Homework 8

 

 

 

 

BE SURE TO FOLLOW THE FILE-NAMING CONVENTIONS FOR THIS COURSE (5% penalty if you do not).

All files should be saved on your computer as: your last name, followed by an underscore ("_"), followed by the first two letters of your first name, followed by an underscore ("_"), followed by the assignment number. So if a student named Saddam Hussein were to submit assignment number 8, the file name would be:

hussein_sa_8.doc

 

 

Don't stop until you see "end of assignment"

This assignment consists of 3 parts:

 

A) Reading a chapter from Cop in the Hood: My Year Policing Baltimore's Eastern District (an easy read)

B) 3 Short answer questions

C) An essay of 500 to 750 words (you have your choice of 2 assignments, but Essay B has an extra-credit option for a longer essay)



SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

1) The author--Prof. Moskos of John Jay College--explains that the use of discretion in arrests is neither the blind enforcement of "zero-tolerance" policing (often decried by police critics) nor the "enlightened problem-solving strategy" of community policing. Explain what the author means by this USING YOUR OWN WORDS.

Then, provide an example of such use of the law to gain extra-legal authority from The Wire. Be sure to organize your response around the familiar claim/evidence/warrant format. Your evidence must include a direct quotation of speech from the series with an appropriate time citation (ie.. Episode number and minute reading, such as Episode 3, 12:38 minutes) The warrant will be of particular importance here.

2) (very quick answer) Observers of crime statistics often point out that most narcotics arrests are for simple "possession" rather than "possession with intent to sell," and then reach what can seem a reasonable conclusion: the "War on Drugs" targets users of drugs more so than "dealers." What alternative explanation does Moskos provide as to why most narcotics arrests are for "possession" rather than "intent to sell"?

3 ) What career incentives might, according to the author, push officers to make large number of arrests? Identify and explain at least two; USE YOUR OWN WORDS.

SHORT ESSAY QUESTION(S)

You have a choice to do one of two essays (Essay A and Essay B) both of which are 500 to 750 words.

 

ESSAY A: Parallel Narratives

The Wire succeeds as narrative partly because it establishes parallels in the work and personal lives of those working in two different "industries": "the law" and "the street."

In this essay of 500 to 750 words, describe the parallel lives of characters in The Wire.

You will need to detail at least four examples of parallels, but the parallels can be between different characters. That is, not all four parallels must be between the same two characters. But for each parallel you draw, one character must be from "the law" and one from "the street." The parellels you choose, moreover, must be related to the ways in which the characters' "industries" shape their lives (be sure to make this relationship explicit, see "B" below).

Be sure to:

A) organize your essay around a thesis that encapsulates the entirety of your argument and identifies the parallels you will develop in the body of the essay.

B) Make explicit how the parallels you've chosen emerge from or are shaped by the characters' participation in their respective industries. For exampe, how does the structure of a police department shape the lives of officers in much the same way that being a member of a drug crew does?

C) To have 5 pieces of evidence from the series; at least 3 of these must be direct quotations of speech from the series. Be sure to quote accurately and provide a "time citation" for each quotation or description of action.

D) To structure your presentation of the evidence around the familiar claim/evidence/warrant format. You will want to keep your direct quotations to 10 or fewer words. See here on how to reduce quotations. Sadly, we will take points off if you don't label your cl/ev/wa elements.

WE WILL GRADE YOUR ESSAYS ACCORDING TO A RUBRIC, SO LOOKING AT THE RUBRIC BEFORE WRITING YOUR PAPER WILL HELP YOU WRITE A BETTER PAPER AND GET A BETER GRADE. SEE RUBRIC HERE. (ms-word file delivered to your desktop).

 

ESSAY B: Dysfunctional Policing (and extra-credit option)


The Wire suggests, at times, that the smooth functioning of a police department as an institution actually conflicts with law enforcement as a goal. In other words, rational choices by individual members of the organization can lead to counter-productive or irrational behavior by the department as a whole.

In this essay of 500 to 750 words w answer the following question:

How can evidence from The Wire be interpreted to demonstrate that the series portrays a dysfunctional police department? Again, "dysfunctional" here means a misalignment between individual incentives and group goals at multiple levels of the organization. Moskos' Cop in the Hood chapter should help you identify dysfunctions.

Be sure to:

A) organize your essay around a thesis that encapsulates the entirety of your argument and identifies the types of dysfunctions you will develop in the body of the essay.

B) To have 5 pieces of evidence from the series; at least 3 of these must be direct quotations of speech from the series. Be sure to quote accurately and provide a "time citation" for each quotation or description of action.

C) To structure your presentation of the evidence around the familiar claim/evidence/warrant format. You will want to keep your direct quotations to 10 or fewer words. See here on how to reduce quotations. Sadly, we will take points off if you don't label your cl/ev/wa elements.

WE WILL GRADE YOUR ESSAYS ACCORDING TO A RUBRIC, SO LOOKING AT THE RUBRIC BEFORE WRITING YOUR PAPER WILL HELP YOU WRITE A BETTER PAPER AND GET A BETER GRADE. SEE RUBRIC HERE. (ms-word file delivered to your desktop).

ESSAY B EXTRA-CREDIT OPTION

If you do this extra-credit option, you do NOT need to write either Essay A or Essay B.

This extra-credit option requires writing an essay of at least 1100 words and can earn you up to an extra 15% on your essay grade.

This essay topic is identitical to Essay B above, but the dysfunctions you identify in The Wire must be those that Moskos (author of Cop in the Hood) identifies and you must directly explain how the dysfunctions you identify relate to those that Moskos describes. Doing so, obviously, will require at least 4 additional direct quotations (of 10 or fewer words) that will come from the chapter. Accordingly, your total number of pieces of evidence will total 9.

 



"END OF ASSIGNMENT"