Units 4-7

 What do I have to do to complete this unit?  Make postings to the Discussion Board (50 pts)  Review discussion grading rubric  Start Search and Seizure Project  Any questions?

 Midterm Project – Search and Seizure  Prepare a page research proposal, in APA format, addressing the following scenario: Mary Ellis, a widow, lives in a townhouse that she shares with her adult son, William, who does not pay rent. Mrs. Ellis awakens on a Saturday morning and goes to her walk- in closet, where she finds a man whom she recognizes as a neighbor, Clyde Stevens, lying on the floor unresponsive. Mrs. Ellis calls 911. Minutes later, police and EMS personnel arrive. Mr. Stevens is pronounced dead from an apparent stabbing, as he has a large butcher knife protruding from his back. Mrs. Ellis, a senior citizen, is transported to the hospital for observation, quite distraught.

 Police establish a crime scene and call for detectives and crime scene specialists, who arrive and begin to investigate. Detectives begin a canvass and interview Clyde Stevens' wife, Sheila. Mrs. Stevens tells police that William Ellis has entered her townhouse several times unannounced and on one occasion appeared to be trying to get into her bed. Mrs. Stevens gives the police consent to search the house for any potential evidence that might identify her husband's killer. Crime scene investigators actively process the scene. In William's bedroom, technicians develop a blood fingerprint adjacent to a light switch, using an amino acid stain, after locating the print using the absorptive properties of blood and a portable argon laser.

 The crime scene investigator photographs the print and recovers a sample of the blood for DNA analysis. The print is from the right index finger of William Ellis, and DNA analysis matches the blood to Clyde Stevens. On the basis of this and associated evidence from the Stevens and Ellis residences, an arrest warrant is issued for William Ellis. William is arrested in Utah and extradited to Illinois to stand trial. His lawyer files a motion to exclude evidence. Within this paper, your discussion and research should address, at the least, these questions:  How would William's lawyer argue to have the physical evidence excluded? Will the exclusion pertain to all the evidence, or is there a difference between the evidence collected from the Ellis and Stevens homes?

 What were the legal justifications for a search? Give examples and cite court cases that deal with these legal justifications. Discuss the exclusionary rule and the "fruit of the poisonous tree" doctrine and determine whether these concepts apply to this scenario. Support your answer by citing relevant literature and legal cases. Describe what steps you would have taken had you done this investigation. Your paper should contain pages of content, not including the title page, abstract page, or works cited page. Your paper should also contain outside references, preferably from original court cases and their holdings or findings, as well as peer-reviewed sources.  Submit your paper by the end of Unit 5 in the basket titled Unit 5: Midterm Project.

 Legal Search  What constitutes a legal search of a premise? When is a warrantless search justified? Support your answer with examples and legal precedent. Illegal Search -What should an officer do if he or she believes that a search is being conducted absent of legal justification?

 Submit your paper by the end of Unit 5 in the basket titled Unit 5: Midterm Project.  (200 pts)

 What do I have to do to complete this unit?  Start the Community Policing Project  Post to the Discussion Board (50 points)  Review discussion grading rubric

 Start the Community Policing Project  Over the last several decades police agencies have been working to gain the respect and the cooperation of the communities they serve.  Describe, define and discuss Community Oriented Policing (COP). Include in your discussion the various methods of implementing the program. What are some of the most important concepts of COP? Define Problem Oriented Policing (POP). How is it related to Community Oriented Policing? Can the physical structure of the organization help or hinder COP and POP? What are the challenges of COP?

 Your paper must include outside references, with at least 1 peer reviewed journal article.  Your paper must contain pages of content, excluding the title, abstract, and reference pages.  Submit your paper by the end of Unit 7 in the basket titled Unit 7: Community Policing Project.

 Police / Community Partnership? Do you think the police and the community can ever form a partnership to fight crime? Explain your answer.  Primary Function of the Police Should the primary function of the police be that of law enforcement or community oriented policing? Explain. Reminder: Review discussion grading rubric

 What do I have to do to complete this unit?  Complete the Community Policing Project (200 pts)  Discussion (Post any questions you have about the project)  Any questions?  The next scheduled seminar (voluntary) will be in unit 8