Writing a Policy

1
by Dr. Edward Hale
Posted Oct 14, 2019
The Unit 3 Discussion Board (DB) is an exploration of policy
writing – and the reasons they are
created.
Policies Address Problems
In your criminal justice career, it is quite possible that you will
be tasked with developing a
crime reduction strategy that is based on a crime causation
theory. Whether you are in a public
agency or in a private corporation, crime reduction issues are
frequently tied to funding sources
of problems. First, the root problem must be identified. Second,
a plan must be developed to
address or fix it. Plans frequently turn into policies, if they are
found to be effective.

Proposed Policy
In this exercise, we will link a policy proposal to a crime
causation theory. When working for an
agency, city or private organization, the following would be
included:
• The purpose of the policy. What is the underlying problem
that necessitates the creation
of a policy?
• What is the overarching theory that is guiding the creation of
the policy?
• What are the anticipated benefits?
• Provide a comparison of the benefits and disadvantages of the
proposed policy.
• Provide an action plan that shows how it will be implemented.
Whenever you make a proposal, you will get proponents, as well
as opponents, of your proposal.
Some people will agree with you and some will disagree. You’ll
need to be prepared to describe
the advantages of your policy proposal, as well as being
prepared to counter the alleged

disadvantages to your proposal. A policy proposal will be made
to the stakeholders – and you
will have to determine who the stakeholders are. Your
stakeholders could be city commissioners,
jail commanders, community activists or other key players who
have a stake in the outcome of
your policy, if it is implemented.
Social Environment
Let’s return to the issue of crime causation. What is it? Crime
causation simply explains the
causes of crime. In this context, the roots of crime are
oftentimes found in the social
environment, which includes:
• The family
• Schools
Unit 3 Discussion Board
How to Write a Policy
2

• Peer groups
• The workplace
• The community
• Society
Is there a crime fighting strategy (or a policy) that would
directly or indirectly address any of
these root causes?
Crime Causation Theories
Crime causation has six different theories that describe crime.
Click on any of the following to
read more about them:
1. Strain Theory 4. Labeling Theory
2. Social Learning Theory 5. Social Disorganization Theory
3. Control Theory 6. Critical Theories
These theories focus on different features of the social
environment and they provide different
reasons why the social environment causes crime.

Root Problems
Some crime causation theories focus on individual differences
in crime, while others explain
group differences in crime. For example, some communities
have higher crime rates than other
communities. My city may have different crime causation roots
than your city. Cities may have
similarities, but no two cities are exactly alike. You may know
exactly what the crime causation
issues are in your neighborhood or in your city because you live
there and it’s abundantly clear
to you, but it might not be clear to outsiders.
Identify Root Crime Problems
What kind of a crime fighting strategy can be developed that is
based on crime causation? The
answer might be different for each city. Here are sample
problems and suggested policies:
Problem: First, identify a problem that needs to be fixed.

Policy: Second, develop a policy (or a plan) to address it.
That’s the basic premise. Now let’s expand it to a specific
problem. What follows are five
samples:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lDBbyDpQFHaPxY3yu2sBfqU-
qpF6Wbsp/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SS6KFnWatlN20RNcMBJaOg8
2E9fUmOxQ/view?usp=sharing
http://law.jrank.org/pages/815/Crime-Causation-Sociological-
Theories-Social-learning-theory.html
Theories-Social-disorganization-theory.html
Theories-Control-theory.html
Theories-Critical-theories.html
3
Problem: A neighborhood has a drug problem
Policy: The plan or the policy will be for the police department
to put undercover

detectives in the neighborhood to develop confidential
informants to find out who the
drug dealers are. Then they can be arrested.
~
Problem: A city has a domestic violence problem.
Policy: The plan is to have the police department sponsor
domestic violence seminars at
city hall and work in tandem with the media to educate the
public on domestic violence
awareness.
~
Problem: The city high school has a 40% drop-out rate among
students. That will
eventually lead to higher unemployment and more crime.
Policy: The proposal is to have the city commission encourage
the school board to
develop “alternative schools” that will help struggling students
to graduate from high
school and maybe attend a vocational-technical school where
they can learn an

employable skill.
~
Problem: The city has a high unemployment rate (that will
eventually lead to crime).
What can we do about high unemployment?
Policy: Let’s ask the city commission to create major tax breaks
for any industry or
company that is willing to relocate to our city. Once the
company relocates to our city,
they will invariably employ our city residents, which will then
reduce unemployment,
which will indirectly reduce crime.
We’ve identified a problem and we’ve offered a proposal to fix
it. Our proposal may not work,
but at least we’re trying to fix the problem. If at first you don’t
succeed, then try try again.
Innovative Proposals
These are different crime causation factors that must be
addressed in unique and innovative

ways.
Solution
s are not a one-size-fits-all formula. Proposed solutions need to
be developed that
focus on whatever crime causation factors you identify in your
community. You might be
surprised at how much you actually know – because you live in
your community. It’s going to be
4
up to people like you to identify problems and then offer
proposed solutions to fix them. It’s not
necessarily up to others. It begins first with us. You have the
power to be a mover and a shaker.

Don’t be intimidated by the word policy. A policy is simply a
written plan that addresses a
problem. Here are the basic steps for creating a policy:
1. PROBLEM: Every policy begins with an identified problem
that needs to be fixed.
2. IDEA: From there, an idea is developed on how to fix or
address the problem.
3. PLAN: That idea is morphed into a written draft or plan for
others to read.
4. POLICY: A written plan becomes policy if it is adopted by a
chief, sheriff, city
commission or by whoever is in charge.
That’s the basic process for policy creation.

