Issues in Modern American Policing

Work must be original due to software that is detecting if similar work was submitted by other students.

Write a paper on one of these three topics:

Use of Force: Is the Media Helping or Hurting?

Racial Profiling by Police: What Are the Critics Missing?

Police Unions: Has Their Time Passed?

Final Paper Instructions:

Include an introduction. It must provide a clear statement of your position on the topic.

The paper should synthesize current, relevant research on your topic from at least 5 scholarly sources.

Discuss the implications of possible solutions for the debate under investigation.

Finally, offer your conclusions regarding how best to manage the issue (i.e., your informed opinion on the issues raised).

The paper must demonstrate what you have learned about current issues related to policing and how the many variables we've discussed in class influence the inner workings of police and their agencies. Your paper is expected to have depth and offer a thoughtful analysis on the topic. The paper should be based on references to scholarly materials (rather than on introductory textbooks, popular website writings, or musings, for example). That is, support your claims with evidence.

The most common mistakes in writing an essay are

(a) simply summarizing the topic and not analyzing it or discussing your views and

(b) failing to relate the subject to the broader context of policing, as discussed in class and as found in the readings. Adequately including the broader contexts includes, for example, considering how your research might yield a different approach to policing or considering the implications of your findings for police training.

Your paper must be at 7 pages in length, not counting the title and reference pages, which you must include.

Include at least five scholarly sources other than the course textbook.