The purpose of this assignment is to give you, the student, an opportunity to explore, in-depth, a specific job classification within the Criminal Justice System. For this assignment, you will interview someone of your choice who works within the system.
First, carefully select the job category in which your interests lie. Next, do some research and outreach to locate a real person who holds that type of job. Contact this person and arrange to interview this person. Using the questions and topics provided below, conduct the interview. Be sure to take copious notes, or to record the interview. If you are going to tape record the interview, be sure to acquire consent from the person being recorded.
Describe the duties of your job. (Ask if there is a written job description, and if one exists, ask if you could have a copy)
Describe a typical day, in some detail.
Describe how your job fits into a larger segment of the Criminal Justice System.
What job categories work under you? To what job categories do you report? (superiors) What job categories do you help support?
Describe the types of criminals you encounter in your work and how you interact with them.
What about your job frustrates you the most?
What about your job do you see as most beneficial to criminals and to society?
How did you get interested in working in the criminal justice system?
How did you prepare for your job? (college?, major?, training program? Other work experience?)
What skills do you use most frequently in your job?
List a couple of lessons you think people should learn before entering into a job like yours.
After the interview is finished, you can write up your findings in a short report (5-7 pages) using the outline below as a guide. This paper is about the career/job within the Criminal Justice System, not just about your interviewee. Your interview will provide most of the information you will need to adequately present the career to your readers, but some additional research using credible sources may be needed to cover some sections. I would like to see you use two additional sources, one web-based, the other a book or article from a research journal. The sources should be properly cited in the paper and referenced in a “works cited” page at the end of the paper. You may use either MLA or APA styling for the paper. The Job report is due by March 8. Good Luck and Have Fun!
