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Northern Essex Community College

Module 2 Writing Assignment

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

Overview

This assignment invites you to examine how crime, law, and social change have shaped the American experience over the past fifty years. You will identify significant criminal incidents, policies, or movements from this period and analyze the social and economic conditions that contributed to their emergence. In doing so, you will also evaluate how law enforcement, the courts, and corrections were used to respond to these challenges. The goal is to understand crime not as isolated events, but as part of a broader historical and systemic context within American society.

Student Learning Objectives

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

  • LO1: Discuss the historical relevance on key events and the evolution of the criminal justice system. (SLO1)
  • LO4: Relate criminal cases that may have impacted the development of the criminal justice system. (SLO3)
Assignment Topic
  • Describe the American experience with crime during the last half century.
  • What noteworthy criminal incidents or activities can you identify during that time, and what social and economic conditions might have produced them?
  • How were the different areas of the criminal justice system used? 

You are free to use on of the below events or introduce a new topic for this discussion:

  • Prohibition
  • 911 or e911
  • Megan’s Law
  • War on Drugs
  • The Patriot Act
  • Miranda Rights
  • Civil Rights Movement
  • Death of George Floyd – Call for Police Reform
  • Civil Service Testing
  • ICE – Immigration Enforcement
Acceptable and Ethical Use of AI
  • Use AI to help you organize major themes and time periods related to crime and criminal justice in the United States over the past fifty years, supporting your understanding before writing your discussion response.
  • Use AI to assist you in thinking through how social, economic, and political conditions may have influenced crime trends and criminal justice responses during your chosen event or period, helping you clarify your analysis before completing the assignment.
Directions

Please read all instructions carefully before submitting your assignment.

  • Your paper should be 2-3 pages, using APA style, including 12 font and 1-inch margins.
  • A minimum of at least two (2) sources, with proper APA citations in a Reference Page and proper in-text citations.
  • Abstract 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.
Submission Guidelines
  • Submit your assignment through the designated submission area.
  • Ensure your file is in [accepted format: Word, PDF, etc.].
  • Review the grading rubric before submitting your work.
  • Absolutely NO links to a OneDrive or Google Drive
Important Reminder

Important: All work must be your own. Follow course policies regarding academic integrity and the use of outside sources or tools.