PSC - Chapter 14 - Criminal Justice System

PSC - JSU - Chapter 14 - Criminal Justice System

True 

True or False:
Giving judges and juries discretion in sentencing, known formally as indeterminate sentencing, was widely used until the 1980s. Judges and juries could take into account a convicted criminal’s background, the circumstances of the crime, and other factors to shorten or lengthen sentences. However, this process was abandoned when crime rates increased in the 1980s and 1990s. Only recently has it been reinvisioned.

Gave judges less discretion toward leniency

determinant sentencing guidelines

recidivism

A jurisdiction’s ______ rate measures the rate at which a prisoner is likely to return to prison after being released.

Multiple Choice Question

parole

recidivism

exoneration

incarceration

It brought about a shift toward harsher sentences based on punishment.

How did Robert Martinson’s 1974 study “What Works?” affect criminal justice policy in the United States, the consequences of which were seen clearly in the 1980s?

Multiple Choice Question

It convinced many prominent policymakers of the social impact of the ongoing heroin epidemic.

It led to more lenient sentences based on the principles of reforming criminals.

It brought about a shift toward harsher sentences based on punishment.

It catalyzed the “Defund the Police” movement.

“Defund the police”

After members of the Minneapolis Police Department murdered George Floyd in 2020, criminal justice reform advocates began using which slogan?

Multiple Choice Question

“Hugs, not drugs”

“Defund the police”

“Three strikes and you’re out”

“Lock ‘em up and throw away the key”

True

The Supreme Court’s ruling in Terry v. Ohio (1968) established the now controversial stop-and-frisk policing strategy by establishing that police searches by and large do not violate constitutional rights.

True/False Question

True

False

True

After zero tolerance policies were implemented in the New York Police Department, misdemeanor arrests increased.

True/False Question

True

False

Serving on a jury 

______ is considered a defining act of citizenship, as every citizen must partake if called upon.

Multiple Choice Question

Volunteering

Serving in the military

Serving on a jury

Voting

homicide

For violent crimes such as ______, the death penalty remains an option for punishment.

Multiple Choice Question

robbery

burglary

assault

homicide

True

The justice system in the United States is rooted in English common law.

True/False Question

True

False

New York City, New York

Which city is best known for embracing stop-and-frisk policing?

Multiple Choice Question

New York City, New York

San Diego, California

Orlando, Florida

Austin, Texas

False

The state of Maine, far more than any other state, is famous for its “tough on crime” political culture.

True/False Question

True

False

True

The crackdown on crack cocaine as well as mandatory sentencing laws in the 1960s through the 1980s contributed to the surge in the prisoners.

True/False Question

True

False

Nixon

Which of these presidents declared a war on illegal drugs?

Multiple Choice Question

Bill Clinton

Richard Nixon

Lyndon Johnson

Ronald Reagan

False

Drug courts are connected to retribution movements.

True/False Question

True

False

deterrence theory

Which of these theories argues that if the punishment is severe enough, it will keep people from committing crimes?

Multiple Choice Question

social disorganization theory

deterrence theory

routine activities theory

broken windows theory

protection against cruel and unusual punishment

Prison overcrowding has led to lawsuits that argue that overcrowding and inadequate health care violated which constitutional right?

Multiple Choice Question

protection against cruel and unusual punishment

equal protection

right to due process of law

freedom of speech

False

The increase in property crime rates was the main reason why the get-tough crime policies were implemented across the United States.

True/False Question

True

False

False

China incarcerates more people than any other country in the world.

True/False Question

True

False

identify a specific reason why cash bail is needed

The new bail system in Detroit requires judges to ______.

Multiple Choice Question

review all instances of cash bail for racial bias

abolish all cash bail except for violent crimes

identify a specific reason why cash bail is needed

eliminate judicial discretion when determining cash bail

mass incarceration

Reforms to the cash bail system most directly affect the issue of ______.

Multiple Choice Question

mass incarceration

racial profiling

judicial discretion

recidivism rates

Racial profiling means that minorities are disproportionately arrested and therefore interact with the bail system at higher rates.

Why do policies like cash bail reform disproportionately aid minority communities, especially Black Americans?

Multiple Choice Question

Generally, cash bail systems are only in cities, which have bigger minority populations, meaning minorities are disproportionately affected.

The reforms are almost exclusively implemented in communities and judicial districts that are majority minority.

