Writing assignment needed for criminology class

Running head: LAW ENFORCEMENT 1

Purposes of Law Enforcement

Student Name

Florida State College at Jacksonville

APA format header,

page number, and

cover page

Entire paper is double-

spaced and written in

Times New Roman, 12-

point font. Margins are

set to 1-inch all the

way around the paper.

LAW ENFORCEMENT 2

Purposes of Law Enforcement

Police officers are the foot soldiers, and first line of defense to make sure the law is

enforced. They have four main responsibilities that they are hold accountable for. The main role,

in the eyes of the public, that law enforcement is characterized for is crime fighting by enforcing

laws. In addition, law enforcement must preserve the peace (by maintaining order), prevent

crimes (to a limited extent, with their presence in the community), and provide services (such

as traffic direction) to the American people (Gaines & Miller, 2017, p. 135). Part of law

enforcement involves using forensics during the investigation of a crime, which will assist

detectives in establishing the facts through obtaining evidence, and can aid in preventing these

investigations from becoming cold cases. Deoxyribonucleic acid, otherwise known as DNA, is

currently the gold standard that creates a connection between a crime scene and a suspect, and

can incriminate or exonerate an individual.

Detectives spend their time investigating crimes and collecting evidence from crime

scenes. That is their main focus (Gaines & Miller, 2017, p. 177). As seen in the video, detectives

conduct interviews with witnesses, victims, and suspects, and provide evidence for prosecution

(Career in Law Enforcement: Local and State, 2002). Detectives must be very good listeners, and

must know how to read between the lines and think outside the box (Career in Law Enforcement:

Local and State, 2002). Many individuals could be deceitful, forcing detectives to remain

focused on the relevant information and to be as detailed as possible to help solve crimes.

Forensics is the science used to analyze the evidence collected from a crime scene that

aids investigators in putting the pieces together to solve a crime (Gaines & Miller, 2017, p. 179).

There are many types of forensics used in the investigation of a crime including ballistics,

forensic pathology and anthropology, and fingerprint collection and analysis (Forensics:

APA format header,

page number, and title

Introduction with 4

purposes, 3 concepts

introduced, &

textbook citation

First concept paragraph with bold

term, clear term definition, 2

sentences of cited video

evidence, and citations

Second concept paragraph with

bold term, clear term definition, 2

sentences of cited video

evidence, and citations

Clearly organized

paragraphs that are

indented once. No

subheadings, no abstracts.

LAW ENFORCEMENT 3

Analyzing Evidence, 2012). Additionally, with the boom of technology, computer forensics has

gained popularity since information in a computer could remain stored in a hard drive forever.

This computer data could be collected for forensic examination when needed (Forensics:

Analyzing Evidence, 2012).

DNA is genetic material, unique to every individual, which provides investigators with a

link between a crime scene and possible perpetrator(s) of a crime (Gaines & Miller, 2017, p.

180). The video explains that there are DNA databases, like CODIS, that keeps DNA

information in the system. This stored DNA can be compared to known offenders and can

possibly provide a match to evidence that has been collected in other cases (CODIS: A DNA

Database, 2013). In addition, the video illustrates how DNA establishes vital information that

can link an individual to a crime. As it is unique to an individual, DNA is often considered some

of the strongest evidence against an alleged suspect in a court of law (Forensics: Analyzing

Evidence, 2012).

In conclusion, law enforcement has many levels, from local to state to federal agencies.

Each level of law enforcement is in charge of ensuring that their enforcement responsibilities are

being met and that they provide a safe environment for communities (Gaines & Miller, 2017, p.

12). Using all the techniques, tools, and science available to law enforcement, police, detectives,

and investigators are able to collect evidence that can make prosecution possible. The videos

were useful in describing the different roles law enforcement have and providing an overview of

the techniques that are used in forensics to process evidence that is collected during the course of

criminal investigations. Law enforcement ultimately makes sure that the law is enforced, and that

the individuals who do not abide by the rules and regulations face consequences for their actions.

Third concept paragraph with bold term, clear

term definition in student’s own words, 2

sentences of cited video evidence, and citations

Conclusion paragraph with

citations. Notice that no first

person (I, me, we, us, etc.) is used

anywhere in the paper.

Notice that the student limited the use of direct quotes (or content that was not in the student’s

own words). This ensures that the student’s similarity report (or the similarity of the content to

other sources) from the plagiarism checker tool remains low. Writing in your own words and

paraphrasing and/or summarizing what you read and/or hear in this course is the best way to

minimize your similarity to other sources. You MUST cite all sources with in-text citations for the

videos and your textbook (see the above paper for examples).

LAW ENFORCEMENT 4

References

Career in Law Enforcement: Local and State. (2002) [Video file]. Retrieved from

https://fod.infobase.com/p_ViewPlaylist.aspx?AssignmentID=TXQHCQ

CODIS: A DNA Database. (2013) [Video file]. Retrieved from

https://fod.infobase.com/p_ViewPlaylist.aspx?AssignmentID=UJ84DP

Forensics: Analyzing Evidence. (2012) [Video file]. Retrieved from

https://fod.infobase.com/p_ViewPlaylist.aspx?AssignmentID=D32YWJ

Gaines, L. K., & Miller, R. L. (2017). Criminal justice in action (9th ed.). Stamford, CT:

Cengage Learning.

APA format reference page

personalized to student’s paper.

Notice the video and textbook

formats and how these

references are ordered:

references listed alphabetically,

references left-aligned and every

line but the first indented once,

references double-spaced with

no extra space between them