Policies Prevent Problems
Policies either prevent or solve problems. Almost every policy
was created because of a problem
that had to be fixed. Having a written policy helps future
employees or people to keep out of
trouble. It’s sort of like the Constitution of the United States.
The Constitution, which was
written in 1776, helps future citizens, government officials and
lawyers to remember certain
things – and if we remember those things, then the nation will
remain free, but if we forget and
dismiss those Constitutional policies, then we will re-
experience the same issues that our
forefathers had in the 1700s. Written policies are designed to
prevent or to solve problems.

Know your Stakeholders
When you design a policy proposal, make sure that you know
who your audience or stakeholders
are. Click here to a PowerPoint that discusses how to write a
policy brief. Do not read the entire
thing – just speed-read it or scroll through it to get some
general ideas.
APA citation:
(Hale, 2019)
APA reference:
Hale, E. (2019). How to write a policy. [Unit 3]. Retrieved from

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Y0_l6leNtuRYwf72SwJuXWKk
prkw_EoC/view?usp=s
haring
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0QmECZPnLPhQlI0OEZPclM
4YTA/view?usp=sharing
prkw_EoC/view?usp=sharing
prkw_EoC/view?usp=sharing
1
by Dr. Edward Hale
Posted Oct 14, 2019
The Unit 3 Discussion Board (DB) is an exploration of policy
writing – and the reasons they are

created.
Policies Address Problems
In your criminal justice career, it is quite possible that you will
be tasked with developing a
crime reduction strategy that is based on a crime causation
theory. Whether you are in a public
agency or in a private corporation, crime reduction issues are
frequently tied to funding sources
of problems. First, the root problem must be identified. Second,
a plan must be developed to
address or fix it. Plans frequently turn into policies, if they are
found to be effective.
Proposed Policy

In this exercise, we will link a policy proposal to a crime
causation theory. When working for an
agency, city or private organization, the following would be
included:
• The purpose of the policy. What is the underlying problem
that necessitates the creation
of a policy?
• What is the overarching theory that is guiding the creation of
the policy?
• What are the anticipated benefits?
• Provide a comparison of the benefits and disadvantages of the
proposed policy.
• Provide an action plan that shows how it will be implemented.
Whenever you make a proposal, you will get proponents, as well
as opponents, of your proposal.

Some people will agree with you and some will disagree. You’ll
need to be prepared to describe
the advantages of your policy proposal, as well as being
prepared to counter the alleged
disadvantages to your proposal. A policy proposal will be made
to the stakeholders – and you
will have to determine who the stakeholders are. Your
stakeholders could be city commissioners,
jail commanders, community activists or other key players who
have a stake in the outcome of
your policy, if it is implemented.
Social Environment
Let’s return to the issue of crime causation. What is it? Crime
causation simply explains the

causes of crime. In this context, the roots of crime are
oftentimes found in the social
environment, which includes:
• The family
• Schools
Unit 3 Discussion Board
2
• Peer groups
• The workplace
• The community

• Society
Is there a crime fighting strategy (or a policy) that would
directly or indirectly address any of
these root causes?
Crime Causation Theories
Crime causation has six different theories that describe crime.
Click on any of the following to
read more about them:
1. Strain Theory 4. Labeling Theory
2. Social Learning Theory 5. Social Disorganization Theory
3. Control Theory 6. Critical Theories

These theories focus on different features of the social
environment and they provide different
reasons why the social environment causes crime.
Root Problems
Some crime causation theories focus on individual differences
in crime, while others explain
group differences in crime. For example, some communities
have higher crime rates than other
communities. My city may have different crime causation roots
than your city. Cities may have
similarities, but no two cities are exactly alike. You may know
exactly what the crime causation
issues are in your neighborhood or in your city because you live
there and it’s abundantly clear
to you, but it might not be clear to outsiders.

Identify Root Crime Problems
What kind of a crime fighting strategy can be developed that is
based on crime causation? The
answer might be different for each city. Here are sample
problems and suggested policies:
Problem: First, identify a problem that needs to be fixed.
Policy: Second, develop a policy (or a plan) to address it.
That’s the basic premise. Now let’s expand it to a specific
problem. What follows are five
samples:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lDBbyDpQFHaPxY3yu2sBfqU-
qpF6Wbsp/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SS6KFnWatlN20RNcMBJaOg8
2E9fUmOxQ/view?usp=sharing
Theories-Social-learning-theory.html
Theories-Social-disorganization-theory.html
Theories-Control-theory.html
Theories-Critical-theories.html
3
Problem: A neighborhood has a drug problem
Policy: The plan or the policy will be for the police department

to put undercover
detectives in the neighborhood to develop confidential
informants to find out who the
drug dealers are. Then they can be arrested.
~
Problem: A city has a domestic violence problem.
Policy: The plan is to have the police department sponsor
domestic violence seminars at
city hall and work in tandem with the media to educate the
public on domestic violence
awareness.
~
Problem: The city high school has a 40% drop-out rate among
students. That will

eventually lead to higher unemployment and more crime.
Policy: The proposal is to have the city commission encourage
the school board to
develop “alternative schools” that will help struggling students
to graduate from high
school and maybe attend a vocational-technical school where
they can learn an
employable skill.
~
Problem: The city has a high unemployment rate (that will
eventually lead to crime).
What can we do about high unemployment?
Policy: Let’s ask the city commission to create major tax breaks
for any industry or

company that is willing to relocate to our city. Once the
company relocates to our city,
they will invariably employ our city residents, which will then
reduce unemployment,
which will indirectly reduce crime.
We’ve identified a problem and we’ve offered a proposal to fix
it. Our proposal may not work,
but at least we’re trying to fix the problem. If at first you don’t
succeed, then try try again.
Innovative Proposals
These are different crime causation factors that must be
addressed in unique and innovative
ways.

Writing a Policy

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