CRIME CONTROL AND PUBLIC POLICY

 
Compared to other countries, the US stands alone. In 2016, the incarceration rate of all other
Western industrialized countries hovered around 100 per 100,000 people, with Finland, Sweden,
Norway, and the Netherlands having only 55–71 inmates per 100,000 persons and Italy (87 per
100,000), France (100 per 100,000), Spain (133 per 100,000), and Portugal (138 per 100,000)
imprisoning at rates between 87 and 138 per 100,000 people (World Prison Brief, 2016). The US
incarceration rate is 5–12 times higher than comparable nations with similar economic and political
systems. Moreover, most prisoners eventually return home—but most who do, return to locked
facilities. Around 700,000 inmates exit US prisons every year, about 70% are arrested within 3 years of
exiting, and about 50% return to prison for a new offense or a parole violation (Jacobson, 2005;
Petersilia, 2011). If these trends continue, over 450,000 of the 700,000 inmates released in 2016 will be
arrested by 2019, and 350,000 of those people will return to prison. Minor offenses and technical
violations, such as failed drug tests, curfew violations, or missed parole appointments, account for
much of this high rate of failure (Gottschalk, 2015). Thus, the carceral system seems designed to make
sure that many people go—and go back—to jail and prison.
Racial and ethnic inequality in incarceration rates have risen dramatically over the past several
decades in the United States, in large part driven by “tough on crime” policies such as three strikes,
mandatory minimum sentencing, policies, and proactive policing (The Sentencing Project, 2017), as
well as by strict drug enforcement. As result of these punitive policies, nationwide, Black men are
currently imprisoned at a rate that is nearly six times greater than the rate of White men, and Black
women are imprisoned at a rate about twice that of White women (The Sentencing Project, 2017).
In the state of Florida, 48 percent of the state’s prison population is Black, compared with 16.8
percent of the overall population (Florida Department of Corrections, 2017; U.S. Census, 2017). Beyond
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these individual-level racial and ethnic disparities, high rates of arrests and incarceration have
disproportionately impacted Black and Hispanic or Latino communities (Omori, 2017; Roberts, 2004).
For example, police agencies have targeted communities of color as part of public-order-maintenance
policing policies, thereby creating crime “hotspots” (Geller & Fagan, 2010; Lynch, Omori, Roussell, &
Valasik, 2013). In many major cities, criminal justice agencies spend millions of dollars incarcerating
and surveilling communities of color. Criminal justice spending is so concentrated in these minority
neighborhoods that some scholars have termed them “million-dollar blocks”.
As Jacinta Gau argues in her book (Gau, 2018), “current policies contain flaws that limit their
effectiveness at protecting the public and can even increase victimization risks and the probability that
people who have committed crime in the past will reoffend.” Policies also frequently run afoul of
principles of social justice, and given the race and ethnic disparities detailed above, policies are failing
deeply. Therefore, for your capstone research project, you are charged with examining policies
through a critical, social-scientific, empirical lens, and producing an action-oriented policy report
targeting policymakers and agency executives (e.g. chiefs of police). It will serve the purpose of
informing policymakers and agency executives on what they can do to improve on what scholars and
many people in communities of color call the ‘criminal injustice system.’
To begin, select a crime policy that is contributing to the aforementioned problems (for
example, drug policy, sentencing policy, rehabilitation policy). Next thoroughly review the evidence
pertaining to the effectiveness of the policy. Use this evidence to argue that what we should and
should not be doing and what needs to be reformed. Last, recommend to policymakers the best
practices, strategies and programs that should be adopted that (based on the best available scientific
evidence) will work and won’t lead to the race, ethnic, and class disparities.
To illustrate how you should proceed, existing drug policy still adheres to the tenets of the “war
on drugs” and, as such, is more oriented toward enforcement than toward prevention and treatment.
