The major assignment for this course is the completion of a research paper in which you will select a correctional issue discussed in this course, provide your recommended solutions to the issue, and use research to support those recommendations.

These will be completed in blocks with the first block being the selection and submission of the topic.

Before submitting your topic, you should review the topic options below.

• Misuse of jails
• Underfunding
• Prison conditions
• Classification/risk assessment
• Special populations
• Crowding
• Overcrowding
• Staff hiring
• Staff working conditions
• Correction officer deviance
• Officer pay/workload
• Management/administration
• Privatization of corrections (prisons and community corrections)

Once selected, please provide a brief summary of the issue to include the area or areas of focus. For example, if you decide to discuss the hiring of correctional staff, your focus could be hiring female staff. This should be at least one page in length, contain 200 words, be double-spaced, and typed in 12-point Times New Roman font. Citations and references are not required for the topic selection.