Overall Instructions to the Research Paper As you complete this assignment, it is important that you keep in mind that the focus of this course is on the management, administration, and/or leadership aspects of criminal justice organizations. With that in mind, focus your efforts on addressing a problem area and solutions for that problem area that involve the real-world criminal justice community. You must focus on proposing a real-world solution to a real-world problem. This issue must be applicable to the ability of the leadership of a criminal justice agency to take constructive action on the problem(s) and recommendation(s) that you identify and address. In those respects, this assignment is more than a standardized research paper, and provides you with an exposure to problems that real-world criminal justice leaders face. The Assignment You will conduct sufficient web research to select a specific criminal justice-related issue/problem that the management, administration, and/or leadership of a major criminal justice organization are, have, or should be addressing. The specific problem and recommended solutions that you may review will vary considerably based upon the quality of your online research efforts. The better your research, the better you will gain knowledge from this assignment. You may relate the issue/problem to an agency/department in the area in which you live or any other area of the United States. To begin this effort you need take the following steps: · Conduct sufficient online research from any web source (including non-scholarly sources) that enables you to identify what you believe to be a major criminal justice management, leadership, and/or administration issue that the community has not addressed on a widescale basis. While you may identify the issue/topic from non-academic quality sources, remember that only scholarly/academic sources maybe used as references in the paper. You will need to be selective in conducting your topical research to insure that you identify an appropriate problem area that merits the attention of the senior management of an agency. · Once you have identified the general issue/topic, you will conduct appropriate online research to determine that sufficient scholarly/academic-quality sources of information are available on the subject that you selected. If that does not occur, you need to select a different issue/topic to address. The specific issue that you select to address in the assignment should be based on the volume and quality of web sources that you locate. · Once you have identified that a sufficient quantity of academic/scholarly-quality sources are available for your project, you will conduct further detailed web-based research on the issue. First determine that your references address how a particular city, county, state, or federal agency has successfully addressed the issue. The key here is to locate an organization that has identified the issue and that has already.

1. Overall Instructions to the Research Paper
As you complete this assignment, it is important that you keep
in mind that the focus of this course is on the management,
administration, and/or leadership aspects of criminal justice
organizations.
With that in mind, focus your efforts on addressing a problem
area and solutions for that problem area that involve the real-
world criminal justice community. You must focus on proposing
a real-world solution to a real-world problem. This issue must
be applicable to the ability of the leadership of a criminal
justice agency to take constructive action on the problem(s) and
recommendation(s) that you identify and address. In those
respects, this assignment is more than a standardized research
paper, and provides you with an exposure to problems that real-
world criminal justice leaders face.
The Assignment
You will conduct sufficient web research to select a specific
criminal justice-related issue/problem that the management,
administration, and/or leadership of a major criminal justice
organization are, have, or should be addressing. The specific
problem and recommended solutions that you may review will
vary considerably based upon the quality of your online
research efforts. The better your research, the better you will
gain knowledge from this assignment. You may relate the
issue/problem to an agency/department in the area in which you
live or any other area of the United States.
To begin this effort you need take the following steps:
·
Conduct sufficient online research from any web source
(including non-scholarly sources) that enables you to identify
what you believe to be a major criminal justice management,
leadership, and/or administration issue that the community has
not addressed on a widescale basis. While you may identify the

2. issue/topic from non-academic quality sources, remember that
only scholarly/academic sources maybe used as references in
the paper. You will need to be selective in conducting your
topical research to insure that you identify an appropriate
problem area that merits the attention of the senior management
of an agency.
·
Once you have identified the general issue/topic, you will
conduct appropriate online research to determine that sufficient
scholarly/academic-quality sources of information are available
on the subject that you selected. If that does not occur, you need
to select a different issue/topic to address. The specific issue
that you select to address in the assignment should be based on
the volume and quality of web sources that you locate.
·
Once you have identified that a sufficient quantity of
academic/scholarly-quality sources are available for your
project, you will conduct further detailed web-based research on
the issue. First determine that your references address how a
particular city, county, state, or federal agency has successfully
addressed the issue. The key here is to locate an organization
that
has
identified the issue and that
has
already developed a solution to the issue. That effort will
provide you with examples of solutions that have been
attempted and that were successful.
·
Once these steps have been taken, you will identify a criminal
justice organization that

