Community Response to Race and Criminal Justice
interview a made up representative from an organization or agency that will provide you with local perspective on race and criminal justice. Depending on your topic, you might interview someone from the police department, corrections, a community advocacy group, a drug treatment facility, the parole department, a judge, or someone in a related profession.
Explain your research topic to them and ask them to describe:
How they see the problem or the issue?
How race or ethnicity fits into the picture?
What impact the issue has on the community or how the community is reacting?
How they—the agency or organization—are responding to the issue?
What is their take on the effectiveness of their response or the response of other agencies or organizations in the community?
What is the greatest challenge the issue poses?
What obstacles prevent the issue from being addressed?
Which policies or practices are particularly helpful in addressing the issue?
What they would do if they could have free reign to address the issue?