3500 word APA Criminology essay due May 3rd

[Title Here, up to 12 Words, on One to Two Lines]

The Problem

Overview of the Problem

Identify and explain the problems that Pawnee is facing within its police force (PPD). This is 100% fictional, and you should have some fun with this! Give a lot of detail here—think about how long it has been a problem, how pervasive it is, etc.

The problem(s) identified should be grounded in real problems. For example, you cannot say that a problem the PPD is facing is that they have hired too many zombies who are eating citizens. This should be a problem that has occurred (and there are records of it occurring). For example, perhaps public trust in the police is at an all-time low due to a few high-profile cases of excessive force, on top of officers’ exercising speech that may be discriminatory in nature. Or, perhaps crime is at an all-time high within a few select areas of Pawnee; however, traditional forms of policing seem to be having no effect in these areas.

You can identify one to three problems—it is up to you. There is no correct number here; it is just dependent on how specific or big the problems are. Generally, I recommend sticking with one big problem and identifying themes within that problem (for instance, race relations: racial profiling, police-citizen encounters, and use of force).

Background

Past Studies

In order to understand a problem and solutions to the problem, you will need to provide theoretical foundation and a review of past studies that have examined similar issues. For this, you will need to cite at least three peer-reviewed journal articles. (Need help here? See the video on Finding Peer-Reviewed Sources, located in “The Fixer” module).

i. Some things to consider within this part:

1. How did the researchers of the study define and explain the problem?

2. What was the main purpose of the study? (Hint: Look at the introduction and the abstract to figure out the primary goal of the study).

3. Did they use a theory to explain the problem? What theory?

4. Within their actual study, how were the data gathered? How were the concepts operationalized from the research questions? How were the variables of interest measured? How were the data analyzed?

5. What were the findings of the study? (Look at the results and discussion section)

6. What sort of solutions do they provide to the problem? For instance, if they were looking at the effects of prison overcrowding on inmate victimization, they will likely provide some future research and policy implications in the last section (the discussion). Look here to help find potential solutions to the problem you’ve identified.

Theoretical Foundation

You need to identify a theory that helps to explain either the presence of your problem or to justify your proposed solution to the problem.

You can use either criminological theory (explaining crime and criminality) or criminal justice theory (explaining the CJ system, enforcement, punishment, and/or prevention of crime).

For instance, if you were looking at police-citizen encounters, you might look at defiance theory (criminological theory). The articles you select will likely have some sort of theoretical foundation. If they do not—you probably want to look for some that do!

If you need a refresher on theory, look at the theory notes provided in the “Refresher Module.”

The Solution

Describe your proposed solution in four parts: needs, approach, and outcomes

Needs

In this part, readdress the problem and explain why is should be a priority. Make sure to make a case for why this problem must be fixed

Approach

Describe the solution/project/program. Discuss the overall idea, and then specify its elements and how it would be implemented. For instance, if you are trying to address prison overcrowding, do not just say “we will get more room for inmates.” That certainly is not detailed, and it has no longevity as a solution. Dig deep here—remember, you are trying to get a job with this proposal!

Outcomes

What do you think the outcome of your solution will be? Provide detail here regarding specific outcomes and benefits (both direct and indirect)

Evaluation

Evaluation Questions

List 1-3 questions that will guide your evaluation

Evaluation Design

Your design should be mixed-method (include quantitative (e.g., closed-ended survey) and qualitative components (interviews, observations, etc.).

Data Sources

Describe your sources of data (for instance, if you were evaluating whether an increase in speeding tickets had an effect on the speeding problem, your data source would probably be vehicles’ speeds before and after the program was implemented. (This is an example of quantitative data).

You could also conduct interviews with drivers to see if they have noticed increases in speeding tickets (qualitative data collection)

Data Collection Methods and Procedures

Describe your plan of action in a systematic fashion. How do you plan to collect your data? Identify each step prior to actual analysis of the data. Describe step-by-step how you will conduct your evaluation. How will you obtain access to your population? How will you obtain permission to access the population? This should be incredibly detailed, to the point that someone could replicate your study by following your procedure.

Analytic Plan

How will you analyze your data? What will your data tell you?

Are there specific statistical tests you should use? Which ones? (If you need some help here, check out the statistics notes in the Refresher Module—Also, this should be attempted, but does not need to be perfected).

Works Cited

Last Name, F. M. (Year). Article Title. Journal Title, Volume (issue #) Pages From - To.