June is 80 years old and is terrified of having her home burglarized or becoming a
victim in another way, so she tries not to leave the house. She has never been a victim
of crime but is aware that her neighborhood may not be as safe as it used to be. One
afternoon when she does decide to leave the house, her home is burglarized and her
television is stolen.
After the burglary, June is ever more fearful of her neighbors and the crime that goes on
in her community. June is not justified in her thoughts because:
a.violent victimizations are decreasing.
b.youth crime is on the rise.
c.crime against the elderly is increasing dramatically.
d.home invasions are on the rise.
The contemporary criminal justice system can be divided into three main components:
a. law enforcement, the courts, and the legislature.
b. the courts, the correctional system, and the legislature.
c. law enforcement, the courts, and the correctional system.
d. law enforcement, the correctional system, and the legislature.
The roots of criminal law in the United States can be directly traced to the Bible.
a. True
b. False
For misdemeanors, probation usually extends for the entire period of a would-be jail
sentence, whereas felonies are more likely to warrant probationary periods that are
________________ the suspended prison sentence.
a. slightly longer than
b. actually shorter than
c. much longer than
d. ineligible for
Which legal standard of mental illness is used by present federal law?
a. “Didn”t know what he was doing or didn’t know it was wrong.”
b. “Could not control his conduct.”
c. “Lacks substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or to
control it.”
d. “Lacks capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct.”
What did the court rule in Tate v. Short?
a. Incarcerating a person who is financially unable to pay a fine discriminates against
the poor.
b. All criminal defendants, regardless of financial situation, may be fined and
incarcerated if unable to pay the fine.
c. Offenders must be offered a community service alternative to fine payment.
d. Most fines were imposed in an arbitrary and discriminatory manner that violates
constitutional rights.
There are about ____ people employed in local, state, and county law enforcement
agencies.
a. 350,000
b. 500,000
c. 1.1 million
d. 2 million
During the 1960’s civil rights movement police felt that they had been handcuffed by
the courts.
a. True
b. False
Very few prison facilities use some mode of treatment for inmates.
a. True
b. False
Mackenzie is familiar with street life. She was a drug dealer who spent time in jail and
prison and then cleaned up her act after she was arrested for the third time. When she
was in prison she learned a lot from her fellow inmates. Now, she spends most of her
time hanging out with her friends, some of whom are still dealers. This gives her a
chance to be “in the know” but not in trouble.
Mackenzie has seen with her own eyes how a nice neighborhood can go downhill into
disorder and chaos. She is a product of a neighborhood that once was okay and now is
full of deteriorated housing. What would be one lesson that she has learned from
growing up where she did?
a. Neighborhood disorder creates fear.
b. Hot spot policing works in reducing crime.
c. Improving response time reduces crime.
d. Directed policing creates mistrust.
The amount of time served in prison has decreased.
a. True
b. False
The vice squad specializes in:
a. violent crime.
b. property crime.
c. crimes of public morals.
d. sex crime.
Which 1972 Supreme Court decision ruled that the death penalty at that time violated
the Eighth Amendment’s protection against cruel and unusual punishment?
a. McKlesky v. Kemp
b. Gregg v. Georgia
c. Stanford v. Kentucky
d. Furman v. Georgia
_____ refers to the screening of cases by the juvenile justice system.
a. Diversion
b. Waiver
c. Detention
d. Intake
Which of the following individuals is most likely to succeed on probation?
a. A young unemployed male.
b. A single female without a high school diploma.
c. A single male with a prior criminal record.
d. A married female with a part-time job.
Jeff Johnson is the newest judge to take the bench in the fifth district of Virginia. He
spent 25 years as a prosecutor before being elected to the court. He is known for his
lenient views on drugs and his extreme conservative views on crimes of violence. Judge
Johnson is about to sentence a drug offender who has been convicted for the third time.
Judge Johnson believes that that an offender who is dead cannot commit any more
crime. What is his rationale for supporting the death penalty?
a. Harsh punishment is morally correct.
b. The most serious punishment is for the most serious crime.
c. It is justified to reduce the crime rate.
d. Homicide rates increase when the death penalty isn”t used.
