1600 word min due 12/21. 4 Apa format scholarly sources

Criminal Justice System Research

Introduction

The system of criminal justice requires many pieces of research because they are important in society. Researches help collect data and information that can be used in analyzing statistics in the law enforcement system. This information collected may be aimed at finding more ways of protecting citizens' rights and ensuring that they are safe. Researches do not discriminate the education level of a person since every piece of information is considered important, whether employed or unemployed, educated, or not educated (Hannah-Moffat, 2019).

Define a Research Paper in Criminal Justice

A research paper is a written essay with more detailed information that represents one's thought on a certain topic; in this research paper, one should choose an appropriate subject that builds up the information needed in the research. In the case of criminal justice, the research focuses more on topics of crime and justice. The main purpose of this research is to outline important punishment methods for a certain crime and help explain the situation in society(Zernike, 2019).

Criminal justice research papers and justice share the common purpose of studying, analyzing, and preventing people from breaking the laws surrounding them. What people say or think of theoretical rules or real cases does not affect the research's final results, which is always available for all the people.

Topic selection is always the first step in writing research. The topic should be good and appropriate since a bad selection of topics brings a different meaning to the fundamental research. The next step after selecting a topic is the provision of potential subjects for the research.

How does one select an appropriate topic for Criminal Justice System research?

Criminology has a wide range of topics that have good flexibility and have a great value in them. Some of these topics may range from the justice of punishment to criminal cases, and for that reason, scientists find it easier to select topics and subjects of a research paper. The scientists need to go through all the topics while brainstorming to find the appropriate topic(Caulkins, Gould, Pardo, Reuter, and Stein, 2020). .they should ask themselves several questions that will help them out in the process of brainstorming. Some of the questions include:

Does this topic fit my research appropriately?

Does this topic bother people? If yes, then why?

Can this subject help society by improving the relationship between people?

What kind of criminal justice system research can be made?

Is the topic unique, and does it have value?

 

The research paper structure does not matter; provide that one has an appropriate topic and subject. The researchers make sure that they provide quality information, whether it is from primary or secondary sources. They should also analyze the selected cases and derive conclusions based on the information. Sometimes researchers prefer choosing a topic from a case they are more interested in since they are experts.

Basic Topics that make up a Criminal Justice Research

Mention the main weaknesses of today's prison system.

What are some of the ways of preventing crimes?

Has social media lead to increased crimes?

A researcher can choose many basic topics to make up a god and presentable information, depending on the area of interest.

Hypothesis

A hypothesis is a prediction that researchers make during the process of research. They may predict the outcomes of the research by estimating their source of information. These predictions can also be termed as theories in the field of criminal justice. Research can predict the behavior of people if a certain policy. There are three theories of the criminal justice system, which include:

Restorative justice theory

Researchers can focus on predicting some procedures that can be carried out to heal the harm caused by a crime. It involves methods of reconciling victims of the crimes with the offender. Researchers predict possible ways of approaching the victims and talking to them until they agree to forgive the offender without taking any legal action. In centrally to the scientists' predictions, stark contrast theory emphasizes more on punishing the offender instead of reconciliation.

The transformative theory is the latest theory that involves approaches to analyze the social conditions in which crime occurs. It also gives and explains the need for victimization and the need to bring back peace where there is a conflict. The theory also brings the assurance of security between the reconciled parties or persons.

Null Hypothesis

A null hypothesis is used to show no difference between variables or between characteristics of a population. A good example of a null hypothesis in criminal justice is when an offender is declared not guilty unless there is strong evidence convincing enough for the judge to declare him/her guilty. It should always start with a negative statement to convince that something is indeed true.

Data collection

Data collection is essential in criminal justice since it helps to know the type of crime committed mostly and the areas in which the crimes occur. The government then finds a way to enforce strict laws on those crimes and possibly set other forms of punishment if the crimes persist. Over the years, data collections have been sourced to be more effective as a problem can be easily detected.

There are various methods that the researchers use to ensure effective research. These methods include:

Survey research

Although it is a time-consuming method, it is the commonly used method of data collection. It involves going to the area where crime and collecting data through observation. A researcher may opt to collect the data secretly without knowing the surrounding community or openly asking questions of the subjects to people who were present when the crime was happening.

Interviews

Interviews are carried out through arranging for conversations with people who are willing to give out any information they are aware and sure of. Some researchers carry secret cameras or tape recorders since not all people would be willing to give out information if they see cameras. The researcher should be keen on ensuring they start recording as soon as the conversation began because it is not easy to tell the person to repeat what he/she has said earlier. Secret cameras can be effective in capturing information during the scene of the crime. The use of cameras is most assuring as it provides the exact information that can be used in the court of law.

Questionnaires

These are papers with questions provided in them. The questions are designed with options to mark or tick in a box. However, this method is only for those who can read and write. People with a low level of education may not be considered as a source of information. The other disadvantage of this method is that people can give out biased information because of fear that they might end up being called witnesses if they tell the truth.

Conclusion

For research to obtain clear information that is presentable, he/she must follow the steps mentioned above and use the right methods of obtaining data. The final results should be brief, clear, and easy to read and interpret. The final copy should then be stored well-kept for future references.

 

 

 

References

Hannah-Moffat, K. (2019). Algorithmic risk governance: Big data analytics, race, and information activism in criminal justice debates. Theoretical Criminology, 23(4), 453-470.

 

Zernike, A. (2019). Algorithmic justice: Algorithms and big data in criminal justice settings. European Journal of Criminology, 1477370819876762.

 

Caulkins, J. P., Gould, A., Pardo, B., Reuter, P., And Stein, B.D. (2020). Opioids and the Criminal Justice System: New Challenges Posed by the Modern Opioid Epidemic. Annual Review of Criminology, 4