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Project 1: Resource Research and Review

No directly quoted material may be used in this project paper. Resources should be summarized or paraphrased with appropriate in-text and Resource page citations.

Project 1 is designed to help prepare you for the final project at the end of the semester.  You will notice that, for your final project in this course, you will be asked to trace a crime or criminal incident through the adult criminal justice system, from initial arrest to the eventual return to the community following incarceration. As you work on the final project, you will encounter numerous decision points or stages in the system. Project 1 will assist you in preparing for your final project by introducing you to topic research. You may then use the results of this project to support your final project paper.

 Project 1 Assignment:

Using the designated topic listed below (see, Topics), you will search the UMUC Library Services databases and the Internet for resource material that explains, clarifies, critiques, etc. the topic.

1. Your Resource Research and Review project must contain four (4) outside sources (not instructional material for this course), at least two of which must come from the UMUC Library data base.

2. Locate books, periodicals, and documents that may contain useful information and ideas on your topic. You may conduct your research with the assistance of a UMUC librarian, reviewing your own personal materials on the topic, using the Internet, visiting an actual library, etc. and reviewing the available items. Then, choose those works that provide a variety of perspectives on your topic.

Note: You can connect to Library Services by using the Library link under RESOURCES in the Classroom task bar, or link directly to the UMUC Library Guide to Criminal Justice Resources link in CONTENT

3. Type the reference “citation” information for the book, article, or document using the American Psychological Association (APA) formatting standards. (There are links to APA format standards under Library Services.)

4. Each reference is to be followed by the annotation. The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited. Creating an annotated bibliography calls for a variety of intellectual skills: concise exposition, succinct analysis, and informed library research.

5. Write a concise annotation (150 words) for each reference that summarizes the central theme and scope of the book, article, or document.  This must include:

a) briefly, in your own words, describe the content of the article

b) compares or contrasts the work with at least one other article in your research review

The topic:  Issues with evidence (DNA, eyewitness testimonies, direct vs. circumstantial, etc.)

Format

The project paper should begin with an introductory paragraph and end with a concluding paragraph

Each annotation should contain approximately 150 words

Double space, 12 pt. font, 1” margins

Cover page for your assignment

· Include your name

· Course title and number

· Project title

· Topic selected

· Date of submission

Supportive Resources:

Support Resources

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/614/03/   https://library.bethel.edu/class/tutorials/writ-cit/1001APA_Ann_Bib_6thEd

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/614/01/

http://olinuris.library.cornell.edu/ref/research/skill28.htm

Project 2 - Experiential Project

Instructions

No directly quoted material may be used in this project paper. Resources should be summarized or paraphrased with appropriate in-text and Resource page citations.

In this project, you will conduct one of the following: practitioner interview, criminal court visit, police ride-along, or correctional facility visit. NOTE: If you believe it is impossible for you to complete any of these experiential exercises due to circumstances beyond your control, contact your instructor who will arrange for an alternative project.

Practitioner Interview

Your task is to interview an individual of your choice involved in the criminal justice system: a police officer, attorney, judge, probation officer, researcher, current or former inmate, etc. (Note: Military personnel have the option of interviewing an equivalent person in the military.) Should your "expert" not be listed here, contact your instructor.

1) Provide the purpose of the paper and background information on the selected person.

2) Record the person's views on the criminal justice system—whether the criminal justice system works, in what ways it doesn't work, and the future of the criminal justice system.

3) Write the paper in a narrative format, detailing what you learned as the result of speaking with this person. Do not submit a "question-answer" paper.

4) Compare and contrast what your expert practitioner had to say with relevant instructional material from this course.  Additionally, include one outside source that either supports or challenges what your expert practitioner said. 

5) When using the instructional material or other sources, properly document and reference them, and cite all web sources.  You must include the name your practitioner.

Criminal Court Visit

Your task is to visit a criminal court session. (Note: Military personnel have the option of visiting the military equivalent.) Depending on when you attend, you could see a series of cases or only one case. Write your reflections on what you observed and how the proceedings seemed to affect the administration of justice.

1) Begin with a cover page with your name, project title, course, and date submitted.

2) Write an introductory section explaining the purpose of the paper.

3) Write your reflections on what you observed and how the proceedings seemed to affect the administration of justice.

4) Compare and contrast what you observed with relevant material.  Additionally, include one outside source that either supports or challenges what you observed.

5) When using the text or other sources, properly document and reference them.  The name of the court you visited must be included.

Police Ride-Along

This is an observational assignment that focuses on the use of discretion by the police officers who patrol our communities. (Note: Military personnel may participate in a ride-along with a military police officer.) Your task is to ride with a police officer for a few hours and observe who is stopped and why. Who is arrested and why? How does the use of discretion play into the patrol officer's job?