Which of the following factors best fits under the heading of extralegal discretionary
factors?
a. Peer pressure in policing
b. Racial profiling
c. Offender demeanor
d. The working and living environment
The social agent style of policing is characterized by officers who view themselves as
community problem solvers.
a. True
b. False
For a person to be considered to have committed a crime, some act is required to prove
the actors willingness to commit harm.
a. True
b. False
The greater the proportion of ____ in the population, the higher the crime rate and the
greater the number of persistent offenders.
a.middle-aged women
b.young women
c.middle-aged men
d.young men
Less serious felonies make up the bottom layer (Level 4) of the criminal justice system
wedding cake.
a. True
b. False
The NCVS asks participants to report on the frequency and characteristics of all but
which one of the following crimes?
a.Assault
b.Murder
c.Rape
d.Robbery
Appellate courts try cases.
a. True
b. False
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), there are about 500 justified
fatal police shootings each year. This number is an increase from 5 years ago.
a. True
b. False
Jackson has been arrested for possession of drugs. When he was taken into custody, the
officer had just witnessed Jackson taking money from someone and handing them a
small bag that looked as if it were drugs. After obtaining that probable cause, the officer
searched Jackson’s backpack where he found approximately 4 ounces of marijuana
packaged in smaller bags for resale.
At arraignment, Jackson accepts a plea deal that will shorten his sentence in return for
naming one of his marijuana dealer. About what percentage of cases every year end in
plea bargains instead of a criminal trial?
a. 60 percent
b. 70 percent
c. 80 percent
d. 90 percent
Which is not a right that is lost by convicted felons?
a. The right to remain married (divorce can be granted to the spouse)
b. The right to hold public office
c. Parental rights
d. Medical rights
The most secure intermediate sanction is a sentence to:
a. a DRC.
b. house arrest.
c. electronic monitoring.
d. a RCC facility.
Which constitutional amendment outlaws illegal searches and seizures by police?
a. First
b. Fourth
c. Fifth
d. Eighth
About 23 state police agencies have the same general police powers as municipal police
and are territorially limited in their exercise of law enforcement regulations only by the
state’s boundaries.
a. True
b. False
Which of the following traits is said to be found at all levels of policing?
a. Anger
b. Racism
c. Dogmatism
d. Cynicism
Zack has just pled not guilty by reason of insanity to killing his parents and his brother.
He was arrested walking down the street without any clothes on with dried blood all
over him. He has always been an introvert, and people used to call him names and say
that he was crazy. Over the past couple of years, Zack has had a lot of black-out type
situations where he doesn”t remember the days before he finds himself somewhere
unfamiliar doing something strange.
Zack has spent the better part of two years in a locked psychiatric facility awaiting trial.
He feels ill from the medicine they make him take, he doesn”t recognize the man that
they say is his attorney and now he cannot remember his full name. At this point what is
Zack’s most important legal issue at trial?
a. His forced treatment and medicine
b. Mental competency
c. Compulsory process
d. adequate legal representation
What term was adopted in the twelfth century to refer to a breach of faith with one’s
feudal lord?
a. Lex talionis
b. Felonia
c. Wergild
d. Mala prohibitum
The detective bureau is considered the backbone of policing.
a. True
b. False
The O.J. Simpson case prompted a major era of police reform.
a. True
b. False
The defense of ____________________ would be appropriate in a case where a person
was rushing to the hospital with an emergency and broke numerous traffic laws along
the way.
____________________ occurs when police abuse or exploit their discretion.
____________________ is resentencing an offender to probation after a short prison
stay.
The __________________ is a public”private partnership geared primarily toward
equipping the private sector with information and training to defend against terrorism.
Under the _______________, evidence seized in violation of the Fourth Amendment
cannot be used in a court of law.
The ____________________ is comprised of the prosecutor, defense attorney, judge,
and other court personnel who function to streamline the process of justice.
____________________ question large groups of high school students about their
participation in criminal or delinquent acts.
Once subprime loans have been issued, the vendors typically bundle them into large
pools and sell them as securities in a process known as _____________.
The ____________________ are responsible for fugitive investigations.
The decision to waiver a juvenile to adult court occurs in a ___________.
____________________ occurs when individuals make securities recommendations
and fail to disclose that they are being paid to disseminate their favorable opinions.
Explain violent crime using one of the theories elaborated in the text. Discuss why this
theoretical explanation is the most useful for understanding violent crime.
With pretrial diversion programs there was always a suspicion that they would
_________________ of the justice system.
_____________is the philosophy that harsh treatment while serving a correctional
sentence will convince offenders that crime does not pay, which will lower the chances
of recidivism.
Stopping or reducing crime by convincing potential criminals that they stand a
significant risk of being apprehended and punished is referred to as the ________.