Judges are required to consider how a defendant’s racial background impacts their interaction with the criminal justice system when deciding bail.

Racial profiling means that minorities are disproportionately arrested and therefore interact with the bail system at higher rates.

True

In the United States, the leading cause of death for Black males between the ages of 17 to 34 is homicide.

True/False Question

True

False

True

In the U.S. criminal Justice system, Black men are more likely to receive longer sentences than White or Latino men.

True/False Question

True

False

racial inequality in policing

In the wake of massive protests during the summer of 2020, which issue was highlighted as a major concern for voters in the 2020 presidential election?

Multiple Choice Question

mass incarceration

domestic violence

drug use and abuse

racial inequality in policing

The punishments imposed on individuals in the criminal justice system are applied equally across various ethnic groups.

True/False Question

True

False

True

In the 1970s, the average punishment for a person who committed a robbery was 28 days. This led to the belief that, because it appeared that "crime pays," longer sentences were needed to act as a deterrent to further criminal behavior.

True/False Question

True

False

Zero tolerance policies act as a deterrence for other crimes.

Imagine that you work for the New York Police Department in the 1990s. You are asked why your department has engaged in a zero tolerance approach to criminal activity in the city. How should you justify your use of this policy?

Multiple Choice Question

Zero tolerance policies act as a deterrence for other crimes.

Retribution is too punitive as an approach.

The goal of the policy is to encourage the incapacitation of criminal activity.

Rehabilitation is too costly to use.

George Floyd

The 2020 murder of ______ by Minneapolis police officers brought about nationwide protests and reinvigorated the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.

Multiple Choice Question

Trayvon Martin

Eric Garner

George Floyd

Emmett Till

False

The U.S. Constitution provides guidelines for legal torture.

True/False Question

True

False

False

One of the reasons incarceration remains so prevalent in the United States is that it is an inexpensive practice to maintain.

True/False Question

True

False

a Black Man

All else being equal, who is most likely, statistically, to have a negative encounter with a police officer in the United States when statistics are controlled for overall population numbers?

Multiple Choice Question

a Black man

a Latina woman

a Native American woman

a white man

recidivism

A report recently noted that nearly 43 percent of released prisoners in the state of Illinois wind up back in prison within 3 years. As such, Illinois’s ______ rate is about 43 percent.

Multiple Choice Question

incarceration

recidivism

exoneration

parole

“Zero tolerance” policing is “broken windows” policing taken to its extreme ends.

Which statement accurately represents the relationship between “broken windows” policing and “zero tolerance” policing?

Multiple Choice Question

“Zero tolerance” policing and “broken windows” policing are two terms for the same process.

“Zero tolerance” policing is “broken windows” policing carried out by non-police actors.

“Zero tolerance” policing is “broken windows” policing taken to its extreme ends.

“Zero tolerance” is the exact opposite concept to “broken windows” policing.

the risk of punishment was too low to deter criminality

Crime theorists James Q. Wilson and Gary Becker argued that the rise in crime in the 1960s and 1970s was occurring, because ______.

Multiple Choice Question

the risk of punishment was too low to deter criminality

the political movements of the time encouraged criminality

politicians were modeling criminal behaviors

it was more economically lucrative to engage in criminal activity than working

True

Racial profiling refers to the targeting of members of minority groups for strict enforcement of the law, including frequent traffic stops.

True/False Question

True

False

clean slate

Robert is a resident of Salt Lake City, Utah. Twenty years ago, he served a few years in prison for burglary of a habitation and resisting arrest. Recently, he was interviewed for a position at the downtown convention center, the Salt Palace, and the interviewer seemed to have no idea about Robert’s convictions from years before nor did his application ask about his criminal history. Clearly, Utah has ______ laws.

Multiple Choice Question

clean slate

probation

bail

recidivism

accountability

Crime mapping systems introduced which element into policing?

Multiple Choice Question

accountability

validity

legitimacy

transparency

False

The Supreme Court’s 2011 ruling on prison overcrowding applied to every state in the nation.

True/False Question

True

False

Most Americans believe that civilians should have the right to sue the police for misconduct.

Which of these best illustrates the current public opinion on policing?

Multiple Choice Question

Most Americans believe that police should have increased access to former military equipment.

Most Americans view the “defund the police” movement as the solution to police brutality.

Most Americans believe that civilians should have the right to sue the police for misconduct.

Most Americans think that the police are doing an excellent job at treating people equally.