Criminal Justice System

CRIM 2022 Criminal Justice System

Reflection Paper

Your Reflection Paper will be out of 80 total points. However, I will grading out of 65 total points. In other words, there will be 15 points of extra credit. For example, if your final grade on the term paper is 65 points, then you will have 100% for the paper. If your final grade is 80, then you will have over 100% on your final grade for the paper.

To help you learn how to draw connections between what you learn about in this course and real-world events, you should find a news article about a current event and write an analysis of that event. Your analysis should describe (a) how the event exemplifies the topic we discussed in class. You can also utilize the statistics from the statistics in the report of “Probation and Parole in the United States 2017-2018.” (Report and related information on “Probation and Parole” PPT are posted in Week 12 Folder)

(b) how it reflects the implementation of sound research into policy, and (c) what research is needed to help criminal justice practitioners and policymakers respond to the topic you analyzed in the future. For example, for the topic of Black Lives Matter, you could find an article about a victim who experienced social injustice, describe whether current law enforcement practices are in line with the ideals of the criminal justice system, and call for research exploring links between current social riots and criminal justice system reform in the future.

Be sure to rely on reputable news sources when identifying a current event to review—that is, you should use trusted sources like BBC, NPR, Washington Post, and The New York Times, and avoid less trusted sources like The Huffington Post, The Sean Hannity Show, etc. (when in doubt, see http://www.businessinsider.com/here-are-the-most-and-least-trusted-news-outlets-in-america-2014-10).

Your Reflection Paper should be 3 to 4 pages in length (double spaced, 1-inch margins, 12 point Times New Roman font, not including a cover page). Reflection Paper will be graded on the basis of the suitability of the articles and the quality of your review. You may submit more than the 1 required Reflection Paper but no more than 2, in which case your best grade among the 3 grades will be used to compute your final grade. If both are of high quality, you may receive extra credits. Reflection Paper grades will be averaged to comprise 10% of your final grade.