Order Description
Topic Proposal for USE OF FORCE POLICY
Please read instructions completely. It has everything you need to know.
In preparation for the Research Paper, you will submit a proposed research paper topic to the
instructor. The topic is to be about justice administration and how it relates to a specific management,
administration, or leadership issue involving the operations of police, courts, corrections, or other
criminal justice organizations.
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.
No board topics can be used, such as the death penalty, legalization of drugs, federal gun-control
legislation, sentencing guidelines, etc., are not appropriate topics for this assignment.
The topic must be one that involves a policy analysis issue that 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?
You can use one of these topics listed below for the topic proposal. I would like you to center it on
the use-of-force policy, but if you see something else, feel free to do so, just so it is related to the
assignment. And is a topic that can cover 8 pages.
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 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.