For this assignment, you can choose to either create a PowerPoint  presentation or write a report depicting your analysis of historical  crime data for a specific category of crime or criminal issue. Focus  your research on one component of the criminal justice system (i.e., law  enforcement, courts, or corrections). The data and charts you develop  may be used in your Final Paper. For this assignment, you will

Present national data and trends based on the FBIs Uniform Crime Reporting (Links to an external site.) and/or the Bureau of Justice Statistics Data Collection: National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) (Links to an external site.);  another comparable nationally recognized database, such as The Campus  Safety and Security Data Analysis Cutting Tool on the U.S. Department of  Educations The Tools You Need for Campus Safety and Security Analysis (Links to an external site.); or, for an international perspective, you may present data available at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes Crime & Criminal Justice (Links to an external site.) web page.
Present graphical statistical crime data for a specific category of  crime from three comparably sized cities, counties, or states from three  different regions of the country (e.g., Indianapolis, Austin, and San  Francisco, etc. This information should be found on official government  websites.)
Develop questions you would like to address based on the data you  retrieved. (Note: You do not have to answer these questions for this  assignment.) What crime prevention programs or initiatives are available  to potentially address the crime or criminal justice issue? (Note: You  are working through Step 18 in Crime Analysis for Problem Solvers in 60 Small Steps. (Links to an external site.))

If you choose to create a PowerPoint presentation, your PowerPoint  presentation must be a minimum of 10 slides long and must graphically  display the statistical data developed for three comparable cities,  counties, or states. Your presentation must incorporate national  statistics for comparison. Your assessment may be in bullet or paragraph  format and must be provided in the notes section of the presentation.  Make sure you standardize your data (usually 1:1000; 1:10,000; or 1:  100,000) and incorporate the scale in a key for each chart.
You may wish to include visual enhancements in your presentation.  These may include appropriate images, a consistent font, appropriate  animations, and transitions from content piece to content piece and  slide to slide. (Images should be cited in APA Style (Links to an external site.) as outlined by the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.). Students may wish to use the following Finding Non-Copyrighted Images for Presentations (Links to an external site.) guide for assistance with accessing freely available public domain and/or Creative Commons licensed images.) Top Ten Slide Tips (Links to an external site.), PowerPoint 2010 (Links to an external site.) and the Simple Rules for Better PowerPoint Presentations (Links to an external site.) web pages provide useful assistance with creating successful PowerPoint presentations.
If you choose to write a report, graphically display the statistical  data developed for three comparable cities, counties, or states.  Incorporate national statistics for comparison. You must include an  introduction that presents the focus of the project for analysis. Your  report must be at least five pages in addition to the title page and  references page. Your assessment may be in bullet or paragraph format  below the graphic display. Make sure you standardize your data (usually  1:1000; 1:10,000; or 1: 100,000) and incorporate the scale in a key for  each chart.
The Statistical Analysis paper or presentation

Must be at least five double-spaced pages (if writing a paper) or at  least 10 double-spaced slides (if creating a presentation) in length  (not including title and references pages or slides) and formatted  according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Centers APA Style (Links to an external site.) or How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation (Links to an external site.) 
Must include a separate title page or slide with the following: 

Title of paper, project, etc.
Students name
Course name and number
Instructors name
Date submitted

For further assistance with the formatting and the title page, refer to APA Formatting for Word 2013 (Links to an external site.).

Must utilize academic voice. See the Academic Voice (Links to an external site.) resource for additional guidance.
Must include an introduction and conclusion paragraph. Your  introduction paragraph needs to end with a clear thesis statement that  indicates the purpose of your paper. 

For assistance on writing Introductions & Conclusions (Links to an external site.) as well as Writing a Thesis Statement (Links to an external site.), refer to the Ashford Writing Center resources.

Must use at least three scholarly, peer-reviewed, and/or credible sources in addition to the course text. 

The Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.)  table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you  have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this  assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the  final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a  particular assignment.

Must document any information used from sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Centers Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.) 
Must include a separate references page or slide that is formatted  according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. See  the Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.) resource in the Ashford Writing Center for specifications.