, average, and maximum term for a specific crime for a "typical" offender, with allowances for mitigating and aggravating circumstances to be considered

what is probation?

a prisons sentence that is suspended on the condition that the offender follows certain prescribed rules and commits no further crimes

what is Manhattan bail project?

a program started in the 1960s to assist judges in identifying individuals who were good candidates to be released on their own recognizance without commercial or monetary bond

what is presentence investigation?

a report used during the sentencing process that details the background of a convicted offender, including criminal history, social background, education, employment, mental, and physical health, and other significant factors

what is economic sanction?

a requirement that an offender pay a fine or restitution to the victim as a part of his or her sentence

what is mandatory minimum sentencing?

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

What is imprisonment?

a sentence in a prison for one year or more

what is short-time confinement?

a sentence in jail for one year or less

what is medical model?

a theory of corrections that offenders were sick, inflicts with problems that caused their criminality, and needed to be diagnosed and treated, and that rehabilitative programs would resolve offenders problems and prepare them for release into the community

what is administrative form of sentencing?

administrative bodies (correctional officials and parole/release boards) have primary discretion in granting good time and determining the release time of offenders

who is Jeremy Bentham?

creator of the hedonistic calculus suggesting that punishments outweigh the pleasure criminals get from committing their crime

what is a felony?

crime that is punishable by a year or more incarceration

what is good time?

affords inmates the opportunity to reduce their eligibility for release by good behavior in prison

what is plea bargaining?

an agreement in which the defendant enters a plea of guilty in exchange for a reduced sentence in comparison to the sentence allowable for the charged offense

what is drug court?

an alternative to traditional court models to deal with the underlying drug problem as the basis of the offenders' criminality

what is "tough on crime"?

an attitude that criminals should be severely punished for their wrongdoings and long prison sentences are the most effective criminal sanction

what is community sentence?

an economic sanction used when offenders do not have funds from which to pay a fine or make restitution; referred to as a "fine on their time" so that indigent offenders do not have to serve prison or jail time merely because they lack the fiscal ability to pay a fine

what is the reformatory era?

an environment emphasizing reformation that expanded education and vocational programs and focused offenders attention on their crime

what is retributive era?

an era of corrections that emphasizes holding offenders accountable for their acts and being ought on criminals while keeping them isolated from law- abiding citizens and making them serve hard time

what is rehabilitative era?

an era of prison management emphasizing the professionalizing of staff through recruitment and training and implementation of many self-improvement programs

what is the period of transition?

an era of prison operations in which enforces idleness, lack of professional programs, and excessive size and overcrowding of prisons resulted in an increase in prisoner discontent and prisons riot

What is the hands-off doctrine?

avoidance by the U.S. Supreme Court of judicial intervention in the operations of prisons and the judgment of correctional administrators

what type of jobs are available in corrections?

correctional policy analysts

what is a misdemeanors?

crimes that are punishable by less than a year of incarceration

what is preventive detention?

detaining an accused person in jail to protect the community from crimes he or she is likely to commit if set free pending trial

Describe the operation of the Walnut Street Jail?

entailed by Benjamin rush reviving the quaker code philadelphia society established first prison in the US by converting a wing of the walnut street jail for housing sentenced offenders as an alternative to corporal punishment walnut street jail created a regimen of hard work and reflection to do penance

What is a penitentiary?

establishment and used for secure facilities used to hold offenders serving a criminal sentence

what is sentencing commissions?

expert and nonpolitical groups appointed by government officials, but with the purpose to take politics out of the sentencing decision and to consider the impact of sentences on overall costs and crime policies for the state

what is the mission of corrections?

implement court prescribed sentences, protect society accomplished through a combination of surveillance and control of offenders.

what is retribution?

infliction of punishment on those who deserve to be punished

Who is Cesare Beccaria?

italian theorist in the 18th century who first suggested linking crime causation to punishments and became known as the founder of the classical school of criminology

what is judicial form of sentencing?

