Criminal Law

CJ 120 Project One Guidelines and Rubric

Competency

In this project, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following competency:

• Describe the roles of culture and bias in interpreting and conveying information

Scenario

You are working in one of the following civilian roles located in your hometown or work area, or in a nearby metropolitan area. You have recently been asked to gather a group of community members and certain sworn officials to offer a diversity training to. The training presentation will include common terminology and stereotypes, and the community members will have to identify their implicit biases.

First, select one association-sworn official from the Criminal Justice Professional Associations PDF document. Next, select one of the following civilian roles:

• Paralegal
• Court Clerk
• Victim Advocate
• Nonprofit Administrator
• Eligibility Specialist

Directions

Training After you have chosen your civilian role and your audience of specific sets of sworn officials, follow the directions below to complete your assignment:

1. Describe how culture impacts communications from criminal justice professionals, using appropriate terminology. You may include any videos or supplemental theories you think may be relevant.
   • Include key terminology related to cultural awareness, including:
     1. Terms related to classifications of cultures (e.g., contraculture)
     2. The difference between race and ethnicity
     3. The difference between discrimination and prejudice
   • Provide at least one example of each type—speaking and listening—when there is miscommunication.
2. Explain how cultural stereotypes can negatively influence decision making in criminal justice settings. Include the following:
   • Three examples of stereotypes common to these defined groups and how they can be harmful when generalized and lead to poor decision making:
     1. Race
     2. Ethnicity
     3. Language ability
     4. Citizenship
     5. Religion
3. Explain how diversity stereotypes can negatively influence decision making in criminal justice settings. Include the following:
   • Five examples of stereotypes common to these defined groups and how they can be harmful when generalized and lead to poor decision making:
     1. Socioeconomic status (SES)
     2. Gender
     3. LGBTQ+ status
     4. Age
     5. Disability (including mental disabilities)
   • A brief explanation of the history behind stereotyping one of these five diverse communities in the United States
4. Explain how personal bias may influence speaking and listening.
   • Explain the relationship between ethnocentrism and communication issues among criminal justice professionals and the public.
   • Distinguish implicit from explicit bias.
   • Include an example from your (or another’s) examination of implicit biases.

What to Submit

To complete this project, you must submit the following:

Training Presentation Use the Project One Template for your training presentation for sworn officers and community members. Your project can be presented in a variety of presentation formats, but must include visual representation in addition to talking points. Make sure to utilize the speaker notes function in the presentation if you do not include a video or voiceover.

Supporting Materials

The following resource(s) may help support your work on the project:

Website: Diversity Wheel This graphic is a useful tool you can use to analyze miscommunications due to diversity.

Project One Template PPT This template provides a slide layout and topic order that should be used for the completion of this project.

Project One Rubric

Criteria	Exemplary (100%)	Proficient (85%)	Needs Improvement (55%)	Not Evident (0%)	Value
Articulation of Response	Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner	Clearly conveys meaning with correct grammar, sentence structure, and spelling	Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors in grammar, sentence structure, and spelling	Submission has critical errors in grammar, sentence structure, and spelling	15
Communication	Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner	Describes how culture impacts communications from criminal justice professionals, using appropriate terminology	Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include misuse of terminology	Does not attempt criterion	20
Cultural Stereotypes	Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner	Explains how cultural stereotypes can negatively influence decision making in criminal justice settings	Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include misunderstanding the link between stereotypes and decision making	Does not attempt criterion	20
Diversity Stereotypes	Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner	Explains how diversity stereotypes can negatively influence decision making in criminal justice settings	Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include misunderstanding the link between stereotypes and decision making	Does not attempt criterion	20
Personal Bias	Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner	Explains how personal bias may influence speaking and listening	Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include generalizing	Does not attempt criterion	20
Citations and Attributions	Attributes sources where applicable using citation methods with very few minor errors	Uses citation for ideas requiring attribution	Attributes sources where applicable, but with major errors	Does not attribute sources where applicable	5
Total:	100%