Mears discusses the modern landscape of “irrational” criminal justice policy, and several of the supplements that you were assigned reinforce the idea that criminal justice policies are based on biased perspectives, incomplete information, and flawed logic. The politicization of crime, along with various social, economic, structural, and other external factors all contribute to sub-optimal criminal justice policy.
Keeping in mind what Mears and the other assigned authors have written your task in Paper #1 is to locate a real-world example of contemporary policy and to describe its purpose along with its relative strengths and weaknesses. ,Hopefully you will also begin to see linkages between modern policy examples and the context from which they emerged.,
To begin select a criminal justice policy of your choice, one that is intended to address crime prevention in some phase of the justice system., For example you might search the web for examples of “Three Strikes” laws or for specialized drug courts or for sex offender registries. ,This is intended to be broad to give you maximum latitude to select an example you prefer.
Modern Landscape
In your paper, describe the following:
What is the policy you chose, and what is its context (e.g., federal, state, local)? What type of crime(s) is the policy intended to address? How is the policy intended to work?
What is your initial assessment about the effectiveness of the policy that you chose? Does it appear to reduce crime? If so, where and how? If not, why not?
Modern Landscape
Are there any available descriptions of the policy’s costs? How do you think your policy example compares to the costs of alternative criminal justice responses?
Throughout your paper, you may find it helpful to use compare and contrast statements to help support your points. For instance, if you write that the policy example you selected is probably effective at reducing crime, are you comparing that conclusion to the alternative of doing nothing, or to the alternative of other similar policies? Elaborate and provide a rationale for your position throughout your paper.