3. has not
identified or implemented a solution to the same issue. This
organization should have a sufficient web presence for you to
use their web-based data on organization, structure, policies,
budget, procedures, etc., to allow you to shape your specific
recommendation or solution. Using this organization as a basis
will provide you with a real-world organization to use as your
fictional agency. If sufficient web data is available, you may
find it easier to select an organization which is relatively close
to where you live or one in which you already possess some
familiarity.
·
You will prepare your paper as if you were a mid-level manager
in the organization that
has not
implemented the solution. You will presume that your paper is
to be provided to the
chief of police, your sheriff, or the department head of a federal
agency that is represented by this organizational example.
Using these basic steps and this basic approach to the research
process will provide you with a firm idea of the type of general
issues that the criminal justice community has determined to
merit senior management’s attention, provide you with
examples of organizations that both have and have not
addressed the key issues, allow you several topical options, and
permit you to accurately determine the extent of quality
reference material that is available. It will provide you with a
solid foundation of material for your use in structuring your
paper.
The Topic
After you have selected your topic, you will
research, document, prepare, and submit a double-spaced,
research-oriented paper on that justice administration topic. The
topic must be one that involves a policy analysis issue that

4. is/should be addressed by senior management, leadership, or
administration. You are writing a proposal to your chief of
police, your sheriff, or the department head of your federal law
enforcement agency that addresses a significant management
issue that impacts your organization. You may focus on issues
and organizations that relate to a police, corrections, probation,
court, or any other major function within the criminal justice
community. The major policy topic should be of a significant
nature so that its solution would require the decision and action
by a chief of police, sheriff, or federal department head. You
must clearly identify the problem. You must address why the
leader should read your report. You must explain the
significance of the issue. You must show how the issue impacts
the particular organization and how it impacts other similar
organizations. You must detail what action your leader should
adopt as a result of your proposal. You must show the
leadership and financial effects and implications of this
solution. You must address the 3 options: do nothing (stay the
same), adopt your full proposal, or incremental (do something
in between). What are the effects and implications of the
solution that you recommend? Why did you select that solution
over other possible solutions?
Broad topics or general issues within the criminal justice
community such as the death penalty, legalization of drugs,
federal gun-control legislation, sentencing guidelines, etc., are
not appropriate topics for this assignment. You are to address a
significant issue that impacts a particular organization. Issues
such as improvements to an agency’s case management systems,
modifications of the agency’s investigative policies for specific
types of investigations, how significant current or pending cuts
in department budgets should be implemented, specific policies
of shooting review panels, procedures for internal affairs
investigations into departmental corruption, the department’s
high-speed vehicle pursuit policy, the department’s use-of-force
policy, off-duty employment issues, off-duty use of official
vehicle policy, changes in major policies relating to inmate

5. work-release programs, implementation of new crime prevention
program recommendations, reallocation of financial and
personnel resources within a department, major revisions of
general orders, etc., are generic examples of appropriate topics
that might relate to a police or sheriff’s department. There are
similar issues that impact corrections, court, and
parole/probation functions.
Your instructor will approve or disapprove the specific topic
that you submit. Provide sufficient detail so that he/she is able
to see that your topic selection is appropriate to the assignment.
Your instructor will not make the topic selection for you. The
approach outlined below can be used for minor policy issues,
major policy issues, minor budget issues, major budget issues,
equipment implementation, and any issue dealing with a policy
proposal.
Remember that you are writing from the point-of-view of a mid-
level manager in an agency and for the approval of the senior
management of that agency. You are to present a problem area
that involves a department/agency issue that is significant to the
department and presents a recommended solution to solve the
problem.
·
Identify an issue that needs to be addressed.
·
Document and discuss the general problem in a few paragraphs
or not more than 1 page.
·
Document and discuss the significance of the problem to your
department (the significance discussion will contain the
majority of your references). The significance section of the
paper must contain an explanation of why the issue is
significant, a discussion of what is being done by other
departments or agencies, identification of what specific law/rule

