Criminal Justice

Part 1-4 400-600 words a piece, Please do not commit if you’re not going to complete all assignments, Total of 9 parts in all.

Part 1

Why has criminal justice policy come to be more dependent on evidence-based evaluation? Explain this in detail.

How have practitioners and researchers collaborated more in recent years to formulate strategies to address crime issues?

What role does accountability play in considering which policies are “good” or effective?

How do policymakers evaluate policies?

What is the difference between evaluation and assessment?

Part 2

What are some of the factors that determine whether or not a policy is cost-effective?

Choose a juvenile delinquency program in your state. How do the strategies used in the selected program address crime and delinquency issues?

Address gender policies specifically. Discuss gender policies and other theories investigating the biological impact on criminology.For example, should juvenile justice programs be unisex?

The context of the family is important as a focus for crime prevention efforts. How does the intergenerational transmission of criminal behavior impact possible developmental pathways for juveniles? How can early intervention reduce delinquent behavior?

Why is it important that policy efforts receive support for implementation?

Provide concrete and clear examples to explain your answers.Evaluate opposing views and adequately address your final conclusions.

Part 3

The annotated bibliography is a cornerstone of academic research and allows students and policy analysts to understand the current state of knowledge about an issue before proposing policy alternatives.

How does an annotated bibliography prepare you to create an effective literature review?

If a policy analyst simply did an Internet search and gave policymakers some results about a policy issue, what would happen? What would be missing?

Using credible academic and government reference sources to build a literature review is crucial, but it can be challenging to write. How will you approach transitioning from the annotated bibliography to the literature review?

What are some common errors to avoid in writing a literature review?

Part 4

Your first task is to post your own Key Assignment Outline to the discussion area so that other students are able to review your plan. Use the 7 step process outlined in the MUSE link CHDS Policy Options Analysis. Include the 7 steps in your Outline. Attach your document to the main discussion post, and include a 2-3 sentence description of each major section and several proposed references. The purpose of this assignment is to help improve the quality of the Key Assignment Draft you will complete next week.

Define the Problem

Construct Alternative Solutions

Criteria for Judging Success of Proposed Solutions

Projected outcomes for alternative Solutions

Analyze Trade-Offs for Solutions

Choose Best Solutions

Explain Recommendations.

Part 5

Address the following in 3–4 pages:

How do theory, ideology, and ethics play a part in the creation of criminal justice policy?

Identify a specific public policy and discuss the theory and criteria behind its creation.

What are the complications in criminological theory of explaining causation?

How does ideology impact the construction of criminal justice policy?

People expect criminal justice policies to be morally principled. Describe how ethics frame or are incorporated into criminal justice policy.

How is translational criminology seen as an effective way to bridge the gap between practitioners and researchers in creating policy?

Part 6

In this assignment, you will create an annotated bibliography about crime prevention research and initiatives aimed at reducing juvenile delinquency and subsequent adult criminal behavior. You will continue to utilize the research developed in the annotated bibliography as you prepare for the assignments in Units 4 and 5.

What is an annotated bibliography?

This is a bibliography that includes brief explanations or notes for each reference. An annotated bibliography helps the researcher determine which sources are relevant to a line of inquiry. This determination is based on a summary of the work, an evaluation of its credibility, and its applicability to what you are specifically writing about. Each annotation should be between 100–150 words.

Visit and read examples from the recommended resources that the CTU Library provides about the annotated bibliography:

This site gives an explanation of what an annotated bibliography is and the process of creating one. Be sure you check the format of your own work with the assignment and your instructor.

How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography: The Annotated Bibliography

This site gives an overview of the annotated bibliography and samples in APA and other formats. Be sure you check the format of your own work with the assignment and your instructor.

Annotated Bibliography Samples

Examples of topics to search:

Articles on juvenile delinquency and its causes

Articles on theory that address juvenile delinquency

Government or nonadvocate, nonprofit organization Web pages for statistics

Peer-reviewed articles and academic journal articles

What are peer-reviewed references?

Peer-reviewed references are those documents that have been written and subsequently reviewed by experts or scholars in a specific field. Examples in criminology and criminal justice include: Criminology, the Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, and Justice Quarterly. Do not use an article that is more than 5–7 years old unless it is considered foundational in the field.

