Assignment Instructions

For this writing assignment, you can choose one of two options. Refer to the Course Schedule for the due date for this writing assignment.

The basic purpose of the writing project is to examine how the criminal justice system in one country (the country you have chosen to pay attention to over the course of the class) deals with a reported crime. How is the case processed by the police, the courts and the correctional system? You have to assume that the case will be taken by the police, that the alleged criminal will be convicted, and that some sanctions are imposed.

The two options below both require that you accurately describe how the case is dealt with. The tourist adventure option simply puts you into the case and allows you to be more creative in describing what happens. The follow a case through the system is more like a typical term paper. I have found that students get more interested if they place themselves into the story. Still, even in the tourist paper you need to follow your case all the way through the system.

The report needs to focus on one country, and either follow a case or describe your tourist misadventures. This could be any country in which you are interested in. The last time this class was taught students selected countries form the six model countries discussed in the textbook but also did reports on countries as different as Costa Rica, Madagascar, Tuvalu, Brazil, Mexico, Pakistan, South Africa, Indonesia or Thailand. There are enough sources which can be found on the web for all of these countries.

It is important that you pick one of the options below and one country early in the course. Picking a country early then allows you do the other assignments so they help you with this writing project. As the class goes on, each assignment can be used to link the general topics discussed to the situation in your country, e.g., what is the crime pattern, how are the police organized, or what penal ideologies does the country seem to follow.

For the Writing Project, you must use at least six sources (other than the text), and the sources must each be cited at least once in the body of the project. The writing project should be about ten pages in length, typewritten, 12 point font, and proofread carefully. Refer to the course schedule for the due date.

Since you may not be close to a major library to research a topic and access the necessary resources, I suggest that you start with the bibliographies found in the text and on the Resources page in the Lessons as a place to start. With the ongoing explosion of information on the internet, on practically all topics, you may also wish to look for information on criminal justice issues. The sources and websites listed on the Resources page should give you a good start.

Options

Option 1:

Select one country and put yourself into the role of a tourist. Write an analysis of the crime/threat problems faced by visitors in that country and what would happen if you were victimized (let’s say robbed in the street of your wallet or purse) and you had to go to the criminal justice system to report and for help: how does the criminal justice system of that country operate to help reduce the threat of tourists being victimized by crime and to assist them if they are robbed.

Option 2:

Select a country you are interested in. Take a typical crime – for example, armed robbery – and

1. describe how the criminal justice system would deal with that case from investigation to being sanctioned (I assume the case has led to an arrest and conviction or guilty plea

Suggestion on Sources for the Writing Adventure, Option 1 – The Victimized Tourist

1. Use any sources that are relevant to the topic – newspapers, journals, websites, government documents and travel warnings, or travel websites, which often have postings from travelers (blogs), mostly on sights to see, what food to eat, but sometimes on what to watch out for in personal safety, and sometimes on experiences of being victimized.

   Good sites to find lots of postings, and you would have to read through them, are:
   www.tripadvisor.com
   www.trekshare.com
   www.virtualtourist.com
   www.igougo.com ; or
   www.worldisround.com

   Another possibility are travel advisories issued by the Department of State, for the USA, of for travel advisories issued by other countries (see their websites). They also tell you what to do when you have been mugged.

   Do not look only for scholarly articles or journals. Cast your search-net wide. Be creative. Since it is unlikely that you have been a victimized tourist in country xxx , where can you find personal experiences, so that you don’t have to make up or imagine what would happen.

   Of course, with different types of sources you will have to evaluate the believability of what you are reading in different sources – how much can they be trusted to be accurate? But that is part of the fun.

2. You can do the tourist victimization topics as a story. “I went to country xxx and see what happened to me…” or “my girl friend went there and got mugged,” or (let’s hope not) “we went to country xxx and my buddy got beaten and died during a robbery, ”and relate her experiences.

   Of course, when you describe what happened when you went to country xxx, and how you were treated by the criminal justice people and how your case was handled, your description of that has to be accurate and based on knowledge of how the criminal justice system in country xxx works. You are just putting yourself into the picture.

   Be sure to include a full biography of the references you are using; and if you quote or cite in the paper be sure to do that correctly.

Suggestions for final writing adventure Option 2 – follow a case

1. Make up a specific case description for the case which you want to follow through the criminal justice system in the country of your choice.

   Pick a serious crime. For example, if you want to see how a murder would be dealt with, you need to spell out the specifics of the murder case: who is the offender, the victim, circumstances of the case, weapons used, etc.. You can assume that the specifics of a case will matter to the police, prosecutors, judges and corrections people, just as they would in the USA.

   The same applies to any other crime you might pick: rape, robbery, car theft, drug trafficking, white collar fraud, soliciting underage sex while traveling overseas, or whatever crime you want to use – make it specific.

2. Assume that the alleged offender will be arrested, prosecuted, found guilty, and sentenced. Otherwise, you have nothing to write about.
3. Be sure to include a full bibliography of the references you are using; and if you quote or cite in the paper be sure to do that correctly.

   (If you are doing the tourist topic, and do it as a story, attach the references you used as a separate page; and if you refer to specific information in the story or paper, cite correctly.)

4. Think of this as a fun assignment.