Communication and Criminal Justice free essay sample

This course prepares the student to communicate effectively in both written and verbal forms. The course covers best practices in investigative reporting, written reports and memos, and interpersonal verbal communication within criminal justice settings, including interactions with victims, suspects, incarcerated persons, government officials, staff, and civilians. Policies Faculty and students will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document. Instructor policies: This document is posted in the Course Materials forum. University policies are subject to change. Be sure to read the policies at the beginning of each class. Policies may be slightly different depending on the modality in which you attend class. If you have recently changed modalities, read the policies governing your current class modality. Course Materials Miller. L. S. , Whitehead, J. T. (2011). Report writing for criminal justice professionals (4th ed. We will write a custom essay sample on Communication and Criminal Justice or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page ). Burlington, MA: Anderson Publishing. Wallace, H. , Roberson, C. (2009). Written and interpersonal communication: Methods for law enforcement (4th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. All electronic materials are available on the student website. Week One: The Communication Process Details Due Points Objectives 1. 1 Describe the process and components of communication. 1. 2 Describe the flow of communication in criminal justice organizations. 1. 3 Identify how to overcome barriers to effective communication. 1. 4 Explain the role of types of listening in oral communication. 1. 5 Describe the components of verbal and nonverbal communication in criminal justice settings. 3/18/14 Reading Read the Week One Read Me First. 3/18/14 Reading Read Ch. 1 of Report Writing for Criminal Justice Professionals. 3/18/14 Reading Read Ch. 3 of Report Writing for Criminal Justice Professionals. 3/18/14 Reading Read Ch. 14 of Report Writing for Criminal Justice Professionals. 3/18/14 Reading Read Ch. 2 ­ of Written and Interpersonal Communication. 3/18/14 Reading Read Ch. 3 ­ of Written and Interpersonal Communication. 3/18/14 Reading Read Ch. 4 ­ of Written and Interpersonal Communication. 3/18/14 Reading Read this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings. 3/18/14 Participation Participate in class discussion. 3/18/14 4 Nongraded Activities and Preparation Report Writing Sample Read the Sample Burglary Report in Appendix A of Report Writing for Criminal Justice Professionals to familiarize yourself with a standard burglary report. 3/18/14 Learning Team Instructions Learning Team Charter Select Learning Team members who work together throughout the course. Create the Learning Team Charter. 3/18/14 Learning Team Instructions Police Report (Preparation) Begin working on the Police Report assignment, due in Week Two. 3/18/14 Individual Effective Communication Paper Write a 1,050- to 1,750-word paper in which you describe the following: The process of verbal and nonverbal communication and the associated components of each Differences between listening and hearing in communication The formal and informal channels of communication in criminal justice organizations Different barriers to effective communication in criminal justice organizations Strategies that may be implemented to overcome communication barriers in criminal justice organizations Provide real-world criminal justice examples to illustrate your points. Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines. 3/18/14 10 Individual Week One Knowledge Check Complete the Week One Knowledge Check. 3/18/14 2 Week Two: Speaking and Writing in the Criminal Justice System Details Due Points Objectives 2 2. 1 Identify the guidelines for effective speaking. 2. 2 Identify the guidelines for effective presentations. 2. 3 Apply effective writing principles to various types of criminal justice communication. 2. 4 Identify the parameters of persuasive writing. 2. 5 Identify the guidelines for fact-based report writing. 3/25/14 Reading Read the Week Two Read Me First. 3/25/14 Reading Read Ch. 14 of Report Writing for Criminal Justice Professionals. 3/25/14 Reading Read Ch. 5 of Written and Interpersonal Communication. 3/25/14 Reading Read Ch. 6 of Written and Interpersonal Communication. 3/25/14 Reading Read Ch. 7 of Written and Interpersonal Communication. 3/25/14 Reading Read Ch. 8 of Written and Interpersonal Communication. 3/25/14 Reading Read this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings. 3/25/14 Participation Participate in class discussion. 3/25/14 4 In class Activity Descriptive Speech/ Persuasive Writing Objective: Be creative, utilize descriptive words and put into effect the rules of effective speaking, writing, and presentation. Examine the object, place/location, car, color, etc. given by your instructor and its relation to the Criminal Justice System courts, law enforcement, or corrections/probation Draft a brief speech about your object, place/ location, etc. related to the criminal justice system. The speech should be detail (i. e. characteristics, features, function, height, weight, color, texture, etc. ) just as in a police report. Present your speech in class. DO NOT REVEAL your object within your speech; your audience should be able to carry away a clear vision of your objet at the end of your speech and make an educational guess of your object. **Be mindful of effective speaking rules and the do’s and don’ts of effective presentation. 