Corrections MIDTERM 2

Q: What is the main goal behind developing alternatives to confinement?

A: To address prison overcrowding and shift correctional philosophy from punishment and isolation to reintegrative and restorative approaches.

Q: What are the main drivers for alternatives to incarceration?

A: Rising costs of imprisonment and research questioning incarceration’s effectiveness as deterrence.

Q: Define diversion.

A: Programs designed to keep individuals who engaged in criminal behaviour from further processing in the formal justice system.

Q: What are key objectives of diversion programs?

A: Prevent further justice system involvement, reduce costs and stigma, and address causes of offending through restorative approaches.

Q: At what stages can diversion occur?

A: Pre-charge, post-charge, and post-sentencing.

Q: What is “net-widening”?

A: When diversion programs unintentionally bring more people into the justice system who would otherwise have been released.

Q: Define intermediate sanctions.

A: Penalties between probation and incarceration, including fines, community service, intensive supervision, and electronic monitoring.

Q: What are the offender- vs. system-oriented objectives of intermediate sanctions?

A:

• Offender-oriented: Ensure punishment, retribution, and control.

• System-oriented: Reduce institutional populations, costs, and recidivism.

Q: Define electronic monitoring (EM).

A: The use of electronic equipment (often GPS) to ensure offenders comply with supervision conditions.

Q: What is a conditional sentence?

A: A sentence that allows eligible offenders—who would otherwise be jailed for less than two years—to serve their time in the community under strict conditions (s.742 Criminal Code).

Q: How does a conditional sentence differ from probation?

A: Conditional sentences include punitive elements and stricter conditions; probation focuses more on rehabilitation.

Q: According to the Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. Proulx, what two factors determine a conditional sentence’s appropriateness?

A: (1) Risk of reoffending, and (2) potential harm if reoffending occurs.

Q: Define probation.

A: A court-ordered community supervision sentence managed by a probation officer, either standalone or combined with custody or fines.

Q: What are key statutory conditions of probation?

A: Keeping the peace, obeying the law, and other judge-imposed conditions (e.g., abstinence, treatment programs).

Q: What is the maximum length of probation?

A: Three years.

Q: How does probation differ from parole?

A:

• Probation is imposed by courts; applies mainly to provincial offenders.

• Parole is granted by parole boards; applies to offenders released from custody.

Q: Define pre-sentence report (PSR).

A: A document prepared by a probation officer for the sentencing judge, containing details about the offender’s history, risks, and needs.

Q: What are the “pains of probation”?

A: Emotional/economic challenges faced by probationers (loss of autonomy, stigma, employment issues).

Q: What are the three core principles of effective correctional intervention?

A:

1. Risk principle: Match intensity to offender risk.

2. Need principle: Target criminogenic needs.

3. Responsivity principle: Match interventions to individual learning styles and motivation.

Q: What is the STICS program?

A: Strategic Training Initiative in Community Supervision—teaches probation officers how to apply RNR principles with focus on trust-building and change-oriented supervision.

Q: What is motivational interviewing?

A: A technique empowering offenders to change behaviour through collaborative, non-confrontational dialogue.

Q: What is victim–offender mediation (VOM)?

A: Restorative meetings allowing victims and offenders to discuss harm and promote healing and accountability.

Q: Describe the Community Holistic Circle Healing Program.

A: An Indigenous restorative justice initiative with 13 healing phases addressing family and community healing after abuse.

Q: What does research show about conditional sentences and restorative justice?

A: Conditional sentences can reduce recidivism; restorative programs increase victim satisfaction and lower reoffending rates.

Q: What are the three federal security levels?

A: Minimum, Medium, Maximum.

Q: What is the Special Handling Unit (SHU)?

A: A federal facility for inmates too dangerous for even maximum-security prisons.

Q: Define dynamic and static security.

A:

• Static: Physical barriers, surveillance, alarms.

• Dynamic: Staff–inmate interaction, observation, communication.

Q: What is the direct supervision model?

A: Officers are stationed inside inmate housing units to foster positive relationships and manage behaviour proactively.

Q: What is a total institution?

