CJ 340 Project Two Guidelines and Rubric
Competency
In this project, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following competency:
- Describe behavioral and environmental factors that lead to criminality
Scenario
You are a lead criminal profiler assigned to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Behavioral Analysis Unit. Last week, you were selected to be a presenter at the International Homicide Investigators Conference in Washington, D.C. that will be held in two months. You will be discussing serial killers in America. At your speaking engagement, you will discuss two case studies derived from the scholarly journal article, Serial Murder in America: Case Studies of Seven Offenders. You will provide an expert opinion as to which criminological theories most likely explain the criminal behavior and which theories apply to the offender based upon the case study. You will focus on comparing and contrasting not only the theories and application of the theories for each case, but also any behavioral, sociological, and environmental factors in each.
Directions
Using the provided scenario and resource, choose two case studies to focus on for your speaking engagement. (Note: It is important to consider the theories and their application when reading and selecting the cases to use for this project. Some theories may not be applicable to certain cases.)
For each case, do the following:
- Describe the criminal behavior present in each case. Include the following in your description:
- Identify the case.
- Provide a brief summary of the case, focusing on the criminal behavior.
- Describe how the classical school of thought has influenced criminal justice practices specific to each case. Include the following in your analysis:
- How has classical theory impacted the criminal justice system in regard to the criminal behavior, laws, and policies in each case?
- Analyze the criminal behavior in each case by focusing on how the positivist school of thought (biological, psychological, sociological theories) has influenced criminal justice practices. Include the following in your analysis:
- Which theory in each category (biological, psychological, and sociological) is most applicable to the case?
- How may this theory influence criminal justice practices in relation to the criminal behavior in the case?
- Explain how critical and interactionist theories interpret social structures and influence professional practice specific to each case. Include the following in your explanation:
- What are the social structures and professional practices identified in the case?
- Which critical and interactionist theory is most applicable to the case?
- How may critical and interactionist theories influence professional practices in the case?
- Explain the similarities and differences between the two cases you chose. Include the following in your explanation:
- Which theories are used to analyze each case?
- How is the application of theories similar or different in the cases?
- How are behavioral and environmental factors similar or different in the cases?
What to Submit
To complete this project, you must submit the following:
For this assignment, you will create a presentation. Choose the format that works best for you. This could include one or more of the following: poster, handout, presentation slides, brochure, written description, or video. Whichever format you choose, your submission should address the rubric criteria listed above.
Any sources should be cited according to APA style.
An optional template (linked in the Supporting Materials section) has been created to assist you in completing this project.
Supporting Materials
The following resource(s) may help support your work on the project:
Document: Project Two Template Word Document (Optional)
While this template is not required to complete your project, you may find it helpful.
Project Two Rubric
| Criteria | Exceeds Expectations (100%) | Meets Expectations (85%) | Partially Meets Expectations (55%) | Does Not Meet Expectations (0%) | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clear Communication | Exceeds expectations with an intentional use of language that promotes a thorough understanding | Consistently and effectively communicates in an organized way to a specific audience | Shows progress toward meeting expectations, but communication is inconsistent or ineffective in a way that negatively impacts understanding | Shows no evidence of consistent, effective, or organized communication | 15 |
| Description of Criminal Behavior | Exceeds expectations in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner | Describes the criminal behavior present in each case | Shows progress toward meeting expectations, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include additional details regarding the description of criminal behavior present in one or both cases | Does not attempt criterion | 10 |
| Classical and Positivist Schools of Thought | Exceeds expectations in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner | Describes how the classical and positivist schools of thought have influenced criminal justice practices specific to each case | Shows progress toward meeting expectations, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include additional details or clarification describing how the classical or positivist school of thought has influenced criminal justice practices specific to each case | Does not attempt criterion | 10 |
| Psychological and Sociological Theories | Exceeds expectations in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner | Analyze the criminal behavior in each case by focusing on how the positivist school of thought (biological, psychological, sociological theories) have influenced criminal justice practices | Shows progress toward meeting expectations, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include additional details regarding the analysis of criminal behavior in one or both cases by application of biological, psychological, and sociological theories | Does not attempt criterion | 20 |
| Critical and Interactionist Theories | Exceeds expectations in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner | Explains how critical and interactionist theories influence social structures and professional practice specific to each case | Shows progress toward meeting expectations, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include additional details or clarification explaining how critical and interactionist theories influence social structures and professional practice in one or both cases | Does not attempt criterion | 20 |
| Similarities and Differences | Exceeds expectations in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner | Explain the similarities and differences in the cases | Shows progress toward meeting expectations, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include additional details or clarification explaining the similarities and differences in the cases | Does not attempt criterion | 20 |
| Citations and Attributions | Uses citations for ideas requiring attribution, with few or no minor errors | Uses citations for ideas requiring attribution, with consistent minor errors | Uses citations for ideas requiring attribution, with major errors | Does not use citations for ideas requiring attribution | 5 |
| Total: | 100% | ||||