Todd R. Clear
Describe the range of purposes served by the corrections system - ANSWER
Corrections is a means of social control. It holds people accused of crimes; carries
out criminal sentences imposed by courts, including both confinement and
community supervision; and provides services for rehabilitation.
Define the systems framework and explain why it is useful - ANSWER A system is
a complex whole consisting of interdependent parts whose operations are directed
toward common goals and influenced by the environment in which they function. It is
a useful concept because it helps us understand how the various aspects of
corrections can affect the others.
Name the various components of the corrections system today and describe their
functions - ANSWER Corrections consist of many subunits. There are both federal
and state corrections systems. Institutional corrections include prisons and jails, and
they confine people who have been sentenced by the courts (or, in the case I'd jails,
people who are awaiting trial) or have been sentenced by the court but are living in
the community. There are also private organizations that provide various services to
people under correctional authority. Important differences exist among subunits of
the same general type
Identify at least five key issues facing corrections today - ANSWER Corrections
faces several issues: dealing with conflicting goals, obtaining adequate funding,
making the bureaucracy of correctional services more effective, coordinating
correctional activity across different agencies, and dealing with correctional
uncertainty.
Discuss what we can learn from the "great experiment of social control" - ANSWER
The growth in the corrections system has resulted mostly from deliberate policies
that have increased the severity of sentences. Changes in crime rates have had little
effect on this growth
Corrections - ANSWER the variety of programs, services, facilities, and
organizations responsible for the management of people who have been accused or
convicted of criminal offenses
exchange - ANSWER A mutual transfer of resources based on decisions regarding
the costs and benefits of alternative actions.
jail - ANSWER an institution authorized to hold pretrial detainees and sentenced
misdemeanants for periods longer than 48 hours
prison - ANSWER an institution for the incarceration of people convicted of serious
crimes, usually felonies