A: A facility where all inmate movements and activities are controlled 24/7 by staff (e.g., prisons, mental hospitals).

Q: What are healing lodges?

A: Culturally based correctional facilities for Indigenous offenders under Section 81 of the CCRA, integrating community, Elders, and ceremony.

Q: What is remand?

A: Remand is the detention of an accused person in custody while they await trial, sentencing, or the start of a jail term. It applies to individuals who have been charged but either haven’t yet appeared before a judge or have been denied bail.

Q: What are consequences of prison overcrowding?

A: Increased violence, double-bunking, reduced programming, and focus on containment over rehabilitation.

Q: What is the split personality of corrections?

A: The dual goal of ensuring security while promoting rehabilitation.

Q: What is the Northern Bail Project?

A: A 2021 BC program allowing remote bail hearings to improve access to justice in northern communities.

Q: What are four key principles of trauma-informed practice?

A: Trauma awareness; choice, collaboration, and connection; safety and trust; strengths-based skill building.

Q: What is FASD and its correctional relevance?

A: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder—causes cognitive deficits; linked to poor judgment, planning, and reasoning skills among offenders.

Q: What are common causes of riots or disturbances in prisons?

A: Overcrowding, staff misconduct, gang disputes, poor conditions, inadequate food, and mismanagement.

Q: Define interdiction vs prevention strategies.

A:

• Interdiction: Reducing illegal activities (drugs, contraband).

• Prevention: Reducing risk behaviours (e.g., HIV prevention).

Q: What is the RNR model?

A: A correctional framework emphasizing Risk (who), Need (what), and Responsivity (how) for effective offender rehabilitation.

Q: What is classification in corrections?

A: Using assessment tools to determine inmates’ security level, placement, and programming needs.

Q: What are static vs dynamic risk factors?

A:

• Static: Historical, unchangeable (e.g., criminal history).

• Dynamic: Changeable through intervention (e.g., education, addiction).

Q: Define criminogenic needs.

A: Dynamic risk factors directly contributing to criminal behaviour (e.g., antisocial peers, substance abuse).

Q: What is the Correctional Plan?

A: A personalized rehabilitation roadmap specifying institutional placement, treatment, and release preparation.

Q: What is the Custody Rating Scale (CRS)?

A: A CSC tool determining initial security classification based on factors like offence, sentence length, and prior infractions.

Q: What biases exist in CSC risk assessments?

A: Indigenous and Black inmates are overclassified into higher security levels, limiting program access.

Q: What is differential treatment effectiveness?

A: The idea that programs must be tailored to the unique needs and risks of each offender to reduce recidivism.

Q: What are the three major youth justice acts in Canada’s history?

A:

1. Juvenile Delinquents Act (1908) – social welfare approach.

2. Young Offenders Act (1984) – accountability and rights.

3. Youth Criminal Justice Act (2003) – emphasizes extrajudicial measures and proportionality.

Q: What are the YCJA’s three objectives (s.3(1)(a)(i–iii))?

A: Accountability, rehabilitation/reintegration, and crime prevention.

Q: What are extrajudicial measures?

A: Non-court alternatives (warnings, referrals, community programs) for less serious youth offences.

Q: What factors explain Indigenous youth overrepresentation?

A: Intergenerational trauma, substance abuse, poverty, family violence, low education, and child welfare involvement.

Q: What are crossover youth?

A: Youth involved in both child protection and youth justice systems.

Q: What are the key restorative justice outcomes for youth?

A: Higher victim/offender satisfaction and up to 30% reduction in recidivism.

Q: What is the most common youth sentence?

A: Probation, often combined with community service.

Q: Define intensive rehabilitative custody and supervision order.

A: A sentence combining intensive treatment in custody followed by supervised community reintegration for serious youth offences.

Q: What assessment tools are used for youth risk?

A: LS/CMI (Level of Service/Case Management Inventory) and SAVRY (Structured Assessment of Violent Risk in Youth).

Q: What is a Youth Justice Committee (YJC)?

A: Community-based program using restorative justice to address harm, facilitate victim–offender reconciliation, and reduce recidivism.

