The Case of Chad
CPSS/405 Version 2
1
University of Phoenix Material
The Case of Chad
Chad is a 45-year-old man currently in prison for raping 3 women. Chad had met these women
on separate occasions at a bar. In each case, he put Rohypnol in their drinks when they were not
looking. He would wait for the drugs to take effect and then take each of his victims to the
bathroom and rape them. He reported the rapes were about feeling powerful, and he liked feeling
as if he had control over these women.
Copyright © 2016 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.
CJA/345
Research Topic Selection
This assignment is due in Week 1
Content
60 Percent
Points Earned 60/60
•
Select an appropriate research topic from the BJS website. (Cite the
source)
Comments: The topic is
well chosen.
•
Develop a research question
•
Develop a hypothesis
•
The hypothesis and
research question are well
designed.
Explain the topic
•
Why was the topic chosen?
The background
information was well
explained.
Organization and Development
10 Percent
Points Earned
7/10
•
The paper is between 700-1,050 words.
•
The answers are clear and organized; major points are supported by
details, examples, or analysis.
Comments: The paper was
the required length.
•
The tone aligns with the assignment’s purpose and is geared toward
the appropriate audience.
•
The answers provide relevant and sufficient background on the topic.
Some statements seemed
to be your opinion, but
there were cites. If it is
your opinion, you do not
need a cite.
The tone needs to be more
formal for APA format
papers. Do not refer
directly to yourself (e.g., I,
me, my, etc.).
Mechanics and Format
10 Percent
Points Earned
10/10
•
The assignment file is presentable and functional.
Comments:
•
Rules of grammar, usage, and punctuation are followed; spelling is
correct.
Well done.
•
The paper follows the guidelines of APA formatting
The cites and references
have to be in APA format.
Copyright 2019 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.
Correlation and Causation Grading Guide
CJA/335 v5
Page 2 of 2
Additional Comments
Total Earned: 77/80
Copyright 2019 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.
1
Research Design and Ethical Issues
Jasmine Turner
University of Phoenix
CJA/345: Research Methods and Evaluation
Professor Paige Gordier
02/28/2022
2
Research Design and Ethical Issues
Research is integral in criminal justice decision-making. Valuable information is obtained
in research. This information informs the programs, policies, and daily practices in the criminal
justice field whose objective is crime reduction. Public interest is at the heart of research in
criminal justice. In this regard, the research seeks to come up with interventions that can improve
the lives of the at-risk population, and reduce victimization (Sharpe, 2017). Moreover, research
helps to come up with cost-saving programs. Because of the changes that keep happening in
society, there are always research-practice gaps in the criminal justice system. Academic
researchers work to fill these gaps. Their research yields information that led to the development
of a knowledge base. This knowledge provides guidance to criminal justice practitioners.
Nonetheless, doing research in the criminal justice field is not easy because of the bureaucratic
nature of the criminal justice field, and the ethical concerns. Research models and ethical
valuables make it easy to conduct research in the criminal justice field.
Research Models Used in Criminal Justice Research
Relational Model
Research using this model takes social relationships into consideration. Social
relationships exist between the members of society. These relationships influence how the
members of a society interact. Using this model, the criminal justice researchers focus on the
relationships between the researches participants (Simmons, 2018). They study the perceptions
around their relationships. Moreover, they study their behavioral outcomes. These outcomes are
highly influenced by the social relationship between them. Because of communal sharing, the
behavioral outcomes could be the same. The researchers also study the social interactions in
society. The interactions influence criminal activities (Anderson et al., 2019). The information on
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social interactions can help to inform crime control. Furthermore, the relational model also
considers the authority ranking in society. In society, there are superiors, and subordinates. These
individuals have a specific relationship.
Procedural Justice Model
The model focuses on how people interact with the criminal justice processes. Fairness
should prevail in these processes. Individuals should fairly interact with actors in the various
criminal justice processes (Murray & Irlbeck, 2020). This promotes order in society. Moreover,
the criminal justice gets public support. Good relationships between the criminal justice officials
and the public arise. The research using this model focuses on the fairness, transparency,
impartiality, and equality of the criminal justice processes, transparency (Simmons, 2018). The
objective of doing research using this model is to bring changes in criminal justice processes.
Various issues that undermine the fairness, transparency, impartiality, and equality are identified
in the research.
Statistical Model
The statistical model is used when the data collected in research is in statistical form.
Such data is mathematically represented. Bureau of Justice Statistics is one of the research
sources in criminal justice. Dataset on crime occurrences is collected from the source.
