CJ 790 Final Project Guidelines and Rubric

Overview

The final capstone project consists of three components. The first component is a problem analysis. The second component is a presentation to internal stakeholders. The third component is a personal and professional reflection.

As the final step toward your master’s in criminal justice degree, you will complete a capstone that will allow you to demonstrate your knowledge and experience. For the duration of the course, you will integrate what you have learned in your coursework and create an authentic demonstration of your abilities as a criminal justice professional. The problem analysis, presentation to internal stakeholders, and professional reflection will serve as evidence of your identity as a professional and represent the skills and abilities you can bring to a potential employer.

The criminal justice system is designed to maintain order, detect and deter criminal behavior, and penalize offenders through detention and rehabilitation. Administration is responsible for creating and managing departmental policy and procedure while creating and maintaining positive relationships with the community, all while making transparency a priority. In the criminal justice system, the focus is on crime suppression and efficient organizational operation through proper resource management.

A leader in the field of criminal justice is tasked with optimizing an agency in an ever-changing environment. Administrators are placed in a reactive position, frequently tasked with making decisions after an issue is detected. Administrators are often called upon to make decisions that are in the best interests of not only the agency but the community as well. This challenging task can be accomplished through the analysis of trends, data, and research.

There is a strong demand for criminal justice professionals to analyze and interpret emerging trends within the field while enhancing relationships with the surrounding community. The master’s in criminal justice program has provided you with the skills to make informed decisions as a leader in your field, affect policy change and development, and ensure that your organization is fulfilling its mission statements.

Capstone Component 1, the problem analysis, is divided into three milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure a quality final submission. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Two, Four, and Six. Capstone Component 2, the presentation to internal stakeholders, is due in Module Eight. Capstone Component 3, the personal and professional reflection, is due in Module Nine.

Evaluation of Capstone

This capstone will be assessed somewhat differently than other courses you have taken online at SNHU. There are three (3) separate components which will be submitted at different times during the course; however, they all operate together to comprise the whole capstone experience and are not assessed separately. You will be evaluated on all three (3) as a unit in determining whether you have demonstrated proficiency in each outcome. Your work is expected to meet the highest professional standards.

In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:

• Apply moral reasoning to make ethically sound and socially responsible decisions that exemplify service philosophy and leadership in the field of criminal justice
• Employ criminological theory, research methodologies, and analysis to impact solutions to contemporary issues and problems in the field of criminal justice
• Utilize multiple strategic planning and problem solving approaches that impact crime reduction and public service and that reflect critical and creative thinking
• Create authentic strategies and plans designed to improve and maintain effective organizational structure and culture for influencing professional identities, criminal justice management, leadership, and policy making
• Employ effective decision-making methods and strategies that reflect versatility of thought in addressing the diverse needs of public service agencies
• Employ professional, appropriate communication strategies for effective resource planning, consensus building, and long-term planning

Prompt

As a criminal justice professional, you will often be tasked with finding solutions to problems that affect both your organization and the surrounding community. As you have learned throughout this program, there are various steps involved in the decision-making process; they include identifying the problem, researching the problem, and ultimately coming to a decision on how to address the problem in a way that will reflect favorably on your department and the community. In your first capstone component, you will use those skills to complete a problem analysis. Your problem analysis will include a statement of the problem, an in- depth analysis of the problem, a literature review, and a detailed proposal for a solution.

For the second component, you will create a professional presentation to disseminate information about your proposal to internal stakeholders in your organization. The presentation will also include your plan to spread information about the proposal to external stakeholders in your selected city. For the final component, you will write an insightful reflection on your personal and professional journey through the program.

To begin this capstone project, you must first select one scenario from the two scenarios provided. The scenarios are designed to situate you within a particular field of criminal justice, either law enforcement (scenario A) or corrections (scenario B). The scenario will also provide you with relevant details about the fictional criminal justice organization in which you will assume a leadership role.

Next, select a city from the following list:

• Chicago, IL
• Detroit, MI
• Memphis, TN
• Oakland, CA

• Louis, MO

Imagine that the criminal justice organization described in the scenario is located within that city. You must conduct research on your selected city to find a current criminal justice issue occurring in that city. Whatever issue you select should be highly publicized so that you can use it as the basis of your problem analysis.

Capstone Component 1: Problem Analysis

The first of three capstone components is the comprehensive problem analysis, which should have four primary sections and demonstrate the knowledge and skills you have honed throughout the MS in criminal justice program:

1. Statement of the Problem: Referring to your research, provide an overview of a criminal justice issue and explain how it is affecting the community in your selected city. Be sure to include the relevant criminological theories that apply.

1. Analysis of the Problem: Outline the scope of the criminal justice issue as it applies to your selected city and criminal justice organization, using actual data from your selected city and information about the organization in your selected scenario to support your The analysis should include (but is not limited to) the following:
   1. Recurring trends or patterns that city data reveals about the issue
   2. External contributing factors supported by research
   3. Internal contributing factors supported by details provided in the scenario
   4. The root cause of the issue

• Literature Review: Use relevant scholarly bodies of work to perform a brief and systematic literature You will research how the criminal justice issue that you identified has been addressed historically, and what is currently being done to address it in other communities. You should refer to criminological theories as well as the best practices used by other agencies. The outline of your literature review will should include the following:
  1. Identify two or three possible solutions to the issue that you are researching, along with your reasoning for focusing on those
  2. Methodology: Explain your search strategy and the selection criteria adopted for this review, and provide descriptions of the types of research
  3. Summarize the main findings of your
  4. Draw conclusions about which approach is the most appropriate for solving the issue in your selected

1. Proposal: Propose a detailed solution to the criminal justice issue in your selected city, explaining how this solution meets the needs of the community and how it will impact your organization, including the following:
   1. An explanation of each step of your plan and how you came to your decision
   2. The overall goals of the proposal, including short term objectives and desired long term outcomes

1. The resources required for implementation, including staffing
2. The potential challenges for implementation
3. The expected effects on the culture of the organization

Capstone Component 2: Presentation to Internal Stakeholders

The second of three capstone components, this professional presentation uses the information from your problem analysis to demonstrate your communication skills and your ability to disseminate information about your proposal. This visual presentation should be clear and concise and should present the logical reasoning behind your proposal. Envision yourself giving this presentation to internal stakeholders in your organization as you seek their support. Since you will not actually deliver this presentation in person, you must create a presentation with speaker notes or audio included.

In addition to a compilation of key aspects from your research into the criminal justice issue you identified, your presentation should also include:

1. How your proposal supports the organization’s mission
2. What strategy you will use to communicate the proposal to external stakeholders in your selected city, including members of the community
3. Where you estimate the organization and surrounding community will be 5 to 10 years after proposal has been implemented

Capstone Component 3: Personal and Professional Reflection

For the third component of your capstone, you will write a personal and professional reflection looking back on your experiences building your capstone project. Throughout the MS in criminal justice program, you have compiled final project work and professional documentation in your personal ePortfolio. In this third component of the capstone, you will document examples from this professional website to demonstrate that you have the knowledge, skills, abilities, and disposition to take the next step in your career as a criminal justice professional. Be sure to provide a hyperlink to your ePortfolio as part of your submission.

Envision this component as a personal reflection on the capstone and your experience in the criminal justice program as a whole. This component is not about evaluating the capstone itself but rather your experience with the capstone project. Your reflection should discuss your strengths and also any problems you encountered while completing the capstone project. You may include discussions of unforeseen problems