As a crime analyst, you will conduct research in criminology and use the data that you find to explain fundamental theories on the causes of criminal behavior. Crime analyst teams frequently use evidence-based theories to study crime, integrate research and theory, and discuss their findings using written and verbal communication to determine patterns and make crime-prevention plans.
Scenario
A team conducting a strategic analysis of changes in recent crime in your state has asked you to give a presentation to an affected community. They have asked for your help using evidence-based theories to interpret the criminal behavior and reveal potential patterns that can be used to inform crime-prevention efforts.
Preparation
Select data or an event that occurred in your state within the past 12–24 months involving charges for a particular type of crime. You can use the Interactive Data Analyzer from the U.S. Sentencing Commission to view data on crimes by federal offenders or view the FBI’s What We Investigate press release search tool on the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) website to locate violent crime events in the news. Align your chosen crime to a school of thought or criminology theory presented so far in this course that explains the criminal behavior.
Assessment Deliverable
Using real-life information from your state about a crime of your choice, create a 10- to 12-slide presentation for the affected community, as if you were a crime analyst explaining fundamental theories on the causes of the recent criminal behavior.
Include the following in your analysis of the criminal behavior using an evidence-based theory:
- Explain at least 2 of the school of thought or criminology theory’s key principles. Include any assumptions underlying the development of the theory or give relevant examples that show how to interpret the theory.
- Defend why your selected school of thought or criminology theory is the best explanation for the selected criminal behavior exhibited in the data or event.