Annotations Versus Abstracts

Abstracts are the purely descriptive summaries often found at the beginning of scholarly journal articles or in periodical indexes. Annotations are descriptive and critical; they expose the author’s point of view, clarity, and appropriateness of expression and authority.

Assignment Guidelines

First, search for books, periodicals, and information related to your topic of study. Take your time to look them over and see what the authors are describing in their work, and then make a decision on which material would have the most impact upon your paper.

Select a minimum of 10–15 sources that you will use for your annotated bibliography.

For each selected source, complete the following:

Make an APA reference for the material.

Write a brief description that summarizes the central theme of the material.

Evaluate the credibility of the source, comment on the intended audience, compare or contrast this work with other sources that you have referenced, and explain how this work relates to your topic.

All references should be in APA style.

Part 7

Using your annotated bibliography from Week 2, write a literature review of 3–4 pages. Many peer-reviewed academic journal articles contain a literature review section. Research to find and read several of these.

The literature review is not a listing of abstracts or simple paraphrasing. If your introduction and literature review are combined, ensure that each specific point in establishing the importance of your topic is supported by citations of proper sources. The points you are emphasizing are a reflection of the research and findings that you have developed around your chosen topic. Your ultimate paper is your own unique perspective, and in the literature review you are assembling related research to support your own work.

Part 8

The state legislature recognizes the need to focus efforts and resources on young offenders so that they do not continue to commit delinquent acts and perhaps transition to adult criminals, which would cost taxpayers even more. Acting as a state policy analyst and building on the annotated bibliography and literature review you have completed, propose 2 policy alternatives to combat juvenile delinquency.

Your readings in the course have exposed you to many of the key topics in criminal justice while showing you the importance of research and theories to the development of sound policies. You have seen how the writing in the text and other sources is not mere opinion or unsupported assertions. Rather, the work is built upon existing knowledge and contemporary studies.

As you consider how to advise the legislature on how to address juvenile delinquency in your state, you must rely on factual information and utilize a theoretical foundation. Delinquency, as well as other deviance, results from a variety of factors explained through various theoretical perspectives. One or more theories may draw your attention as instructive about the issues surrounding juvenile delinquency. Have these theories been supported by research?

Assignment Guidelines

You are a policy analyst in the legislative affairs office of your state legislature. The criminal justice committee of the legislature has requested recommendations about how to address juvenile delinquency in the state. You must conduct research and assemble 2 possible policy initiatives in your proposal. Use the 7 step process outlined in the MUSE link, CHDS Policy Options Analysis. Include the 7 steps in your proposal.

Define the Problem

Construct Alternative Solutions

Criteria for Judging Success of Proposed Solutions

Projected outcomes for alternative Solutions

Analyze Trade-Offs for Solutions

Choose Best Solutions

Explain Recommendations.

Address the following in 3–4 pages:

Prepare a professional policy memo to the criminal justice committee outlining the actions to be taken, funding sources, and implementation challenges that may arise for each alternative.

Compare and contrast the two policy recommendations.

How would you evaluate whether either policy was successful after it was implemented?

How will you utilize your research from the first 3 weeks? Explain.

Be sure to reference all sources using APA style.

While the specific memo format you choose is not specified, be aware that the tone of your writing should be clear, professional, free of jargon, and without emotionally influenced terms or comments.

Part 9

The state legislature has agreed to go forth with one of the two policy proposals that you formulated in the Week 4 Key Assignment draft. You will now have to explain how the policy will be implemented and what challenges will be faced during implementation.

Part 1 Tasks (Objectives from Weeks 1–4):

First, revise your Week 4 Key Assignment draft based on your own review and reflection, instructor feedback, and peer responses.

Part 2 Tasks (Objective(s) from Week 5):

Add 2–3 additional pages of content to your final Key Assignment by selecting 1 of the 2 initiatives you recommended in Week 4 and addressing the following questions regarding the recommended policy:

What cost factors do you anticipate affecting implementation of the selected policy?

What strategy would you recommend to involve the media or other groups in an effort to inform the public and stakeholders about the new policy?

Articulate how research evidence played a significant role in your final policy recommendation.