6. (federal law(s), state law(s), or city ordinance(s)) by statute
number is applicable, and any other issues that can be identified
as making this issue of sufficient significance for it to come to
the attention of the agency head. Your discussion in this
significance section of the paper must be thorough and leave no
additional questions unanswered.
·
Propose a solution in the form of policy recommendation or
specific guidance toward a new/revised policy. The solution
must address a minimum of 3 choices: do nothing, take an
incremental approach, and/or full implementation of the
recommended solution. The solution section of the paper must
have enough of an explanation of the solution so that a senior
executive would be able to make an informed decision solely
based on your written explanation. Your solution must be
provided in the form of a 1–2 page summary or a draft
recommended policy change. The solution must also have sub-
themes. Some subthemes are: impact to department, impact to
external stakeholders, and impact to budget. There may be other
sub-themes in addition to or in replacement of those listed
above.
Research Tools
Your use of the
Liberty University Online Student Library Services
or similar library research facilities will be instrumental in
your successful completion of this assignment. It is highly
unlikely that you will locate appropriate scholarly or academic-
quality references (journals, peer-reviewed articles, government
reports, scholarly studies, official statics, etc.) only using a
Google search. General interest magazines, popular magazines,
trade publications, blogs, Wikipedia, etc., are not appropriate
references for this project.

7. Format
·
APA format
o
APA information is available at the Liberty University Writing
Aids section of the University Writing Program website, the
American Psychological Associate website, and the Purdue
OWL website.
·
Major sections will include a title page, an abstract, a body, and
a reference section.
·
8-page requirement
o
The title page, abstract, and reference pages will not be
included in the 8-page requirement.
o
As a minimum, headings within the body must be used to
identify problems, significances, and solutions addressed in the
paper. You may include other appropriate headings.
·
A minimum of 10 web-based, relevant, secular references that
are of a scholarly/academic quality.
·
A minimum of 2 biblical references that tie the general theme
that you address to a Christian perspective.
·

8. Secular references will be cited using the standard APA format.
o
Following the current APA format for secular references, you
will ALSO provide a website link which can be used by the
instructor to directly access and evaluate the specific web
document used as a reference. This action is required to
facilitate appropriate grading activity.
§
College textbooks and other textbooks, to include the textbook
for this course, will not be counted as a reference for grading
purposes. Quality web-based research and references are
desired. Printed/hard-bound books/references maybe used as
references, however, they will not be included in computing the
10-reference minimum web-based requirement.
·
By volume, quotations must not be in excess of 10%–15% of the
paper’s narrative.
If you are unsure as to the terminology associated with
scholarly-quality, peer-reviewed, academic-quality, or similar
references to quality sources of information to be used in this
assignment, see the Liberty University Online Student Library
Services website. You may also review public library search
engines or the library website of most major universities for
assistance in understanding these definitions.
If you are unfamiliar with the process of preparing
undergraduate, 300-level research papers, or if you encounter
significant problems or issues with the writing process, you
should consider reviewing the available resources of the
Liberty University Online Writing Center
. If you encounter similar research issues, please use the online
Library resources or contact the Liberty University Library

9. staff. Local libraries normally also have trained research
librarians who are experienced in assisting students at all levels.
Submission Timeline
Submit your
topic
by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Monday of Module/Week 3.
Submit your
outline
by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Monday of Module/Week 5.
Submit your
final
by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Monday of Module/Week 7.