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Northern Essex Community College

Module 2 Prep Activity

Review the activity overview, learning objectives, directions, and submission expectations before submitting your work.

Overview

This activity is designed to help you understand how the criminal justice system operates as an interconnected process involving law enforcement, the courts, and corrections. By examining a real criminal case, you will trace how an individual moves through each stage of the system and how agencies interact at each point. You will then reflect on where you see yourself working within this process and explain why that role aligns with your interests, skills, or career goals. The purpose is to connect system-level understanding with personal career insight.

Learning Objectives

(These objectives support the prep activity and are not the questions to be answered.)

  • LO1: Explain the criminal process of how an individual travels through the criminal justice system. (SLO3)
  • LO2: Relate rudimentary knowledge of the criminal justice system to long-term career goals. (SLO1)
Prep Topic

After completing this week’s assigned readings, prepare to participate in an in-class discussion examining how a criminal case moves through the criminal justice system.

Before coming to class, locate a criminal case from a reliable news source or court proceeding and create a bulleted list (not full paragraphs) that includes:

  • The name or brief description of the criminal case.
  • The role of law enforcement during the investigation or arrest.
  • The role of the courts from arraignment through sentencing (if applicable).
  • The role of corrections following sentencing or detention (if applicable).
  • One decision made by each component of the criminal justice system that influenced the outcome of the case.
  • Which criminal justice profession you would most like to work in and at least three reasons why that career interests you.
  • One question, observation, or issue from the case that you would like to discuss with your classmates.
Acceptable & Ethical Use of AI
  • Use AI to help you outline the stages of the criminal justice process (law enforcement, courts, and corrections) as they appear in your selected criminal case, helping you organize your thoughts before writing your response.
  • Use AI to assist you in reflecting on where you might fit professionally within the criminal justice process by helping you clarify why a specific role aligns with your interests or career goals before completing the activity.
Directions

Please read all instructions carefully before submitting your prep activity.

  • Your prep should be no longer than 1 page.
  • This NOT a paper but rather talking points in bullets for our in-class meeting.
  • Abstract NOT needed.
  • Sources are NOT needed.
  • Submissions are checked against a Plagiarism Checker and AI Detector.
    • Direct quotes should not exceed 15% of the total paper.
    • AI Usage – you must use AI ethically. Papers written by an AI is cheating. 
  • Stop over-thinking this activity. It should be a simple list of talking points.
Submission Guidelines
  • Submit your prep activity through the designated submission area.
  • Accepted formats include Word or PDF unless otherwise specified.
  • Review the grading rubric before submitting your work.
  • Submissions are checked using both a plagiarism checker and AI detection software.
  • Direct quotations should not exceed 15% of the total submission.
Important Reminder

Important: All work must be your own. AI may be used only in the limited and ethical ways described above. Using AI to write your submission is considered academic dishonesty. This activity is intended to prepare you for class discussion, so focus on creating your own talking points and analysis.