1. Outline how you are going to measure the 'outcome' in your research. Discuss the strengths of your chosen strategy and potential weakness you can foresee. Submit your outline and ideas.
2. Select a topic for the Final Policy Paper and provide a brief overview of the topic.
The paper must describe a homeland security public policy issue of the student's choice; however, the topic must be pre-approved.
The paragraph should include the specific homeland security policy you will explore and a rationale of why you selected that topic.
Examples of topics could include, but are not limited to; cybersecurity/evolution of federal policy making; school safety/Active Shooter training, Immigration Reform/Border Security, lessons learned by FEMA from recent natural disasters and the growing concern of intelligence vs. privacy.
3. How would you measure crime in a specific city if you wanted to evaluate a community policing program that encourages neighborhood residents to report incidents to police? Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of your proposed measurement scheme. Post your thoughts to this discussion forum.
4. Merton's strain theory was inspired by Durkheim's anomie theory. One way that Merton expanded upon Durkheim's work was to propose that individual's can respond to anomie in various ways. Name, and in your own words, explain the 5 ways in which Merton argues individuals in society can adapt to strain.
5. Answer the following Questions:
a. Find the correctional budget for your state or the federal government. This information is publicly available, though should you have difficulty finding your state/jurisdiction please choose one from the Vera Institute.
b. Assume that reduced revenues now require you to reduce the budget by 10 percent. Identify when you will make the cuts, what types of cuts you will make and provide a rationale for what you selected.
c. Provide a summary discussion of the long-term implications of the choices you made above.
6. Consider the idea that prisons face many, often competing, operational and social goals. Indeed, some argue that we expect too much of prisons. As criminologist Charles Logan (1993) wrote:
We ask an awful lot of our prisons. We ask them to correct the incorrigible, rehabilitate the wretched, deter the determined, restrain the dangerous, and punish the wicked. We ask them to take over where other institutions of society have failed and to reinforce norms that have been violated and rejected. We ask them to pursue so many different and often incompatible goals that they seem virtually doomed to fail. Moreover, when we lay upon prisons the utilitarian goals of rehabilitation, deterrence, and incapacitation, we ask them to achieve results primarily outside of prison, rather than inside. By focusing on external measures, we set prisons up to be judged on matters well beyond their direct sphere of influence.
Now, consider the following questions:
What do you think the goals/priorities of prisons should be?
Given your response to this question, as a prison administrator facing severe budget costs, what staff/resources would you eliminate first and why?
Post your thoughts on the topic.
Read your classmates' posts and add more comments for further discussions.
7. Believed that even in a society of saints, sooner or later someone will break the rules. Human beings are imperfect creatures and do not always follow the "laws" or "rules." Thus, for Durkheim, crime is normal and should be expected. He also argued that crime is useful as it serves society in the same manner as does a fever in the human body: to alert us that there is a problem that needs to be addressed.
Think about these two ideas about crime for a moment then post your thoughts and respond to at least one of your classmate's comments here!
8. Judges at all levels of the judicial system are supposed to behave ethically at all times. All except the lowest level judges (magistrate or small claims court) must pass at least one bar exam. All judges must undergo background checks and extensive ethics training. Yet sometimes, judges become corrupt. One of the most tragic examples of judicial misconduct I have ever witnessed occurred in Pennsylvania a few years ago. Now known as the "Kids for Cash" scandal, it has become emblematic of the tragedies that can befall the most vulnerable of our population when judicial power goes unchecked.
Please share your thoughts on the documentary and what you think of the judges' actions. Be sure to return later in the week to respond to at least two other students' posts.
9. Assume that you are the Governor of your state. Your daily clippings contained an article entitled, Foreign Powers Steal Data on Critical U.S. Infrastructure, NSA Chief Says by Ellen Nakashima of the Washington Post. After reading this article, you became very concerned about the critical infrastructure in your state and you've tasked your staff with drafting an essay. The essay must address the following issues:
a. What are the top 3 critical infrastructure sectors in your state that are vulnerable to cyber attacks?
b. Which state agency is responsible for these sectors? Please list the agency and provide information on relevant state laws.
c. Pursuant to the NIPP, which federal department is responsible for protecting the security of the three sectors? Please list the Sector Specific Agency and provide information on the relevant Sector Specific Plan.
d. What role does the private sector have in protecting these sectors?