Enforcement-based strategies are, by themselves, limited in their overall effectiveness. Drug courts
have become significant players in the fight against drugs, but enforcement remains the focal point of
policy efforts. Racial disparities in prison populations have been attributed to the war on drugs and
accompanying determinant sentencing structures, yet policymakers have been reluctant to alter
sentencing schemes or legislation that flatly prohibits sale, possession, and use of drugs. If this were
your focus (or topic of investigation) you would review the evidence pertaining to the effectiveness of
enforcement-based and treatment-based efforts, as well as the relative cost effectiveness of each, and
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recommend to a policymaking audience what strategies, practices, and programs should be adopted.
As final note, you need to view “effectiveness” in broad terms that include issues of justice, fairness,
and what are known as “collateral consequences,” and not just in terms of reducing or preventing
crime.
WRITING ASSIGNMENTS/DRAFTS OF THE POLICY REPORT
To aid you in writing your capstone policy report, you will submit midway through beginning drafts of
two sections of your policy report. These assignments are based on the best evidence we have today
for successful writing in college. The first draft, or what I’m calling writing assignment #1, will ask you
to decide on a topic of investigation, and then locate a minimum of three journal articles that are
related to the topic, and give a brief summary of the research contained in them. The second draft, or
what I’m calling writing assignment #2, will have you write the Introduction of your policy report (also
referred to as the Context and Importance of the Problem). The purpose of these writing assignments
is to build your policy report incrementally allowing me to give you feedback as you write it.
WRITING ASSIGNMENT #1
BEGIN SUMMARIZING RESEARCH
1. For this assignment you will first need to decide on your topic of investigation. Next, locate at least
three journal articles, which are related to your topic of investigation. Then summarize the
scientific research contained in them (about 3-5 pages). Agian, you need to summarize the research
that you found, do not simply list the journal articles. Note too, that the research in the required
books for this class and the lectures can, and should, be used in your policy report.
o What I am looking for in this assignment is that you are researching the evidence in favor of
and against a specific criminal justice policy or practice in a thoughtful way. It should be the
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scaffolding of the main body of your policy report (namely, the section called Pre-Existing
Policies, Policy Options, and Research).
o The purpose of this assignment is to help you with constructing a research-based policy
brief incrementally, a skill that will serve you now and in your future careers. The least
successful way to write a research paper is to start at or very near the deadline. The best
way to write it is to start your project early, and construct it over time, because it gives you
the time to: (a) think clearly about the topic; (b) fill gaps in your summary of research; and
(c) make revisions.
2. Also, document your research in a formal way; namely, begin constructing your Reference page.
For each research-based document you locate and summarize, document your source in a
reference list according to the Harvard Referencing Style or APA style.
o The purpose of this is to aid you in keeping track of your sources that you will cite in the
text, and how it should be correctly formatted. It will also show me that you are using a
variety of sources, but primarily relying on journal articles, books, and book chapters. I may
even recommend an article or two.
WRITING ASSIGNMENT #2:
THE CONTEXT AND IMPORTANCE OF THE PROBLEM
1. For this writing assignment, write the section Context and Importance of the Problem, otherwise
known as the Introduction. Your Introduction should include about four paragraphs. It should
include (1) a description of the problem; (2) the effects of the problem; (3) an introduction of your
topic of investigation and description of how this area of crime policy should help solve the
problem and achieve the goals outlined in the prompt; and (4) a road map paragraph that details
what the rest of the paper will do and how it will be structured.
o The purpose of the Context and Importance of the Problem section is to convince the target
audience that a current and urgent problem exists which requires them to take action. The
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Context and Importance of the Problem is both the introductory and the first building
blocks of the policy brief/policy report. As such, it usually includes the following: a clear
statement of the problem or issue; a short overview of the root causes of the problem; and
a statement of the policy implications of the problem that establishes the need for a policy
change.
o I will evaluate your grade based on three factors: (1) Is the Introduction strategically
focused on achieving the intended goal of convincing the target audience the need for
change; (2) Does it provide an adequately comprehensive but targeted argument within a
limited space; and (3) Is it succinct and give the reader a good understanding of what the
rest of the paper will be about.
• Note that the writing assignments are graded. The effort you put into this is important for this
assignment and ultimately your final paper (as it is based on the best evidence we have today for
successful writing).