1) Begin with a cover page with your name, project title, course, and date submitted.

2) Write an introductory section that includes the purpose of the paper and information on the assignment of the officer, his or her department, and the date, time, and duration of the ride-along.

3) Using a narrative format, provide the officer's views on the use of discretion in his or her job, then follow this with your observations and conclusions based on his or her performance. Use the questions above to guide your observations and questions.

4) Use research information from class materials to analyze the information obtained.  Additionally, include one outside source that either supports or challenges what your officer said.

5) When using the text or other sources properly document and reference them.  The name of your officer must be included.

Correctional Facility Visit

Your task is to visit a correctional facility (adult, juvenile, military) and compare and contrast what you see with what the text indicates.

1) Begin with a cover page with your name, project title, course, and date submitted. 2) Write an introduction that provides the purpose of the paper and information concerning the facility visited.

2) If possible, interview residents, administrators, and correctional officers. How do they view the correctional process? What are the pros and cons of the types of facilities we have in the United States? How has corrections changed over the past ten years?

3) Write the information down in a narrative format.

4) Compare and contrast the information obtained with course material.  Additionally, include one outside source that either supports or challenges what you observed.

5) When using the text or other sources properly document and reference them.  The name of the correctional facility you visited must be included.

Format Requirements for all Experiential Project reports

· Paper should be a minimum of 1,500 words or about six pages

· Double space

· 12 pt. font

· 1” margins

· Use APA citations for all sources

· Include reference page (not included in word count)

Additionally -

· Create a cover page for your assignment (not included in word count)

· Include your name

· Course title and number

· Project title

· Topic selected

· Date of submission

Final Project - An Application of the Criminal Justice System

Instructions

No directly quoted material may be used in this project paper. Resources should be summarized or paraphrased with appropriate in-text and Resource page citations.

This assignment is to demonstrate your mastery of how the criminal justice system works. This assignment is designed to give you an opportunity to display your knowledge of the parts and processes of the criminal justice system. The more specific and detailed the paper is, the more effective it will be in demonstrating your understanding of the system.

Step 1. Select one of the three Case Studies below. Where there is more than one person arrested/charged in that case, please focus on ONE of the subjects for the purpose of this research paper.

Step 2. Describe the process that the offender would go through in the criminal justice system, beginning with arrest. For purposes of this assignment you are to assume that the offender will be eventually convicted, thus your paper should also include all stages in the criminal justice process subsequent to conviction. Upon conviction, you must also determine the probable sentence the offender will receive, (institutionalization or community-based supervision); explain why the sentence you have chosen would most likely occur, and what the offender can expect in light of this sentence. Students who exhibit mastery of this project and how the system works will also provide a probable alternative to the selected sentence, fully explaining “why” this alternative could also occur. In essence, this paper will track the offender from removal from the community by police, to return to the community free of imposed supervision. (NOTE: There is a display of the Criminal Justice System Flowchart in Content-> Course Resources -> Global Criminal Justice Resources.)

Step 3. Conclude your analysis by discussing what you believe to be the weakest link in the criminal justice process and the strongest link in the process. Provide explanations to support your assessments for both. Careful critical thinking is required. Invest considerable effort in thinking about what you have learned over the course of the term in addressing this final aspect of the mission.

The sources you are to use to obtain information for your descriptions of the criminal justice process include the course reading material and two peer-reviewed journal articles. As an academic paper it must contain APA formatted citations throughout the paper whenever information is being presented from a source. You can find examples of citations and references through the following links:

http://www.umuc.edu/library/libhow/citationresources.cfm

http://www.umuc.edu/library/libhow/apa_examples.cfm#intext

Even though you may have personal experience in the field (e.g. police officer) or use knowledge obtained in previous courses, information used in this paper must be supported through the use of citations which meet the criteria for sources indicated above.

An example of the correct page header and title page format can be found in Unit 3 of the APA Tutorial in the Course Content.

Here are the sections that should appear in your paper, each of which should be subtitled:

· Introduction

· A brief description of the crime

· Description of the processes in the adult American criminal justice system the offender would go through, beginning with arrest

· Your analysis of the weakest and strongest links in the criminal justice process

- Conclusion

Form and Format Requirements

· Paper should be a minimum of 1,500 words and a maximum of 2,000 words

· Double space

· 12 pt. font

· 1” margins

· Use APA citations for all sources

· Include reference page (not included in word count)

·Additionally -

· Create a cover page for your assignment (not included in word count)

· Include your name

· Course title and number

· Project title

· Topic selected

· Date of submission

TOPIC:  Case Study 2 - Gambling

Watch the following YouTube video.

Following an introductory paragraph, your project assignment should start with the arrest of the Tracy Yoshimura. You may assume the scope and scale of this gambling operation is sufficient for felony criminal charges in this jurisdiction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1GwHzFDLog