3/25/14 Nongraded Activities and Preparation Narcotics Report Read the â€Å"Sample Narcotics Follow-Up Report† in Appendix A of Report Writing for Criminal Justice Professionals to better understand an advanced report. 3/25/14 Learning Team Instructions Learning Team Charter Submit the Learning Team Charter. 3/25/14 Learning Team Instructions Acquiring Admissible Statements Worksheet (Preparation) Begin working on the Acquiring Admissible Statements Worksheet assignment, due in Week Three 3/25/14 Learning Team Effective Communication in Criminal Justice Settings Read the instructions in the University of Phoenix Material: Effective Communication in Criminal Justice Settings on the student website and select one option to complete for your assignment. The delivery options for this assignment include the following: Option 1: Criminal Justice Training Job Aid Option 2: Microsoft ® PowerPoint ® Presentation Option 3: Paper *Prepare to present your assignment in class. 3/25/14 10 Individual Police Report Resource: Minnesota v. Riff court case documents, or a similar court case’s documents that are as complex as Minnesota v. Riff and are approved by your instructor Search the Internet for the Minnesota v. Riff court case or a similar court case. You may do a general Internet search, or you may search specific sites, such as the Supreme Court of the United States (www. supremecourt. gov). Identify and discuss the various types of written and oral communication presented in the case and the guidelines for each type of communication. Consider communication types for the prosecution, defense, witnesses, and the judge. Write an arrest-and-incident police report using the specified guidelines and parameters for report writing as outlined in this week’s assigned readings. Imagine you are the investigating officer when writing the report. Include the following: The report must be factual, accurate, objective, and complete. Ensure that the police report is as long as necessary, concise, clear, and mechanically correct. Format your police report consistent with APA guidelines. 3/25/14 5 Individual Week Two Knowledge Check Complete the Week Two Knowledge Check. 3/25/14 2 Week Three: Interviewing and Interrogation Details Due Points Objectives 3 3. 1 Differentiate between interviews and interrogations. 3. 2 Identify effective techniques for interviewing. 3. 3 Describe the legal requirements necessary to acquire admissible statements. 4/1/14 Reading Read the Week Three Read Me First. 4/1/14 Reading Read Ch. 9 of Written and Interpersonal Communication. 4/1/14 Reading Read Ch. 10 of Written and Interpersonal Communication. 4/1/14 Reading Read Ch. 11 of Written and Interpersonal Communication. 4/1/14 Reading Read this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings. 4/1/14 Participation Participate in class discussion. 4/1/14 4 In class Activities Interview and Interrogation View the â€Å"Interrogation† video on the student website. Create a â€Å"word cloud† that recalls the most important concepts, key terms, position and/or style portrayed in the video. Post your â€Å"word cloud† in the Class Main Forum; Subject title: Interrogation Word Cloud. Your word cloud will be discussed in class. 4/1/14 Individual Quiz Complete the quiz provided by your instructor. The quiz will cover the required readings in week One, Two and Three for Written and Interpersonal Communications. Questions will be in the form of matching, multiple choice and short essay. 4/1/14 5 Learning Team Acquiring Admissible Statements Worksheet Complete the University of Phoenix Materials: Acquiring Admissible Statements Worksheet on the student website. Prepare to discuss the worksheet in class. 4/1/14 10 Individual Week Three Knowledge Check Complete the Week Three Knowledge Check. 4/1/14 2 Week Four: Technological Communication Details Due Points Objectives 4 4. 1 Explain how technology has affected communication within the different areas of the criminal justice system. 4. 2 Describe ways to use new technological communication methods within criminal justice settings. 4. 3 Compare purposes of specialized databases in criminal justice. 4/8/14 Reading Read the Week Four Read Me First. 4/8/14 Reading Read Ch. 13 of Written and Interpersonal Communication. 4/8/14 Reading Read this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings. 4/8/14 Participation Participate in class discussion. 4/8/14 4 In class Activity Police Scenarios Divide the class into four (4) groups. Issue each group a police scenario. In this exercise, you will be given description of a scene that was taken prior to the arrest or during the arrest. Answer the questions at the end of your scenario. Your assignment will either be to formulated additional questions, create field notes, or write a report. 