Professional Ethics and Conduct Flashcards
7 cards from real BSCC practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Professional Ethics and Conduct flashcards as text
An inmate tells a counselor about plans to harm another inmate. The counselor's ethical and legal obligation is to:
Answer: Report the threat to security staff immediately
The duty to warn and protect overrides confidentiality when there is a credible threat of imminent harm to a third party.
A corrections officer who routinely uses degrading language toward inmates is violating which professional ethics standard?
Answer: The standard of treating individuals with dignity and respect
Professional ethics require that corrections staff treat all individuals in custody with basic human dignity regardless of their offense.
Which of the following actions by a parole officer would constitute an abuse of authority?
Answer: Threatening a parolee with revocation unless they perform personal favors for the officer
Using the power of revocation as leverage to extract personal favors is a severe abuse of authority and a criminal act.
The ethical principle of 'least restrictive alternative' in community corrections means:
Answer: Imposing the fewest and least burdensome conditions necessary to achieve supervision goals
The least restrictive alternative principle requires that supervision conditions be no more burdensome than necessary to protect public safety and ensure compliance.
A newly hired officer notices that veteran staff routinely skip required documentation steps. The new officer should:
Answer: Complete documentation as required by policy despite peer pressure
Officers must adhere to required procedures regardless of informal peer norms, as documentation failures can have serious legal and safety consequences.
Under BSCC professional standards, when is it permissible for an officer to form a social media friendship with a current supervisee?
Answer: It is never permissible while a supervisory relationship is active
Social media connections with current supervisees blur professional boundaries and are prohibited under ethical standards.
An officer who witnesses a use-of-force incident and fails to document it accurately in their report is engaging in:
Answer: Deceptive reporting, which violates professional ethics and policy
Inaccurate reporting of use-of-force incidents violates the officer's oath, agency policy, and potentially criminal statutes.