Overview of Criminal Justice
Chapter 1
Overview of Criminal Justice
Multiple Choice
1. Rules and expectations by which society guides the behavior of its members are considered:
a) norms
b) mores
c) values
d) beliefs
2. In a 1989 public opinion poll, 64 percent of respondents identified what as the number one problem facing the United States?
a) prostitution
b) murder
c) drugs
d) corporate crime
3. Over the past 40 years, the U.S. Congress has passed five important pieces of legislation to address crime. What are the goals of that legislation?
a) control, regulate, and prevent crime
b) increase penalties for offenders
c) reduce flow of immigrants into the U.S.
d) increase the salary of law enforcement officers
4. Which of the following is NOT an activity of the criminal justice system?
a) make arrests
b) pass sentencing legislation
c) gather evidence
d) conduct trials
5. Which of the following is NOT a primary function of correctional institutions?
a) provide offenders with treatment
b) punish offenders
c) protect society from harm
d) determine guilt or innocence
6. Which activity takes place at an initial appearance?
a) charges are read
b) bail is set
c) defendant informed of rights
d) all of the above
7. A sum of money that an arrested person pays to guarantee his or her appearance in future court hearings is known as:
a) tip
b) bribe
c) bail
d) payoff
8. Under what circumstances will people usually report a crime?
a) Offense is minor.
b) Police will not respond to the call.
c) Police will provide useful service at the crime scene.
d) All of the above.
Fill in the blanks:
9. Durkheim believed that crime is ______and is necessary for society to progress.
10. By the early 1990s, drug use had ______, and arrest rates for drug violations were ______.
11. Even though a large amount of money is spent ______crime, very little is actually known about how to prevent crime and what its causes are.
12. Crime control in the United States is under the domain of the ______system.
13.County and city law enforcement agencies are part of the ______level of the criminal justice system.
14. The United States has a ______system of courts.
15. A sentencing option that involves a suspended prison sentence and supervision in the community is known as ______.
Essay (write a couple complete paragraphs answering three of the five questions below)
16. Explain how “turf wars” can happen among different branches of the criminal justice system.
17. Describe how components of the criminal justice system work together.
18. Describe the court process for a case beginning in the lower court.
19. List and explain the stages in the criminal justice process with respect to the court system.
20. Describe Americans’ perceptions of the criminal justice system.