Assignment 5: Corrections and Victims’ Rights

Due Week 10 and worth 200 points

Go to the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) Website, and review the “Resources For Victims & Witnesses,” located at http://www.bop.gov/resources/victim_resources.jsp. Next, go to the American Correctional Association Website, and review the ACA Code of Ethics, located at http://www.counseling.org/resources/aca-code-of-ethics.pdf. Lastly, go to Cornell University Law Schools’ Website, and review “18 U.S. Code Crime § 3771 – Crime victims’ rights,” located at http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/3771.

Write a four to six (4-6) page paper in which you:

1) Examine the significant manner in which the Crime Victims' Rights Act protects the rights of crime victims. Provide your opinion of the effectiveness of this piece of legislation. Justify your response.

2) Determine whether or not victim impact statements add value during sentencing and parole hearings. Provide a rationale for your response.

3) Debate which is more important to a victim: the right to be notified of proceeding or the right to participate in a proceeding. Provide a rationale for your response.

4) Review the following three (3) statements, and determine the key ethical responsibilities of corrections personnel associated with them.

1. 1. “Our job is not to punish.”
   2. “Legal liability issues.”
   3. “The rules don’t apply."

5) Recommend two (2) strategies for ensuring that correctional employees (e.g., correctional staff, administrators, parole officers, probation officers, etc.) adhere to the ACA Code of Ethics.

6) Debate the importance of victims having a voice in the legal process.

7) Use at least three (3) quality references. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Defend the purposes of corrections.
• Analyze important issues facing the correctional enterprise today, including privatization, special needs populations, and disparities pertaining to race, religion, and economics.
• Analyze key issues pertinent to victims of crime.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in correctional facility policies.
• Write clearly and concisely about correctional facility policies using proper writing mechanics.

Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic / organization of the paper, and language and writing skills, using the following rubric found here.