This paper will consist of three major parts: a description of at least one ethi

This paper will consist of three major parts: a description of at least one ethical issue, policy designed to address those issues, and a discussion of how, and more importantly, why, that policy will address the problems manifested by the ethical issue. Students will pick an example of an ethical issue from the supplementary book that they chose from the syllabus in the beginning of the semester. It is STRONGLY encouraged that students pick both the book and an ethical issue from it that interests them personally. This personal interest in the topic will make writing about it easier. Students will then design a policy that will address the ethical issue, applying what they have learned from policy making in class. This policy can improve upon an existing policy or it can be completely original. Finally, students will then discuss how exactly this policy will address the ethical issue at hand. This is the section of the paper where students will provide the reasoning, backed up by scholarly evidence, behind the choices in their policy design. Further, students are encouraged to incorporate things they have learned from other classes into the paper as appropriate.
This is only PART #1.
Part 1: The Ethical Issue (15% of final grade)
This part of the paper will require students to have read their chosen book and selected an ethical issue from it to write about. It may be one or more isolated situations (such as an officer facing an ethical dilemma while on the job) or a larger theme throughout the book (such as the ethics of plea bargaining, private prisons, prosecutorial discretion, etc.).
STUDENTS MAY CHOOSE ONLY ONE ETHICAL/POLICY ISSUE. Students will summarize this ethical issue in detail, providing multiple detailed examples from the book. (I.e., “The evidence of how deeply Conover wrestled with this dilemma is demonstrated by this quote on page 45….”.) Students will also apply what they have learned about ethics and ethical systems to the issue that they are summarizing.
THIS PART WILL BE SUBMITTED AS PAPER ASSIGNMENT 1.
As noted in the Syllabus, Paper Assignment 1 is due on Monday, March 22nd. It is imperative that you have your chosen book read some time before that date so that you are able to construct a good Paper Assignment or outline of this part of the paper.
This part of the paper should include:
➢ A summarized example of the ethical or policy issue you have chosen to explore from your book (you will need to cite the Pfaff or Conover book here.)
➢ The ethical system or systems being used to judge this issue (hint: you will need to cite the Pollock book for this.)
➢ The source of misconduct
• Bad person? (Hint: this will be very hard to prove within the scope of this paper, so don’t go this route)
• Unclear or poorly constructed policy?
• Misapplication of discretion?
• Lack of structured decisionmaking process
• Low visibility environment?
• Lack of supervisory oversight?
• Code of silence culture? (Blue wall of silence)
➢ A criminological theory or a theory of unethical behavior that may be behind why this person or institution behaved the way that they/it did. Define the theory, name who came up with theory (if many people developed it, just name one or two). You can use theories from your criminological theory course or from what we learned on theories of unethical behavior in class. You will need to provide a citation for the theory. Note: if you choose the Locked In book, then it will be hard to apply a criminological theory to your issue. If you can’t figure out how to apply a criminological theory or theory of unethical behavior, you can instead write about the factors that led to the circumstances surrounding your policy issue; in other words, how did this problem arise? Ask me for help if you’re reading Locked In and are confused by this.
At minimum for Paper Assignment 1: A good goal to aim for with Paper Assignment 1 is about 3-4 pages, double spaced, Times New Roman size 12 font.
After this assignment is submitted, the instructor will take about a week and a half to grade it and provide feedback to students. Feedback will be provided on an individual basis. Individual feedback will be provided on the paper itself. This feedback is in addition to in-class peer review.