Reference no: EM133419489

Stand-Alone Project: Crime Control

You should begin working on the Stand-Alone Project early in the course. Each lesson provides a benchmark for completing the Stand-Alone Project in a timely manner while working through the course. You will find this information in the "Stand-Alone Project Benchmark" section of each lesson.

Your Stand-Alone Project responses should be both grammatically and mechanically correct and formatted in the same fashion as the project itself. If there is a Part A, your response should identify a Part A, etc. In addition, you must appropriately cite all resources used in your response and document them in a bibliography using APA style. (20-25 pages are required)

I. Topic Choice/Research

Go to page 386 of the textbook. Choose one of the following numbers from the list "Effective Crime Control:"1, 4, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 17, or 22. In the alternative, you may choose one of the liberal or conservative explanations for crime trends, which are listed on page 385 of the book. You will develop the topic you select into your SAP. Begin conducting some research on the topic that interests you. Ultimately, you need to select ten (10) scholarly articles to support your SAP.

II. Argument

Solutions to Crime that Lie Outside the Criminal Justice System (i.e., Police, Courts, and Corrections)
Discuss ways in which the topic you chose allows professionals to operate outside the criminal justice system of police, the courts, and the corrections system. Include in your argument a section devoted to intervention. Rather than be reactive and incarcerate persons, which is what we do now, how can society target at-risk individuals before they commit crimes? Provide examples of initiatives and intervention programs that have been successful. Discuss the shortcomings of incapacitation, plea bargaining, and other solutions to crime that have resulted in mass incarceration generally, as well as a disproportionate number of minorities and poor people being incarcerated.
Liberal and Conservative Explanations for Crime
In your SAP, you must discuss both liberal and conservative explanations for crime - as those points of view relate to the topic you chose. Then decide which viewpoint better supports your topic. Set forth a defense of your perspective and a rebuttal to each prong of the opposing argument. You can rely on documented examples, research, and studies to support your position.

III. Conclusion

Draft a succinct conclusion to your SAP. The conclusion can take the form of summary and/or pose new questions. In this section, enlighten the reader by explaining the consequences of crime to society. Provide examples of successes and failures aimed at crime control.

IV. Identify Direction of Future Research

As the textbook points out, the field of criminal justice is still in its infancy stage. Criminal justice scholars need to conduct additional research to determine whether the criminal justice system as it currently stands is failing us or operating with success. Identify the uncertainties that we face as a society in our efforts to control crime. Clearly, the author of the text believes we need to look outside the criminal justice system for answers to our most trying questions, including mass incarceration, plea bargaining, racial biases, etc. For your SAP, identify the direction in which you believe researchers should go with the topic you've chosen. Identify a gap in the research. In other words, what research have scholars NOT examined? Feel free to follow the lead of the authors who wrote the scholarly articles you cite. Most of the time, these authors acknowledge possible limitations of their studies and also suggest research areas that have yet to be studied.

V. Grammar/Mechanics

You will be awarded a total of 20 points for grammar, spelling and punctuation, mechanics, and proper APA formatting on your SAP.