Who has the most influence on crime control policy? The president? The governor? Our representatives?

“Without someone to implement it, policy is nothing more than words on a page. Furthermore, what is written as policy is often more theory than reality, because implementing a policy at the street-level is seldom as neat and clean as it appears on the page.”

 

First, select a crime control policy (e.g., the three-strikes law, legalization of recreational use of marijuana, combatting terrorism and the Patriot Act, gang initiatives, or gun control, etc.). In your paper:

 

• Summarize the key elements of the selected crime control policy.
• Explain the political process that sets the foundation for the selected crime control policy.
• Examine the role of the federal government when it comes to formulating crime control policy.
• Discuss how the U.S. Congress influences crime control policy of the states and ensures consistency of laws among the states (Note: Traditionally, crime control legislation falls under state legislatures).

Your paper must:

• Be three pages in length (not including title and references pages) and formatted according to APA style.
• Use at least five scholarly sources in addition to the course text.