Subsequently, a statistical model is used to interpret it. Using this model, the researcher is able to
draw the relationship between variables (Hepburn et al., 2019). As a result, they are able to make
predictions of the occurrences in the future. A statistical model is also important when analyzing
data. The inferences made can be used to explain the various phenomena in criminal justice more
efficiently. The researchers sometimes use statistical software when using this model.
Quantitative Model
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The model focuses on numerical data. The numerical data is gathered using techniques
like surveys, questionnaires, and polls. Computational techniques are used to analyze these data.
Differential equations are developed. These equations visually explain the relationships between
variables (Hepburn et al., 2019). They simplify the raw data. As a result, the phenomena studied
are better understood. The quantitative model is common in natural sciences. However, due to
the demand for scientific approaches in social sciences, the model is now used in criminal justice
research. The model has been most appropriate when dealing with larger sample sizes of the
study population (Sharpe, 2017). It increases the reliability of research findings.
Most Combatable Research Model
The procedural justice model is compatible with every kind of research in criminal
justice. This is because the model focuses on the fairness of the criminal justice processes.
Certainly, this is what most of the research in the criminal justice field focuses on. For example,
a lot of research is done on citizen-police interactions (Anderson et al., 2019). Some researchers
study the factors affecting these interactions, while others study how the interactions can be
improved. Another highly researched topic is public safety. The pillars of the procedural justice
model guide the researchers on the kind of information that they should obtain. They ensure that
the researchers focus on the key aspects of criminal justice (Valera et al., 2014). In light of this,
the procedural justice model leads to in-depth criminal justice research. Such research is much
reliable. More importantly, such research is easy to interpret. No specialized skills will be needed
to analyze and interpret the results of this research.
Importance of Ethics in Criminal Justice Research
Ethics are essential in criminal justice research. First, they, help the researcher overcome
the various ethical dilemmas that may arise. Criminal justice researchers are always confronted
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with many ethical and moral issues (Valera et al., 2014). The knowledge of ethics guides them to
make decisions that solve ethical dilemmas. Without this knowledge, the researchers will use
emotions and their personal values to make decisions. In any research, ethical considerations
must be done. The considerations help to make good moral judgments (Anderson et al., 2019).
For example, ethics like confidentiality helps to overcome the ethical dilemma of disclosure of
the research participant’s detail. According to these ethics, the personal details of the participants
should not be disclosed to the public. Secondly, ethics are important for maintaining ethical
behavior. Criminal justice research deals with issues of morality. With unethical behavior, an
individual will not be able to maintain this morality (Murray & Irlbeck, 2020). Ethical behavior
promotes ethical decision-making. With ethical behavior, an individual is able to engage in
moral reasoning. Thirdly, ethics enhances analytical skills in individuals. Subsequently, people
get higher reasoning abilities. This enables them to understand the complexities of criminal
justice research. With average reasoning ability, it may be hard to understand these topics. For
example, the bribery topic in the criminal justice system can only be understood from an ethical
perspective. Without knowledge of ethics, an individual will see bribery as any other issue.
Informed Consent and Confidentiality and their Importance
Informed consent is the ethics that require the researchers to furnish the research subjects
with sufficient information to enable them voluntarily decide on whether to participate in the
study or not (Gunnison & Helfgott, 2021). Participation in a research setting should be voluntary.
For example, when recruiting people for s study on recidivism, the participants should be given
all the necessary information about the study. Once they understand it, they weigh the risks, and
benefits of participating in the study. Informed consent is important in criminal justice because it
demonstrates respect and fair treatment for the research subjects (Valera et al., 2014). It ensures
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that the subjects are not harmed. More importantly, informed consent improves the validity of
the research. Since the subjects are not under any pressure to participate in the study, they will
give accurate information.
Confidentiality is the ethics that require the protection of the confidential information of
the research participants. The researchers in criminal justice have an ethical obligation of
keeping the details of the research participants confidential. This ensures that third parties do not
obtain this information (Van Damme et al., 2013). For example, when the drug traffickers are
research subjects, their information should be kept confidential. This is because it may be used to
aid their arrest. Divulging this information may expose the research subjects to harm. The third
parties can use the information against them. Thus, it is important that the researchers be
committed to protecting confidential information (Gunnison & Helfgott, 2021). In criminal
justice research, confidentiality is important for building a relationship of trust between the
researcher and the research participants. This will ensure the validity, and reliability of the
research.