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS AND OVERVIEW OF THE POLICY REPORT
Before describing a policy brief, you must follow some basic minimum requirements. Your policy brief
must be between 2,500 words and 3,000 words, or 10 to 12 pages, in length (and this includes the title
page and the reference page). Your policy brief must also be double-spaced with 1.0-inch margins and
using a 12-point Times New Roman font.
Now, the overview: A policy brief is a document that outlines the rationale for choosing a particular
policy alternative or course of action in a current policy debate. It is commonly produced in response to
a request directly from a decision-maker or within an organization that intends to advocate for the
position detailed in the brief. Depending on the role of the writer or organization producing the
document, the brief may only provide a targeted discussion of the current alternatives without arguing
for a particular one (i.e. those who adopt the role of ‘objective’ researcher). On the other end of the
scale, i.e. advocates, the brief may focus directly on providing an argument for the adoption of a
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particular alternative. Nevertheless for any case, as any policy debate is a market place of competing
ideas, the purpose of the policy brief is to convince the target audience of the urgency of the current
problem and the need to adopt the preferred alternative or course of action outlined and therefore,
serve as an impetus for action.
The key to success is targeting the particular audience for your message. The most common audience
for a policy brief is a decision-maker or policymaker, but it is also not unusual to use the document to
support broader advocacy initiatives targeting a wide but knowledgeable audience (e.g. journalists,
diplomats, administrators, researchers). In constructing a policy brief that can effectively serve its
intended purpose, it is common for a brief to be:
• Focused—all aspects of the policy brief (from the message to the layout) need to strategically
focused on achieving the intended goal of convincing the target audience. For example, the
argument provided must build on what they do know about the problem, provide insight about
what they don’t know about the problem and be presented in language that reflects their
values, i.e. using ideas, evidence and language that will convince them.
• Professional, not just academic—The common audience for a policy brief is not interested in
the research and analysis procedures conducted to produce the evidence, but are very
interested to know what scholars know about the problem and potential solutions based on the
best available evidence.
• Evidence-based—The policy brief is a communication tool produced by policy analysts and
therefore all potential audiences not only expect a rational argument but will only be convinced
by argumentation supported by evidence that the problem exists and the consequences of
adopting particular alternatives.
• Limited—to provide an adequately comprehensive but targeted argument within a limited
space, the focus of the brief needs to be limited to a particular problem or area of a problem.
• Succinct—The type of audiences targeted commonly do not have the time or inclination to read
an in-depth 30 page argument on a policy problem. Therefore, it is common that policy briefs
do not exceed 9 to 12 pages in length (i.e. not longer than 2,500 words).
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• Understandable—This not only refers to using clear and simple language (i.e. not the jargon
and concepts of an academic discipline) but also to providing a well-explained and easy to
follow argument targeting a wide but knowledgeable audience.
• Accessible—the writer of the policy brief should facilitate the ease of use of the document by
the target audience and therefore, should subdivide the text using clear descriptive titles to
guide the reader.
• Practical and feasible—the policy brief is an action-oriented tool targeting policy practitioners.
As such the brief must provide arguments based on what is actually happening in practice with
a particular policy and propose recommendations that seem realistic to the target audience.
THE STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS OF THE POLICY REPORT
Policy briefs directly reflect the different roles that the policy analyst commonly plays, i.e. from
researcher to advocate. The type of brief that you are writing is one from the more action-oriented,
advocacy end of the continuum (but that is nevertheless based purely on evidence and not your
opinion). Although there is much variation even at this end of the scale, the most common elements of
the policy brief are as follows:
• Title of the Policy Brief
• Executive Summary
• Context and Importance of the Problem (also called the ‘Introduction’)
• Policy Options and Research
• Conclusion
• Policy Recommendations
• Reference Page
The following is a description of each of the elements required in your policy brief report (and note
that these should be subheadings in your policy brief report):
• Title of the Policy Report—The title aims to catch the attention of the reader and compel
him/her to read on and so needs to be descriptive, punchy, and relevant.