judges have primary discretion in creating the sentence

what is legislative form of sentencing?

legislative bodies create very structured sentencing codes, and therefore have primary discretion in the length of the time served by offenders

what is intermediate sanctions?

midrange dispositions that fall between probation and imprisonment

What is restorative justice?

models of sentencing that shift the focus away from punishment of the offender and emphasize involving the victim while holding offenders accountable for the harm they caused and finding opportunities for them to repair the damage

How did the term corrections evolve from earlier use of the term penology?

penal means punishment so it was used for years until up to 1950 until then it was decided to rehabilitate offenders which is now referred to corrections.

what is penal?

pertaining to or imposing punishment

What is the Pennsylvania System?

placed each inmate in a single cell for the duration of his sentence, based on total isolation and individual penitence, reflected the influence of religion and religious philosophy on corrections

What is incapacitation?

preventing crime by keeping offenders under state control

what is the industrial prison era?

prison operations with emphasis on having inmates work and produce products that could help to make the prisons self-sustaining

List the pros and cons of plea bargaining.

pros - our justice system could not function as it is now organized without it, a much lower cost, the value of efficiency and resource preservation saved. cons- creates criminal record for individual, eliminate the chance of an appeal, removes uncertainty from the legal process

what is capital punishment?

punishment for the most serious crimes (generally first degree murders); most states and the federal government provide for the death penalty

what reforms were needed that lead to the creation of prisons in the United States?

reforms lead under william penn, governor of pennsylvania because of the brutality and use of corporal punishment under leadership of penn, the quakers replaced criminal code with a new one following: *abolition of capital punishment for crriems other than homicide *substitution of imprisonment at hard labor for corporal punishment *provision of free food and lodging *replacement of stocks and pillory with houses of detention

what is release on recognize?

release from jail based only on the defendant's promise to appear for further court procedures

What is restitution?

repayment in the form of money or service by an offender to a victim who has suffered some loss from the offense

What is truth in sentencing?

requires completion of 85 percent of the sentence before prisoners are eligible for release

what is determinate sentences?

sentences of fixed terms

what is indeterminate sentences?

sentences that have a minimum and maximum time to serve; a decision by a release authority determines the actual time served within that range

what is concurrent sentences?

sentences that run at the same time

what is consecutive sentences?

sentences that run one after the other

What is the Auburn System?

started in New York, built on a tier system (cells were built vertically on 5 floors of structure), was a congregate system (most prisoners ate and worked in groups), fear of punishment, and silent confinement

what is sentencing guidelines?

structured sentences, based on measures of offense severity and criminal history, to determine the length of the term of imprisonment

what is supervised pretrial release (SPTR) program?

supervision of offenders released on their recognizance , similar to supervision while on probation

what is positive school?

the belief that criminals do not have complete choice over their criminal actions and may commit acts that are beyond their control

what is victim's movement?

the criminal justice systems recognition that victims should be involved in the process of sentencing criminals

what is specific deterrence?

the effect of punishment on an individual offender that prevents that person from committing future crimes

what is atavism?

the existence of features common in the early stages of human evolution; implied the idea that criminals are born and criminal behavior is predetermined

what is sentencing?

the imposition of a criminal sanction by a judicial authority

what is bail?

the pledge of money or property in exchange for a promise to return for further criminal processing

what is corrections?

the range of community and institutional sanctions, treatment programs, and services for managing criminal offenders

what is test of proportionality?

the result of the 1983 case of sole v helm; a test used to guide sentencing based on the gravity of the offense and consistency of the severity of punishment

what is pretrial diversion?

the suspension of criminal process while the offender is provided the chance to participate in treatment programs and avoid further criminal activity

what is recidivism?

the tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend

What is penology?

the term that used to be for corrections

what has driven the growth of corrections over the past twenty-five years?

they urgent need for staff to supervise the number of criminal offenders and drug offenses

what is a correctional funnel?

to describe this phenomenon; there is a large numerical difference between the number of crimes reported and the number of offenders convicted and facing a term in prison.