Reference no: EM133652002

Homework: Project Guidelines

Competency

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

Apply theory when analyzing incidences of criminal behavior

Scenario

You are a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) senior special agent assigned to the National Joint Terrorism Task Force (NJTTF) based in Washington, D.C. The State Department recently requested your assistance at the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in Budapest, Hungary, where the facility is hosting a training course on mitigating violent crimes. The ILEA training director has requested that you provide a lecture on either a notable serial killer or a recent act of terrorism and discuss what types of factors may have influenced the perpetrator's deviant behavior that manifested in this significant criminal activity. The director advised that the goal is not only to provide a case study, but also to discuss the relevance and impact of various criminological theories when assessing criminal behavior as an ethical criminal justice professional. In support of this assessment, an analysis should focus on the role of cultural views and norms, as well as the correlation between criminological theory and practice. The focus of the lecture should be to mitigate future criminal activity through deterrence and intervention.

Directions

Using the scenario above, create a written draft of your lecture that focuses on the application of theory when analyzing an incident of criminal behavior. Choose one of the following incidences of criminal behavior as the focus of your lecture:

1) Jeffrey Dahmer profile
2) Ted Bundy profile
3) Terrorism in the U.S. (Beltway Snipers)

Resources that support each of these incidences are included in the "Supporting Materials" section below.

The following required elements should be included:

I. Describe the incident of criminal behavior chosen (100-150 words). Include the following in your description:

1. What crimes took place?
2. Who committed the crimes?
3. Where and when did the crimes take place?

II. Explain how cultural views and values drive the criminal behavior (150-200 words). Include the following in your explanation:

1. What is the correlation between culture and the criminal behavior?
2. How do certain cultures view the criminal behavior differently?
3. Are there differences in culture and geographic location regarding the legality of the criminal behavior?
4. Do you feel that the criminal behavior is influenced more by nature or one's environment?

III. Explain the importance of applying theory versus making broad generalizations to explain the criminal behaviors (150-200 words). Include the following in your explanation:

1. What are the advantages of applying theory to explain the criminal behavior?
2. What are the disadvantages of making broad generalizations?

IV. Explain the role of ethics when applying theory to the criminal behavior (100-150 words). Include the following in your explanation:

1. Why is ethics an important facet of criminology and the criminal justice profession?
2. How does ethics play a pivotal role in the application of criminological theory to the crime chosen?

V. Explain the correlation between criminal behavior theory and criminal justice practices (150-200 words). Include the following in your explanation:

1. What theory is best applicable to the criminal behavior chosen?
2. How did that theory affect policies related to the criminal behavior?