Description
Congratulations! You have worked hard and made it to your final term. Before you graduate, it is time to reflect upon what you have learned in your courses, to determine the areas that interest you the most, and to apply your knowledge to improve the criminal justice field.
Part I – Reflection
Let’s start by reflecting on the courses that you have completed.
- Review the courses that you completed, as you pursued your degree. Identify your top three courses that had the biggest impact on you.
- Identify the top three competencies that you developed while completing your degree.
- In your degree program, what topics did you find most interesting, either personally or professionally?
- In your program, what skills did you master as you completed your degree?
- Identify some of the most important concepts that you learned about in these courses.
Part II – Needs Assessment
Next, based upon your areas of interest that you discussed above, evaluate two areas in the criminal justice field that you believe could benefit from improvement or from a new approach. Your evaluation should consider questions such as: what are current problems affecting the two areas you have chosen? Why do these problems persist? What has prevented success in solving these problems in the past? Some examples are listed below. Of the two areas that you choose, select at least one area that is not listed below.
- Racial profiling
- Forensic profiling
- Tasers & decreased injuries
- Prison job training & recidivism
- Body cameras & liability reduction
- High speed vehicle pursuits & liability
- Solitary confinement & mental health
- Human trafficking
- Forensics & convictions
- Drug rehab & recidivism
- Drug rehab v. incarceration
- Community policing & minority relations
- Officers’ use of excessive force in minority neighborhoods
Part III – Identification of Themes
Once you have identified two areas for improvement, briefly describe analyze the issues that you believe need improvement. How would you solve these challenges? How might your solutions change the current model? In your analysis of these issues, consider how and why the following themes may affect your issues:
- Ethics
- Diversity
- Technology
In your own words, please post a response to the Discussion Board and comment on at least two other postings. When commenting to your classmates’ posts, volunteer your own specific ideas of how your classmates’ areas of interest could benefit from a new approach. You will be graded on the quality of your postings.