Implicit Bias in Criminal Justice
Racism is present in the administration of justice. The bias is contributing to the
ineffectiveness of the criminal justice system. Research to understand the extent to which this
bias dominates the system is needed. This research can inform the programs and policies for
reducing this bias. The research topic has ethical concerns. The concerns can prevent getting the
required information (Valera et al., 2014). Markedly, it has a confidentiality concern. Certainly,
the bias in the system is mainly due to the white supremacist attitudes that are in the minds of
criminal justice practitioners like judges, attorneys, and police. To find out this, these
practitioners should be research subjects. If confidentiality is not maintained, these practitioners
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will choose not to participate in the research due to fear of being found out by their bosses
(Gunnison & Helfgott, 2021). This information may lead to their prosecution. The ethical
concern may be addressed by ensuring that the practitioners do not reveal their personal identity.
They will only provide information relating to their work, or role in criminal justice.
Conclusion
Criminal justice research is important for addressing the problems in society. However,
this research is complex. This complexity can be solved by the research models, and ethical
valuables present in it. A researcher in this field should have adequate knowledge of the various
research models, and ethics. This will enable them to get valid and reliable information.
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References
Anderson, J., Buenaventura, M., & Heaton, P. (2019). The effects of holistic defense on criminal
justice outcomes. Harvard Law Review, 132(3), 819–893.
Gunnison, E., & Helfgott, J. (2021). Process, Power, and Impact of the Institutional Review
Board in Criminology and Criminal Justice Research. Journal of Empirical Research on
Human Research Ethics, 16(3), 263–279.
Hepburn, P., Kohler-Hausmann, I., & Medina, A. (2019). Cumulative Risks of Multiple Criminal
Justice Outcomes in New York City. Demography, 56, 1161–1171.
Murray, R. K., & Irlbeck, D. M. (2020). Evolution of the researcher-practitioner partner model
and the role of academic research partners in Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation (BCJI)
Grants. Contemporary Justice Review: CJR, 23(1), 44–64.
Sharpe, G. (2017). Sociological stalking? Methods, ethics and power in longitudinal
criminological research. Criminology & Criminal Justice, 17(3), 233–247.
Simmons, R. (2018). Big Data, Machine Judges, and the Legitimacy of the Criminal Justice
System. University of California, 52(1067), 1069-1099
Valera, P., Cook, S., Macklin, R., & Chang, Y. (2014). Conducting Health Disparities Research
with Criminal Justice Populations: Examining Research, Ethics, and Participation. Ethics
& Behavior, 24(2), 164–174.
Van Damme, A., Pauwels, L., & Svensson, R. (2013). Why do Swedes Cooperate with the
Police? A SEM Analysis of Tyler’s Procedural Justice Model. European Journal on
Criminal Policy and Research, 21(1), 15–33.
1
Research Topic Selection
Jasmine Turner
University of Phoenix
CJA/345: Research Methods and Evaluation
Professor Paige Gordier
2/22/2022
2
Research Topic Selection
Topic: Arrest-Related Deaths
Arrest-related deaths entail deaths that happen during the process of putting an individual
in police custody or shortly after. Any death that occurs during arrest, or shortly after is classified
as arrest-related death. This topic is a sub-topic of Mortality in Correctional Institutions. The
arrest-related deaths happen for various reasons such as police homicides, accidents, natural
death, or suicides (BJS, 2012). The reason for death varies from one police encounter to another.
The United States carries out a census of arrest-related deaths. To this end, the Bureau of Justice
Statistics collects the data of the deaths that happen during arrest, and after. These are deaths of
civilians who die when interacting with law enforcement personnel, as either suspects or
defendants. The collection and compilation of this information is pursuant to the Death in
Custody Reporting Act of 2000 and 2013 (BJS, 2012). The statistics are vital for reducing arrestrelated deaths. Particularly, the statistics are significant for the ARD program that seeks to keep
the arrest-related deaths in the U.S. as low as possible. Essentially, it is rigorous to do a national
census for people who die during or after arrest. BJS must identify the techniques that will most
accurately collect the arrest-related deaths data. The data should have minimal flaws. Police
violence is central to arrest-related deaths (BJS, 2012). Most of the people who die during the
arrest or after are a result of the police’s use of force. Some arrest-related deaths caused by police
forceful use of force can be justified. For example, police may use force and cause death to a
civilian while trying to defend him/herself from the civilian’s attack. However, most deaths are
not justified. They are a violation of human rights. Such cases are treated as police homicides in
which police are tried and sentenced for them. Significant racial disparities exist in arrest-related
deaths because of police implicit bias.
