Introduction to Criminal Justice research project
The project relates to the following course outcomes:
1. Define bias, discrimination, prejudice, and ethics, and discuss the impact of these concepts on the CJ system and society.
2. Form a research topic, pose research questions, evaluate potential research sources and use technology as a research and information gathering tool.
3. Develop and produce writings on criminal justice topics that demonstrates knowledge of content and ability to support individual opinions.
This research project has the purpose to get you started so that you begin to gain the necessary skills that will allow you to:
- Create a thesis statement.
- research and write successful research papers
- understand different types of sources available
- evaluate sources during your research process
- Cite your references in APA format
Topic:
Your research topic for this project will be: Diversity and the Criminal Justice System, more explicitly you will be researching the:
- Boston police department
- Diversity in the department
- City of Boston demographics
- Diversity and bias in the Criminal Justice system in regards to police and community relationship
As you can see from your assigned topic, a research paper is not a ‘yes or no’ simple question, but instead, the main topic can be narrowed down into multiple sub-topics.
For this project, you are required to use the following sources:
- Website
- News article
- Book
- Academic journal
Source requirement continued:
- For your website and news article, you must use the sources provided to you below. The goal is to have you evaluate the source well, and answer the questions accordingly.
- For your other sources and to answer questions 5 and 6, you must find at least 1 book and 1 academic journal
‘We turn a blind eye’: Boston’s police remain largely white
Despite vows to diversify the force, little progress has been made.
Read in ABC News: https://apple.news/A753SjPpcTIyE1v4G39ifGA
Introduction to Criminal Justice Some police units more diverse than others.pdf Introduction to Criminal Justice Some police units more diverse than others.pdf – Alternative Formats
Introduction to Criminal JusticeDiversity in ranks limited, police try to build links in communities Missouri strife heightens attention to efforts in Mass. departments.pdf Introduction to Criminal JusticeDiversity in ranks limited, police try to build links in communities Missouri strife heightens attention to efforts in Mass. departments.pdf – Alternative Formats
Note: The link just above this message:
You will need to change the filter to the right of the page to identify only the data for the police department. IN THE DASHBOARD, GO OVER TO SEARCH BY DEPARTMENT NAME. Type in Boston Police Department in the box below and you will get the data on the demographics for the Boston Police Department.
The project:
- Using the topic assigned to you, create a thesis statement
- Answer questions 1-6 in full sentences, free of grammatical and spelling errors.
- Create a reference page in APA format.
- Describe the demographics for the city of Boston, and be sure to include the following:
- Gender
- Race
- Ethnicity
- Age
- Percentage of persons in poverty
- Describe the demographics for the Boston Police Department to include the following:
- Race
- Gender
- Ethnicity
- Age
- Using the information from your answers in questions 1 and 2 compare the demographics between the police department and the city; is the Boston Police department reflective of the community they serve. Support your opinion by providing 3 examples.
- Does the race or/and ethnic background of Boston residents affect their perception of the fairness of the justice system. Explain and provide at least 3 examples.
After doing additional research, using at least an academic journal and a book, answer the following two questions.
- Based on your research for this project, is there a need to further diversify the Boston Police department? Support your view with 3 examples.
- Based on your research for this project, is the justice system fair to all people? Support your view with at least 3 examples from your research.
