DEPT. OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE & POLITICAL SCIENCE

NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY FARGO, ND

Past Corrections Comprehensive Exams

August 2005

Group A – Answer one of the two questions in this Group.

1. As guest editor of an upcoming special issue of “Criminology & Public Policy,” you have been asked to write an introduction to the volume in which the entire issue is a series of articles about Correctional Policy-Program Issues-Challenges as these connect to public policy and public safety. The title of your article is: “The State of the Discipline: Early 21^st Century Accomplishments and Future Directions.” Provide a full draft of your article in which you discuss three (3) applied lessons the research community can – or – should provide to policy makers in terms of future directions for correctional practice. Defend your selections.

2. There seem to be two “camps” into which practitioners/politicians fall regarding crime. One camp suggests we should “get tough” with crime and criminals. The philosophy here is to react to crime in such a way as to reduce the crime rate, for instance by increasing the certainty and severity of punishment through the increased use of incarceration. Another camp is a prevention rather than a reaction camp, which suggests that money/resources/effort is best spent preventing crime before it occurs. Given a fixed amount of time and resources, which approach is most likely to yield meaningful reductions in the U.S. crime rate?

Group B – Answer three of the six questions in this group.

3. Assume you are preparing a Presidential Address to the upcoming annual meetings of the American Society of Criminology. The title of your presentation is: “What to do and not do about crime: The Martinson report in 2005.” Provide a full draft of your presentation in which you discuss the current state of our knowledge about the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of correctional rehabilitation programs. Provide recommendations for what should and should not be done in rehabilitation and defend your position.

4. You have been asked to give the keynote address at the upcoming meetings of the American Bar Association. The title of your presentation is: “Sentencing Dilemmas and Correctional Policy-Program Impacts: The Need for Reforms.” Provide a full draft of your presentation in which you present guidelines for sentencing policy reforms as these impact correctional efficacy. Defend your selected guidelines.

5. Beginning in the 1970’s, juvenile courts and corrections moved toward different philosophies of handling wayward juveniles. Describe some of these reforms in the field of juvenile courts and corrections during this time period. Then, narrate the rationale and theory behind this movement. Discuss the criticisms levied against this movement. Describe empirical evidence that suggests that these reforms have or have not been effective towards reducing recidivism.

6. From a corrections perspective, describe both the demand-side and supply-side strategy for combating drug use and abuse. Which drug policy strategy has been most popular for the past 20 years and why? Correctional “supply-siders” (e.g., proponents of incarcerating drug offenders) have contended that their approach is superior to demand strategies for combating drug use because treatment for drug abuse and addiction is largely ineffective. Argue either for or against this statement using empirical research.

7. Since Wolfgang’s landmark study, the career criminal research has consistently shown that there is a group of high-rate offenders, the “career criminals.” It has been argued that the prospective identification of these high-rate offenders would provide policy-makers with a powerful crime prevention tool. Based on your assessment of the relevant literature, discuss whether or not we should be optimistic about our ability to provide policy makers with this type of tool.

8. The official policy position of the American Society of Criminology with respect to the death penalty (adopted in November 1989) states in part that, “…social science research has demonstrated the death penalty to be racist in application and social science research has found no consistent evidence of crime deterrence through execution…” Provide a thorough discussion of the empirical literature that focuses on the research either that supports OR refutes these statements regarding either 1) racial disparity in the application of the death penalty, OR 2) the issue of crime deterrence through execution. Your discussion should include an overview of the methods and results of both historical and contemporary research.