What is a "sentinel event"? How can sentinel events be used to improve the justice system?
What will be an ideal response?
A “sentinel event” is defined as “a bad outcome that no one wants repeated and that signals the existence of underlying weaknesses in the system.” Essentially, it is anything that key stakeholders agree should not happen again. Examples include wrongful convictions, botched executions, unnecessary or wrongful police shootings, unwarranted in-custody deaths or injuries, and wrongful release of dangerous or factually guilty criminals.
Sentinel events can be used to alert us to the need for changes in the criminal justice system, to prevent future repeat occurrences. For example, sentinel events such as the deaths of unarmed black citizens by the police may signal the need for reform of police policy, improvement in police training, and changes in the police subculture.
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Information provided in the text indicates that high school seniors' self-reported illicit drug use has currently:
a. started to decrease by a modest amount in the past few years b. started to increase by a modest amount in the past few years c. remained very stable since the 1980s d. been the highest rate of illicit drug use since the early 1980s
________ , which is a document published annually by the FBI entitled Crime in the United States, measures crime recorded by police departments
Fill in the blank(s) with correct word
Martha had always had the feeling that her husband was capable of hurting others. She believed that he "looked" like a criminal and explained to the detective that his physical features gave him a criminal appearance. What branch of criminology best explains Martha's perception of her husband's appearance and alleged criminality?
a. Classical criminology b. Contemporary criminology c. Positivist criminology d. Sociological criminology
An officer, gun drawn, pursues a suspect on foot and catches up to him just as he is about to enter his residence. Following a pat down that revealed no weapons, the officer placed his firearm back in its holster then asked for and was granted permission to enter the residence for the purpose of conducting a search of the home for weapons. The officer discovered illegal weapons in the home. The
search will most likely be: a. ruled legal and the gun evidence admitted into the record. b. ruled legal only if the offender is judged to have been under formal legal arrest at the time of consent. c. ruled illegal because the officer had no probable cause to enter and search. d. ruled illegal because during the initial detention of the suspect the officer had his gun firearm drawn.