DSST Criminal Justice 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sentencing philosophy focuses on making the offender 'pay back' society for the harm caused?
- Rehabilitation
- Deterrence
- Retribution (Correct answer)
- Incapacitation
Correct answer: Retribution
Retribution is based on the idea that offenders deserve punishment proportional to the harm they caused.
Question 2: The exclusionary rule, established in Mapp v. Ohio (1961), applies to which level of government?
- Federal courts only
- State courts only
- Both federal and state courts (Correct answer)
- Military tribunals only
Correct answer: Both federal and state courts
Mapp v. Ohio incorporated the exclusionary rule to the states via the Fourteenth Amendment.
Question 3: What is the primary goal of community policing?
- Increasing arrest quotas
- Building partnerships between police and community members (Correct answer)
- Reducing police staffing costs
- Centralizing law enforcement decision-making
Correct answer: Building partnerships between police and community members
Community policing emphasizes collaboration between officers and residents to proactively address crime and disorder.
Question 4: Which type of correctional facility typically houses offenders convicted of misdemeanors serving less than one year?
- Federal penitentiary
- State prison
- Jail (Correct answer)
- Halfway house
Correct answer: Jail
Jails are locally operated facilities that hold pretrial detainees and misdemeanor offenders serving short sentences.
Question 5: In the context of criminal law, 'mens rea' refers to:
- The physical act of committing a crime
- The guilty mind or criminal intent (Correct answer)
- A formal accusation by a grand jury
- The minimum sentence required by law
Correct answer: The guilty mind or criminal intent
Mens rea is the mental element of a crime, requiring that the defendant had criminal intent or knowledge.
Question 6: Which type of probation requires the offender to remain at home during certain hours monitored by electronic ankle bracelet?
- Intensive supervision probation
- Shock probation
- Home confinement (Correct answer)
- Deferred adjudication
Correct answer: Home confinement
Home confinement (house arrest) restricts offenders to their residences and uses electronic monitoring to enforce compliance.
Question 7: The concept of 'selective incapacitation' involves:
- Imprisoning all convicted felons regardless of risk
- Targeting high-risk repeat offenders for longer sentences (Correct answer)
- Releasing low-level offenders early to reduce overcrowding
- Applying mandatory minimum sentences uniformly
Correct answer: Targeting high-risk repeat offenders for longer sentences
Selective incapacitation focuses prison resources on offenders identified as most likely to reoffend, based on risk assessment.
DSST Criminal Justice 2
Which sentencing philosophy focuses on making the offender 'pay back' society for the harm caused?