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Reason for Choosing the Topic
I have chosen the topic because of the media attention that police killings in the U.S. have
had in the last year and a half. The issue came into the national, and international spotlight after
George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis by police in 2020. After the killing, there were mass
protests across the country (Zimring, 2020). The citizens from other countries also protested in
solidarity with Americans. Collectively, they condemned the police for their excessive use of
force. The issue has raised my attention to arrest-related deaths. George Floyd’s death was a
single arrest-related death. There are many more arrest-related deaths that has taken place in the
United States and they have not come into the media limelight (Cheng & Long, 2022). Before
George’s killing, many civilians had been killed. Even after his killing, many civilians have been
killed. Thus, arrest-related deaths are a common phenomenon in the country. More empirical
studies should be done on this issue. The national census of the deaths related to arrests is not
enough for making the ARD program effective. There are many information gaps in existence.
Thorough research will fill the gap of information surrounding this topic. Further research is
necessary due to the possibility of flaws in the collection of the arrest-related death statistics. The
reliance on these statistics only can bring confusion in the implementation of the ARD program
(Trahan & Stewart, 2013). A comparison of how these deaths are happening needs to be made.
The comparison should be on the basis of race, sex, religion, and economic status. Yet police
violence is the main cause of arrest-related death, there could be many other factors. Through
research, these factors will be known. This will inform the development of an effective ARD
program.
Essentially, arrests are not ending any time soon. So, the need for civilians to continue
interacting with law enforcement personnel will remain. This is a big concern for me because, if
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the interactions are causing the deaths of civilians, more civilians will continue to lose their lives
(Zimring, 2020). According to the BJS statistics, arrest-related deaths have an upward trend. This
is not fair. If the trend continues like this, the public will lose trust in the law enforcement
officers (Trahan & Stewart, 2013). This may create a hostile environment for the police to
perform their duties. This does not augur well with community safety. In their training, law
enforcement officers are usually shown how to use force properly. More so, they are shown how
to interact with the public safely. With the increasing arrest-related deaths, it shows that police
are increasingly neglecting some aspects of their training (Gius, 2017). The ARD program has
been in place for many years. The increase of arrest-related deaths annually shows that the
program is not effective. Statistics never lie. They accurately depict the extent to which a
problem is happening in society (Roberts & Indermaur, 2008). The BRJ statistics show the
variations of the arrest-related deaths across communities. I would like to know how this occurs.
Essentially, police are required to perform their law enforcement duties impartially. Thus, when
they use force, they should use it uniformly. The variation of arrest-related deaths along with
gender, and racial lines shows otherwise. I would like to dive deeper into the information
provided and conclude based on my findings.
Research Question
Does implicit bias among police contributes to arrest-related deaths?
Hypothesis
I hypothesize that implicit bias is a major contributing factor to arrest-related deaths. My
theory is that the arrest-related deaths’ statistics are not uniform. There are significant disparities
across gender and race. Since the deaths are mainly caused by the use of force, it implies that
police officers are not using force indiscriminately. Any disproportionate application of law
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enforcement techniques shows bias (Roberts & Indermaur, 2008). During the 2020 mass
protests, people did not only condemn police brutality but also police discrimination against
blacks (Ross, 2018). In this regard, non-white communities guided by Black Lives Matter led the
protests. They called out police to treat blacks equally; like other citizens. Over the years, there
has been high discrimination against blacks in law enforcement. Police have been harsher on
black civilians than white civilians. This issue has led to high tension between white police
officers and black residents in some areas. The high number of arrest-related deaths correlates
with the high frequency of arrests of blacks (Gius, 2017). Perhaps, the high number of black
arrests is caused by police bias. If the frequency of arrests were the same across races, the
inference of bias could not be made. In this regard, the best approach to reducing arrest-related
deaths is eliminating implicit bias among the police. The ARD program cannot reduce this. Once
the bias ends, the ADR program will be effective in reducing arrest-related deaths.
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References
BJS. (2012). Arrest-Related Deaths (ARD). https://bjs.ojp.gov/data-collection/arrest-relateddeaths-ard#publications-0
Cheng, C., & Long, W. (2022). The effect of highly publicized police killings on policing:
Evidence from large U.S. cities. Journal of Public Economics, 206, 104557-9.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2021.104557
Gius, M. (2017). Estimating the determinants of arrest-related deaths at the state level. Applied
Economics Letters, 24(8), 520–522. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2016.1208345
Roberts, L., & Indermaur, D. (2008). The Ethics of Research with Prisoners. Current Issues in
Criminal Justice, 19(3), 09-323.
Ross, D. L. (2018). Civil Liability in Criminal Justice. Routledge
Trahan, A., & Stewart, D. (2013). Toward a Pragmatic Framework for Mixed-Methods Research
in Criminal Justice and Criminology. Applied Psychology in Criminal Justice, 9(1), 5972.
Zimring, F. (2020). Police Killings as a Problem of Governance. The Annals of the American
Academy of Political and Social Science, 687(1), 114–123.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716219888627

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