Corrections, Ethics, and Sentencing: Key Concepts for Criminal Justice

What's the primary responsibility of the government?

Protect its citizens from those who would harm them.

What's corrections?

A generic term covering punishment, treatment, supervision, and management of individuals convicted or accused of criminal offenses.

Why does the correctional enterprise exist?

To 'correct,' 'amend,' or 'put right' the attitudes and behavior of its 'clientele.'

What is penology?

The study of the process adopted for the punishment and prevention of crime.

How do we define legal punishment?

State-authorized deprivation of liberty, resources, or even life imposed on a person justly convicted of violating criminal law.

The Enlightenment is also known as what?

The Age of Reason.

The Classical School of Criminology was/is based on the work of who?

Cesare Beccaria.

Which argument can be attributed to Cesare Beccaria?

Laws should preserve public safety and order, not avenge crime; punishment should be proportionate to the harm done.

What theoretical construct moved criminal justice away from concentrating only on the criminal act?

Positivism.

Why do we punish people for criminal behavior?

Punishment reaffirms social norms and allows citizens to express moral outrage when those norms are violated.

What is retribution?

A 'just deserts' model: punishment should match as closely as possible the harm inflicted.

What's deterrence?

People are discouraged from crime by the threat of punishment.

What is recidivism?

Crimes committed after release from prison; not crimes committed while incarcerated.

What is general deterrence?

The preventive effect of the threat of punishment on the general population/potential offenders.

What is selective incapacitation?

Reserving prison largely for select offenders, primarily violent repeat offenders and other incorrigible offenders.

What is the goal of reintegration?

Prepare offenders under correctional supervision to reenter the free community as well equipped as possible.

Names of two major prison models in the early 1800s?

Pennsylvania prison system and New York prison system.

What was the first type of correctional facility to develop?

Jails.

Be familiar with statements describing galley slavery.

Used as a criminal sentence and to remove poor people from streets; essentially a sentence to death.

As cities became more urbanized, governmental entities responded how?

Harsh repression of dissent, increased use of death sentences, and increased use of jailing.

What are Bridewells?

Buildings used to hold and whip beggars, prostitutes, and nightwalkers; later detention places/workhouses.

Who provided the basis for the good-time policy?

Alexander Maconochie.

What reforms can be attributed to John Howard?

End jail fee system; separate inmates by gender/offense; provide sanitary conditions and clean, healthy food and water.

What is the name of the first prison in the U.S.?

The Walnut Street Jail.

Definition of the custodial model of incarceration?

Emphasizes security, discipline, and order.

Definition of the rehabilitation model of corrections?

Emphasizes treatment programs designed to reform the individual.

What's the definition of ethics?

Concepts and beliefs about, and the study of, what is right and wrong.

What is the deontological ethical system?

Concerned with whether an act itself is good.

What is the teleological system?

Focused on the consequences of an act.

What's utilitarianism?

What is good is that which results in the greatest utility for the greatest number.

Which statement does NOT apply to the ethics of virtue?

'What is good is that which meets the needs of those concerned.'

What is egoism?

The needs of self are most important; satisfying one's own wants and needs is acting ethically.

What is official deviance?

Officials violate law/formal rules while believing the conduct serves organizational needs/goals or informal rules.

When is noble-cause corruption likely to occur?

When behavior is hidden, there is little supervision, and clients are powerless.

What key feature makes staff/management more prone to unethical behavior?

The presence of a strong negative subculture.

What are methods for preventing unethical behavior?

Hire people less likely to seek personal gain; encourage professional development, education, training, and professional organizations.

What's the definition of a criminal sentence?

The punitive penalty ordered by the court after conviction by jury, bench trial, or plea bargain.

What % of all felony cases are resolved through a plea bargain?

95%-97%.

How do we define justice?

People must be treated consistently with fairness and according to what they justly deserve by their behavior.

Know indeterminate sentence.

A range of years, not fixed; tailored to the offender and aimed at rehabilitation; tied to the medical model.

Know the statements that define a determinate sentence.

A fixed number of years rather than a range; maximum time for a crime is set by state law.

What are mandatory sentences?

Probation is not an option for some crimes, and minimum time to be served is set by law.

Which statements apply to consecutive sentences?

Two or more sentences are served sequentially, one at a time; they increase time in prison.

What is the most common sentence imposed by criminal courts today?

Probation.

What % of sentences do not involve imprisonment?

More than 90%.

Know which statements apply to problem-solving courts.

Address underlying causes, seek therapeutic outcomes, benefit offenders/victims/society, save costs, and reduce reoffending.

Why is the mission of jails more diverse?

They hold people presumed innocent before trial, juveniles, women and men, and others.

Jails hold all kinds of inmates — know the rest of that statement.

From serious convicted offenders awaiting prison transfer to accused misdemeanants who cannot make bail.

Many arrestees may be released without posting bail through what process?

Released on Recognizance (ROR).

What % of offenders held in jails have a history of mental health problems?

43%.

Which U.S. Supreme Court decision established the right to medical care?

Estelle v. Gamble.

Which U.S. Supreme Court decision held deliberate indifference to medical needs violates the 8th Amendment?

Estelle v. Gamble.

What is the profile of the suicidal inmate in jail?

Male, White, 55+, unconvicted, violent offense charge, and at the beginning of jail incarceration.

What's the definition of probation?

In lieu of imprisonment, a person serves a sentence in the community under supervision while demonstrating willingness to obey the law.

Who is considered the Father of Probation?

John Augustus.

In which U.S. Supreme Court decision did the Court declare discretionary indefinite judicial reprieves unconstitutional?

Ex parte United States (1916).

What % of individuals on probation are male?

82%.

What's the definition of community corrections?

State activity helping offenders establish/reestablish law-abiding roles in the community while monitoring them for criminal activity.

What % of offenders on probation committed a felony?

64%.

What % of offenders on probation committed a violent crime?

26%.

What does ROR stand for?

Released on Recognizance.

What is indeterminate sentencing?

A range of years.

What is determinate sentencing?

A fixed number of years.

What are consecutive sentences?

Sentences served one after another.

What is deontological ethics?

Focus on the act itself.

What is teleological ethics?

Focus on consequences.