• Executive Summary—The executive summary aims to convince the reader further that the
brief is worth in-depth investigation. It is especially important for an audience that is short of
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time to clearly see the relevance and importance of the brief in reading the summary. As such,
a 1 to 2 paragraph executive summary commonly includes: A description of the problem
addressed; a statement on why the current approach/policy option needs to be changed; and
your recommendations for action.
• Context and importance of the problem (i.e. Introduction)—The purpose of this
element of the brief is to convince the target audience that a current and urgent problem exists
which requires them to take action. The context and importance of the problem is both the
introductory and first building block of the brief. As such, it usually includes the following: A
clear statement of the problem or issue in focus; a short overview of the root causes of the
problem; and a clear statement of the policy implications of the problem which clearly
establishes the current importance and policy relevance of the issue. It is worth noting that the
length of the problem description may vary considerably from brief to brief depending on the
stage on the policy process in focus, e.g. there may be a need to have a much more extensive
problem description for policy at the evaluation stage than for one at the option choosing
stage.
• Pre-Existing Policies, Policy Options, and Research—The aim of this element is to
detail shortcomings of the current approach or options being implemented and therefore,
illustrate both the need for change and focus of where change needs to occur. It also should
detail the evidence about what will likely work better (or not suffer from the shortcomings). In
doing so, the critique of policy options usually includes the following: A short overview of the
policy option(s) in focus and the evidence illustrating why and how the current approach is
failing and why and how another option is not failing (and is hopefully ‘working’). It is also
important for the sake of credibility to recognize all opinions in the debate of the issue.
• Conclusion—you need to summarize briefly what the readers should take away from your
research review.
• Policy recommendations—The aim of the policy recommendations element is to provide a
detailed and convincing proposal of how the failings of the current policy approach need to
change. As such this is achieved by including: A breakdown of the specific practical steps or
measures that need to be implemented. You may also include a closing paragraph
reemphasizing the importance of action. The recommendations should follow the conclusion.
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• Reference Page—Since your policy brief is research-driven and evidence-based, you should
include a reference page that includes all the journal articles, book chapters, books, and
reputable reports that you used to inform your policy brief. You should have at least 10, but
likely more. Also, you must have in-text cites throughout your policy brief report. Remember,
this is not original research by you, thus you should have a copious amount of in-text cites. By
way of example, here is a decent illustration of in-text citing:
The swelling of the US system over the last 40 years is due, almost entirely, to an increased rate
of incarceration for people of color, mainly for drug-related offenses (Alexander, 2010; Currie,
2013; Sentencing Project, 2010; Tonry, 2011). For young men of color with little education, the
prison has become a normal social experience, statistically speaking (Western, 2006). Mass
incarceration appears to be with us for years to come as well: while the US prison population
recently experienced a slight downtick, estimates suggest that the US carceral system will be
larger in 2018 than today (The Pew Charitable Trusts, 2014). This means that, for the
foreseeable future, a prison term will serve as a common rite of passage for poor young men of
color (Comfort, 2012), an experience that forever dims their life prospects and curtails those of
their neighbors, partners, brothers, sisters and children, perhaps for generations to come (Clear,
2007; Wakefield and Wildeman, 2011).
THE POWERPOINT PRESENTATION OF THE RESEARCH
PROJECT
OVERVIEW
The research project presentation assignment simulates real-world policymaking debates that
routinely take place in the criminal justice system. It is commonly produced in response to a request
directly from a decision-maker or within an organization that intends to change a position or strategy.
As soon-to-be graduates with a degree in criminal justice, you need to practice researching policies,
analyzing their efficacy, and summarizing this research in a short presentation. Thus, you will prepare a
PowerPoint or Prezi presentation of your policy brief. For online classes or online presenters, the
presentations will take place in Canvas’s Discussion page; for on campus classes or in-person
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presenters the presentations will take place in the classroom. For hybrid classes, you will select during
class time whether to present in the classroom or online through the discussion board.