4/8/14 Learning Team Records Division Assessment Resource: Ch. 13 of Report Writing for Criminal Justice Professionals Search the Internet for your local Records Division website. If you have trouble finding it, you may find another Records Division website. Review the Records Division’s practices for how it handles police reports. Create a 350- to 700-word assessment of a law enforcement Records Division. Include the following in your assessment: Are the division’s methods effective for safe police reporting? Explain your answer. Are the methods ineffective for safe police reporting? Explain your answer. How is technology integrated into the division’s communication practices? Explain your answer. 4/8/14 5 Learning Team Instructions Technical Communication Methods and Practices Paper and Presentation (Preparation) Begin working on the Technical Communication Methods and Practices Paper and Presentation assignment, due in Week Five. 4/8/14 Individual Technology and Communication Paper Prepare a 1,050- to 1,750-word paper that explains how technology affects the communication capabilities of specialized databases in the criminal justice system. Include the following in your paper: A comparison of at least two types of specialized databases, such as the following: Mobile data terminals AFIS Live scan Facial recognition Iris scan Positive effects of new technologies on communication Negative effects of new technologies on communication A discussion about which new specialized technologies you might want to use and why Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines. 4/8/14 10 Individual Week Four Knowledge Check Complete the Week Four Knowledge Check. 4/8/14 2 Week Five: Communication With Diverse Groups and Special Situations Details Due Points Objectives 5 5. 1 Determine effective methods of communication for diverse groups. 5. 2 Analyze the effect of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 on communication within the criminal justice system. 5. 3 Identify techniques for addressing the challenge of language barriers within the criminal justice system. 5. 4 Analyze communication dynamics occurring within incidents, emergencies, and conflict situations. 4/15/14 Reading Read the Week Five Read Me First. 4/15/14 Reading Read Ch. 12 of Written and Interpersonal Communication. 4/15/14 Reading Review Ch. 5 of Written and Interpersonal Communication. 4/15/14 Reading Review Ch. 6 of Written and Interpersonal Communication. 4/15/14 Reading Read this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings. 4/15/14 Participation Participate in class discussion. 4/15/14 4 In class Activity Student Generated Test Questions Think of what you consider to the most important or memorable content in this course. Formulate five (5) questions of what you consider is the most important based on your understanding as a fair and useful test questions. Also, consider how well you can answer the question. Post your five (5) questions in the class Main Forum; Subject title: Student Test Questions 4/15/14 Individual Press Release and Reflection Summary Navigate to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) website (www. fbi. gov). Click on News from the tab located at the top of the page. Click on Press Releases. Review the FBI’s top 10 news stories for the past week to see how a press release is written. Write a 350- to 700-word press release about a current criminal justice event or an issue in your state that involves a diverse group and potential language barriers. Include a 350- to 700-word reflection summary that addresses the following questions about the press release: Who was your diverse group, and what methods did you use to communicate effectively? Did writing a press release about the event require you to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act? If so, how? How did you address language barriers, if any? What were the communication dynamics specific to this event? Format your press release and reflection summary consistent with APA guidelines. 4/15/14 5 Learning Team Technical Communication Methods and Practices Paper and Presentation Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper, based on the assigned readings and additional resources, describing technology an officer would use to communicate with another officer, the department, or the dispatch center before or after an incident. Address the following in your paper: Identify the technological tools that might be used in the communication process. How might current technology be used to communicate more effectively within the various areas of the criminal justice system? What future technologies, not currently in existence, do you foresee being used to further communication, particularly in interview and interrogation situations? Create a 7- to 12-slide Microsoft ® PowerPoint ® presentation to accompany your paper. Format your paper and presentation consistent with APA guidelines. 4/15/14 10 Individual Week Five Knowledge Check Complete the Week Five Knowledge Check. 4/15/14 2 Copyright University of Phoenix ® is a registered trademark of Apollo Group, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Microsoft ®, Windows ®, and Windows NT ® are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other company and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Use of these marks is not intended to imply endorsement, sponsorship, or affiliation. Edited in accordance with University of Phoenix ® editorial standards and practices.