Q: What interventions are most effective for youth?

A: RNR-based, multi-systemic, cognitive-behavioural, and family-focused programs

Q: What is the difference between a conditional discharge and a suspended sentence?

A:

• Conditional discharge: No conviction is registered if the offender obeys probation terms.

• Suspended sentence: The conviction is entered, but the jail term is suspended pending successful probation.

Q: What is Section 810 recognizance? (peace bond)

A: A preventive court order that sets conditions (like “keep the peace” or “stay away from someone”) for up to 12 months when a person is considered a possible risk of causing harm, even if they haven’t been convicted of a crime.

Q: What are clustered institutions?

A: Multiple federal institutions on one site, each with its own security level but shared administration.

Q: What distinguishes actuarial from structured professional-judgment risk assessments?

A:

• Actuarial assessments use statistical formulas and fixed scoring to predict risk (e.g., adding up scores based on age, criminal history, etc.). The result is a numerical probability of reoffending — it’s objective but doesn’t account for personal context.

• Structured professional-judgment (SPJ) assessments use checklists and professional interpretation. The assessor reviews evidence-based risk factors but applies their judgment to decide the overall level of risk, allowing for individual circumstances and context.

What are multilevel institutions?

A: Federal correctional institutions that contain more than one security level (e.g., minimum, medium, and maximum) within the same facility.

Q: What are regional treatment centres?

A: Federal correctional institutions that function as accredited hospitals or psychiatric facilities, providing specialized inpatient treatment and assessments for inmates with serious physical or mental health needs.

Q: What are community correctional centres?

A: Residential facilities operated by CSC that house federal offenders released into the community under statutory release, parole, or long-term supervision orders.

Q: What is the unit management model?

A: A supervisory structure used in many provincial and territorial correctional institutions where each unit has a manager who oversees COs, classification officers, and support staff, and is responsible for security, case management, programs, and health and safety.

Q: What is bail?

A: The temporary release of a person charged with a crime while waiting for trial or sentencing, usually under conditions set by the court

Q: What are offence-specific and offender-specific programs?

A: Offence-specific programs target particular types of offences (e.g., sex offences), while offender-specific programs address the individual risks and needs of offenders (e.g., substance abuse or anger management).

Q: What is general responsivity?

A: The principle that correctional treatment works best when delivered using social-learning and cognitive-behavioural methods that promote and reinforce prosocial behaviour.

Q: What is correctional case management?

A: A process that matches offenders’ needs and abilities with appropriate correctional programs and services to support rehabilitation and reintegration.

Q: What is the Integrated Correctional Program Model (ICPM)?

A: A multi- and interdisciplinary CSC approach that teaches offenders skills to reduce risky or harmful behaviour and to change negative attitudes, beliefs, and associations.

Q: What is the Circle of Care?

A: CSC’s Indigenous stream of correctional programming for federally sentenced Indigenous women, emphasizing culturally informed teachings, ceremonies, and healing to prepare women for reintegration.

Q: What is differential amenability to treatment?

A: The idea that not all inmates are equally receptive to programming and that interventions must be adapted to meet their specific needs, abilities, and interests.

Q: What is program fidelity?

A: The degree to which a correctional program is delivered as originally designed. Lower fidelity (e.g., when COs deliver core programs without proper training) can weaken effectivenessc

Q: What is program drift?

A: When a correctional program gradually deviates from its original design, potentially reducing its effectiveness and compromising the integrity of the intervention.

Q: What is therapeutic integrity?

A: The quality and consistency of correctional programming, which depends on the training, skill set, and supervision of staff delivering treatment programs.

Whats is the recommendation for federally sentenced women on where they should start in terms of security

they should initially be placed in minimum-security institutions whenever possible, unless specific risk factors indicate otherwise.

Q: What does rigidity mean in correctional institutions?

A: A rigid environment is one that’s highly structured and rule-bound, where inmates have little autonomy and daily life follows strict routines. While it maintains order, it can limit rehabilitation, increase stress, and make prisons feel dehumanizing for inmates.