Again, the topic of your presentation will be the same topic that you select to write about for your
policy brief. Thus, if you have not reviewed the research project prompt and policy brief instructions,
stop here, and go review them. Please take enough time to look over the course material and chapters,
and decide on a topic. This is not always easy. A good topic is very important to your success in both
the writing assignment and the presentation assignment.
PREPARING YOUR POWERPOINT PRESENTATION
First, you need to plan how you will analyze your topic. Next, you will need to do the research on your
topic and begin writing the policy options and research section of your policy brief. Once this is
complete, you can then begin to prepare your PowerPoint presentation. Each PowerPoint presentation
should have 3-5 slides, but no more than 7, and it must include 5-8 minutes of you speaking (for the
online presenters see below for the instructions on how to record audio on your PowerPoint slides).
Structurally, your PowerPoint presentation should begin with a brief overview of your topic and
connect it to the main policy goal (or problem) of the research project. Following this, you will need to
synthesize the research that favors or disfavors the policies, strategies, or practices related to your
topic. Based on this research review, you should conclude with a recommendation for policymakers
and/or criminal justice agents to implement (including addressing common concerns that they will
have, such as, cost and public support). You are doing a mock policymaking presentation, so remember
who your audience is as you create your slides and presentation notes.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR ONLINE PRESENTERS
After you complete the PowerPoint presentation, which includes audio of you speaking over your
slides, post your file to your thread in the appropriate discussion board forum (see below for
instructions for recording audio and creating a thread). Your PowerPoint must be uploaded by the
posted due date. For the week that you present, you will be in charge of monitoring the discussion
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board forum for the entire week and replying to comment(s) before the end of the week. You will also
need to view the presentation posted by your colleagues and post at least one (1) substantive
comment to their discussions thread.
CREATING A DISCUSSIONS POST ON CANVAS
1. Enter the Discussions page on Canvas
2. Select the appropriate Discussions forum.
3. Upload your PowerPoint presentation to the Discussions forum by selecting Reply and then the
Attach paperclip icon located below the textbox.
4. In the textbox, type your name and topic in the box (for example: Tim Goddard – Mandatory
Sentencing for Drug Offenders)
5. Select Post Reply.
6. For the week of your presentation, monitor your thread and respond to comments. You will
need to comment on your colleagues’ presentations as well.
ADDING AUDIO TO A POWERPOINT PRESENTATION (MAC)
1. Open your PowerPoint presentation.
2. Select “Insert” and scroll down to “Audio.” From this menu, select “Record Audio.” Or select
the “Media” icon located at the top of the page. From this drop-down menu, select “Record
Audio.”
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3. A “Record Sound” menu page should pop-up (shown below). Select the “Record” option and
begin recording the audio for your presentation. (As a reminder, there should be audio on each
slide. Please do not record the audio for your entire presentation and place it on one slide).
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4. Once you have finished recording your audio, select “Stop” or click “Record” again to stop
recording. Give your audio file an appropriate name and click “Save.”
5. A speaker icon will now be present on the slide. If you select this icon, you should be able to
play the audio you’ve just recorded. Be sure to save your presentation.
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ADDING AUDIO TO A POWERPOINT PRESENTATION (PC)
1. Choose the slide by clicking on it.
2. Click on Insert found in the menu across the top.
3. You will see a gold speaker to the right of the icon menu at the top. Click on the arrow beneath
it.
4. Click record audio.
5. A small box will appear.
6. When you are ready to record, click on the red circle. The clock will start ticking from zero.
7. When you are done recording, click the square.
8. To listen to your recording, click on the blue arrow.
9. If you are unhappy with your recording or would like to record it again, simply press cancel and
begin again.
10. If you are happy with your recording, simply press OK. A gray speaker icon will appear on your
slide. You can move this anywhere you like (and move it to a corner or somewhere logical).
11. If you press OK, and then decide you don’t like it, simply delete the gray speaker icon from the
slide and begin again.
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Assessment Rubric for the Oral Presentation of the Policy Brief

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Assessment Rubric of the Research Project/Policy Brief

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Assessment Rubric of the Research Project/Policy Brief