Assignment details
This essay is designed to develop your critical thinking and analysis skills relevant to your discipline. You will select two of the policing topics to research and analyse. Your analysis should include the materials you have covered in this unit, as well as evidence of further research of the literature.
This assignment supports unit learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
Using a minimum of ten (10) scholarly sources, you are required to produce a 2000-word essay based on the following brief:
Critically discuss two contemporary challenges that shape policing priorities in your state of residence. The state of residence is Victoria Australia.
Your essay must critically address two (2) of the following topics:
Police accountability and standards
Police use of force
Policing diverse communities
Plural policing
Transnational policing
Police visibility
Evidence-based policing.
Research
You will need to undertake extensive scholarly research of the topics, including consideration of relevant theories in criminology. References may be academic books, professional journal articles, or book chapters. References may be obtained from the internet as long as they are from professional sources and are cited appropriately using APA 7 style. Do not use unreferenced material from the internet or generative AI (artificial intelligence) writing tools.
For you to consider:
Take the time to plan properly. 2000 words is a substantial piece of writing but breaking it up into its components is less complicated than you might think.
Back up your claims with research. This means not only making a claim and but also supporting that claim with evidence (i.e. references to scholarly sources). Good essays are well supported by research. Aim to include two or three references in each paragraph in the body of your essay.
Start writing early. A 2000-word essay takes time and you may find that your approach changes as you conduct your research.
Use appropriate sources, particularly peer-reviewed articles and books. You may use other sources to provide supporting information (e.g. the ABS or BOCSAR sites for crime statistics). Include at least ten references in your research essay. This is a minimum requirement—higher grades will likely have more than this.
Do not use non-scholarly sources e.g. random websites or Wikipedia. Also remember that this is a research essay—we want to see how well you can find your information. This means we want to see referencing beyond the resources we have given to you (i.e. your essential readings).
Discuss your essay plan and any potential problematic issues with your eLA. They can provide specific advice about your chosen topic and advise you on the best approaches to take.
