As you complete this course and the program, it is time to look ahead at the critical issues facing the criminal justice system. Many of today's critical issues have either arisen or worsened as a result of the 9/11 attacks.

This assignment will require you to build on your assignment by applying the concepts of the course to the following four areas:

Using the South University Online Library or the Internet, research and analyze a major national-level street gang, such as MS-13 or the Bloods. Describe the challenges such gangs present to law enforcement. Also, analyze how theories such as social disorganization and strain theory describe factors that lead juveniles to join such gangs.

Another key issue is the use of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) evidence to exonerate wrongfully-convicted offenders. Advances in technology in recent years have allowed investigators to use old crime scene evidence to prove the evidence of some death-row inmates.

For this portion of the assignment, describe the efforts being made by citizens outside the criminal justice system to ensure that innocent people are not wrongfully executed. Be sure to include the "Innocence Project."

The above issue raises the question of how innocent men and women might have been convicted in the first place. For the third portion of this assignment, analyze and discuss the most common causes of wrongful convictions.

For the final part of this paper, examine a post-9/11 critical issue that corresponds to your area of interest. Once you have selected an issue:

How the community influences this issue?

Are the lawmakers and politicians addressing the issue appropriately?

Have any improvements been made in recent years?

Given what you have learned throughout his program, what are your thoughts on the issue?

Some issues you might wish to choose may include the President's use of drones to kill the US citizens suspected of terrorism without due process; the use of GPS devices and "sneak-and-peek" searches to investigate suspects; cyber-attacks from foreign countries; the use of Supermax prisons to house convicted terrorists; legislation to restrict private ownership of certain types of guns.