Reforming and improving the criminal justice system to address issues in policing and improve community relationships is an important current area of focus. While many police departments, correctional facilities, and court systems have processes where they routinely enact changes to their policies and procedures, future reforms are inevitable and can begin at the individual level.
Criminal justice professionals must always demonstrate professionalism, including when facing peers, senior officials, and the public to advocate for changes in the system. The mayor of a city in your area wants to make changes to the criminal justice system in response to an issue that has been worsening. Due to that, you and other representatives from various agencies and communities have been invited to speak at an upcoming city council meeting to propose and advocate for reforms that would be most beneficial to the city to improve this issue.
Preparation
Determine 1 issue within the criminal justice system in your geographic area that could benefit from reform. Select an issue supported by recent data trends. Refer to the following resources to select your issue:
- Review the 6 pillars of recommendations on positive justice reforms from the from the Office of Community Oriented Policies Services (COPS).
- Research trends using the FBIs website or the page on the U.S. Department of Justice BJS website.
Research has been researched into the criminal justice system in your area that has been proposed or implemented for positive changes related to the issue you selected.
Select 1 positive reform to use as an example for this assessment.
Investigate the following roles in the successes of the reform movement you selected: legislative efforts, police unions, agency policy, social media, and community and nonprofit partnerships.
Assessment Deliverables
This summative assessment has 2 deliverables:
- Part 1: 10 slide professionalism presentation
- Part 2: 525-word executive summary of the presentation
Refer to the instructions in Parts 1 and 2 to complete both deliverables.
Part 1: Professionalism Presentation ++REQUIRED
Create a 10 slide presentation that persuades the city council committee to vote to enact your proposal. Include the following information supported by evidence from your research:
Criminal Justice Trends and Reform
- Issue and Proposed Reform for Positive Change: Describe a trending issue within the criminal justice system in your local area that would benefit from a change according to recent data. Identify a reform to the criminal justice system that could be made that you think will have a positive future impact on this issue. Explain your reasons for predicting that the reform will be successful.
Efforts Toward Reform
- Past Reform Efforts: Evaluate the effects of any efforts that have already been made toward this reform. If a police union was involved in the reform, describe their involvement.
- Potential Future Effects of Proposed Legislation: Evaluate the potential effect of proposed legislation on future reforms and explain which legislative effort will have the greatest impact on policing, if passed. Support your claims with examples from your research.
Reform Implementation
- Possibilities for Implementation of Reform: Describe the ways that the reform you are proposing could be implemented in your area.
- Legislation/Policy Required for Implementation: Explain how legislation at the state or federal level or in departmental policy changes could be used to implement the reform.
Pros and Cons of Implementation of Reform
- Benefits and Pitfalls of Implementing Reform: Advocate for implementation of your chosen reform by summarizing its benefits and potential pitfalls.
- Recommended Strategy for Implementation: Explain the way you believe the reform can best be implemented. Justify your proposal with examples from your research.
Citations and References Formatting Requirements
Cite at least 2 scholarly sources to support your presentation. Include citations either within the slides content or in the speaker notes on the slide where they are mentioned.
Format citations and references for any sources and images according to APA guidelines. Use the references slide to list your references.
Presentation Formatting Requirements
Download and review the . This example has been customized to reflect your summative assessment presentation components, and it will help you get a better idea of how to organize your presentation so you can focus on the slide content and on demonstrating professionalism while you present. Review the following formatting notes and requirements:
- Template usage: Inputting your content into this presentation template is optional; you can use presentation software and design layouts of your choice to customize your presentations appearance (i.e., color, images, and font). However, ensure you have faculty member approval in advance to use other software.
- Slide titles: Whether you use the presentation template example or another template of your choice, include the following slides, their titles as presented here that correlate to the assessment instructions, the order theyre presented in here, and topics in your presentation:
- Title
- Introduction: Introduce your presentation.
- Issue and Proposed Reform for Positive Change
- Past Reform Efforts
- Potential Future Effects of Proposed Legislation
- Possibilities for Implementation of Reform
- Legislation/Policy Required for Implementation
- Benefits and Pitfalls of Implementing Reform
- Recommended Strategy for Implementation
- Conclusion: Conclude the presentation with a final statement.
- References
- Presentation recording link (if recording using video software)
++ Recording Formatting Requirements (Adding a recording to this assignment is ++OPTIONAL ++- You do not need to record yourself if you do not wish to do so and/or do not have the technological capabilities).
Record yourself delivering the presentation either by:
- Recording narrations within the presentation slides without appearing on screen: If you record narrations for each slide within the presentation software, such as Microsoft PowerPoint, you do not need to record a video.
- Recording a video or screencast of yourself delivering the presentation: If you record a video of yourself delivering the presentation, either by appearing on screen or by recording a voiceover, paste the link to your completed video on the presentation recording link slide at the end of your presentation.
For either format, ensure that slides are visible and your voice is heard clearly. Contact your faculty member for alternative delivery formats if you need accommodation.
Part 2: Executive Summary ++ REQUIRED
Write a 525-word executive summary of the presentation for city leaders to reference after the meeting. Create this summary in a separate document from your presentation.
Cite at least 2 scholarly sources to support your summary. These can be the same sources that you cited and referenced in your Part 1: Professionalism Presentation.
Format citations and references according to APA guidelines.
Submit your presentation and executive summary for your assessment.