Criminal Justice Paper - for Essays Guru
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criminal-justice-assignment-details.docxASSIGNMENT SPECIFICATIONS:
· The document, submitted to SafeAssign, must be type-written, double-spaced, one inch margins, and 12 point font. There is NO page minimum; rather students should be concerned with their comprehensive/exhaustive coverage of the topic area.
· Students must use APA format for citations and references; students must cite sources in the body of the report (in-text citations) and include a list of sources at the end of the report (reference page).
· Resource material must be from sources that have been evaluated by students for credibility. At a minimum, students will need:
· 1 (one) credible source from a scholarly, peer-reviewed journal article,
· 1 (one) source from a credible government/professional organization
· Additional resource material is encouraged
· Utilize the Criminal Justice 101 Research Assignment Library Guide https://libraryguides.ccbcmd.edu/cjpaper to locate appropriate sources.
ASSIGNMENT : The criminal justice system in the United States is made up of three major components: law enforcement, courts, and corrections. As a criminal contact/case progresses through these stages, discretionary decisions are made that impact the outcome and/or progression of the contact/case. Students will select one of the major aspects within these stages (arrest, bail, sentencing, and incarceration) and discuss the current discretionary practices with a focus on disproportionate minority contact. This discussion will occur through a written essay.
Purpose : The purpose of this assignment is to research issues of inequality in the justice system in a critical manner, explore how they are currently being addressed, and to propose additional solutions that may remedy the issue.
Audience : The audience of this project is an educated adult who is an outsider to the field of criminal justice; students need to make sure their answers are self-explanatory and do not require additional clarification.
Section 1: Disproportionate Minority Representation After including an introduction paragraph, students will discuss in an informational essay the disproportionate minority contact at one of the major criminal justice decision making points. Students will review and present current data (from federal and/or state sources) on at least two (2) minorities, as defined in the Supplemental Instructions, as it applies to their paper’s focus. Data must include information that discusses how this represents a disproportion. Information can include data charts with explanations. Decision Making Points: (students are to select ONE) • Arrests • Bail • Sentencing • Incarceration
Section 2: Impact of Discretion on Disproportionate Minority Representation At each of these decision making points, discretion is used by the criminal justice professionals (police officers, judges, prosecutors, etc.). Students will summarize two possible reasons (one paragraph each) that discretion at these points may have led to the disproportionate minority contact. Students may want to explore this discretion through the lens of systemic racism, personal bias, etc. that is supported by scholarly research.
Section 3: Policies/Programs that Reduce Disproportionate Minority Representation Students will then summarize information on two current practices/policies at the federal, state, or local level that is addressing the disproportionate minority contact. After summarizing the aboveinformation, students are expected to assess the efficacy of the present policies and practices and provide their rationale for deeming them ineffective/effective.
