CRITICAL ISSUES ANALYSIS RESEARCH PAPER -DUE THURSDAY, 05/04/24, BY 11:59 PM, MST – 175 points
This final research paper is due, submitted in the paper’s module, no later than Thursday, May 4th [05/04/24], by 11:59 PM MST: The written assignment for this course, worth 175 points, is an analysis of a critical policing issue facing law enforcement today. You have two topic areas to choose from:
> The first topic/area you can choose will deal with law enforcement training academy curricula and all law enforcement training nationwide.
Specifically, the student will address the following question: Should all law enforcement training around the country, in all 50 states, be mandated, created, and regulated solely by the U.S. Department of Justice so that peace officers, no matter where they work in the U.S., are all trained to the same level of professionalism, competency, and response?
Per our conversations in the course, remember that at this time, all state and local peace officer training around the states is created, mandated, and controlled by the in-state Peace Officer Standards and Training Board’s controlled by the board of in-state police chiefs, sheriffs, civilians, and an over-seer from the state’s Attorney General’s Office. There is no national standard of how “policing” should be conducted in each state outside of relevant procedural laws based on case law in the federal District courts, Appellate courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
> Your second option/topic to choose is to research the Use-Of-Force technology available to law enforcement and how it might be controlled and used by all agencies and peace officers.
The question: Should the Federal government pay for a universal training program, all supply of, and mandatory use of Tasers, body and car cams, and other forms of technology that might aid police in doing their “job” in a professional and safe(r) manner? Bear in mind that the use of tasers, OC spray, body and car cams are not regulated nor provided for by the federal govt. nor state governments at this time – the choice to use such tech up to individual departments, though the certification or training to use such tech might be mandated itself by the state’s P.O.S.T. board.
You need only pick and research one of the two presented topic areas, your choice.
You can certainly email me if you have any further questions.
Format of the research paper:
Your paper should be no more than 6-10 pages, not including the title page and the bibliography AND it must be submitted in either the WORD .doc format OR as a .pdf file (ALSO, no Google Docs or Cloud formats may be used as they are locked with a password; and no other format like Publish or Apple-specific formats may be used. ALL word processors have a .pdf or Word .doc format file available in the Save As link…). Students will follow the APA Format, which is the accepted style in the Social Sciences. It should be double-spaced, in 12-point font using the Calibri, Tahoma, or Times New Roman font, with 1” margins, and submitted to me through its assignment submittal box.
This “critical issues” analysis paper is not a book report or a book review. It is intended to have you show that you can apply what you’ve learned in this course to research on the particular critical issue in social policy you have chosen above. The paper must apply concepts and material from this course to themes, findings, or conclusions of your research and information from the book. In your paper, you should try to concentrate on and develop a few themes; don’t spread yourself too thin and try to cover too much material from either the course or the research material you are analyzing.
Along with citing course readings or lectures in your essay, you must also cite at least five other academic or scholarly journals or books relevant to your topic. Use the various computerized literature searches available at the library or on-line to help you find relevant articles. If you aren’t sure of the difference between an academic work and a popular work, please ask for clarification. Wikipedia is not to be used as a reference.
It is very important to always credit and cite your sources appropriately. Academic honesty is very important to your success in this class. I expect a paper written by you, in your own words, and not previously submitted for another class.
Your paper needs to be clear and concise. You should edit and re-edit the paper several times before submitting it, cutting out extraneous words or sentences and re-wording as you go. Proper grammar, sentence structure, and spelling are important writing skills. Ask others to proof-read your paper for editorial and logical errors. Your paper should not exceed 10 double-spaced pages of 12-point text.
