Category: Law

FOIA and Privatization of Government

FOIA and Privatization of Government
A democracy works best when the people have all the information that security of the nation permits. With these words, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) into law. This law may seem straight forward, but has been severely complicated since the 1990s due to the growing trend of privatization of government. Many are worried that privatization of services such as military operations, homeland security, the prison system, and interstate railroad operations will diminish the effect of FOIA.

Here is an example from a local government agency:
I (your professor) spent a good deal of time as Deputy Chief of New York States largest all-volunteer EMS agency. This NYS non-profit corporationhas an exclusive contract with the town it serves to provide emergency medical care to a specific jurisdiction. Unlike a fire district (which is a public entity and subject to FOIA) my EMS agency is not subject to FOIA.

In 2005, Newsdaywrote a series of feature articles discussing fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption (FWAC) in the volunteer fire and EMS services. Most of this investigative reporting was a result of information received via FOIA/FOIL requests. Newsdaydid a very good job in helping to reduce FWAC in fire departments and public EMS agencies. However, my EMS agency, unFOIA/FOIL-able, always refused to turn over financial information, and was completely shielded from the financial investigations of Newsday.

The assignment:
Your first task is to research the issue of FOIA and the privatization of government. There has been a lot published on this topic since the mid-1990s. Try to find some examples similar to the EMS agency. Once you have some good reference materials, address the following issues (at a minimum):

Should private corporations be subject to FOIA requests if they utilize public funding? What are the arguments for and against this? If yes, to what degree?
Should there be differences between privatization of traditional governmental services (law enforcement, the prison system, transportation) and private corporations using public funding for non-traditional services (providing day care to the children of government employees, meals-on-wheels)?
Try to find examples of FWAC in private corporations and non-profits that were not subject to FOIA, but may have been prevented by FOIA based investigations.
If FOIA/FOIL legislation cannot force private corporations to respond to requests for information, is there anything that could be done by the contracting government agency to mitigate this?
If you have any personal experiences with this issue, please feel free to share.
<Dont forget to cite sources where appropriate and provide links to appropriate documents and websites.>

Active Shooter Preparedness

A three page paper on the community as a whole being better prepared for an active shooter incident. Not only focusing on preparations in the event of an active shooter but tactics to survive the event as well as support and counseling after the event.

Gender and Sports

Should there be standards as to whether someone is a woman for purposes of competing in women’s events at the Olympics?  What constitutes an athlete as a woman? How should they differentiate who is a woman and who is not? Including transgender people.

Give the arguments on both sides of the question.  Discuss  and critique the standards presently and previously used for determining whether someone should be allowed to compete as a woman in the Olympics. 

Use and cite good sources.  Your paper should be approximately five pages long, double spaced.

Reading Analysis

Before submitting papers, please do the following:

1. Fully proof-read your paper, looking for any typos, grammatical errors, and incorrect citations.  (Full citations for course readings are available on the syllabus).

2.  Be sure to back all claims with fact, and provide in-text and end citations for all sources.  Opinions need not be cited, but the non-personal reasons that lead to your opinions might need to be.  Whenever possible, back personal views with factual evidence to strengthen your personal narrative.  (E.g., “In my experience, America is/not a democracy because….  In fact, statistics from __________ support my view (Stats, 2019).”  You may use outside sources. 

3.  Attach the “essay rubric” (found in modules under “other materials”  to the beginning or end of your paper.  If necessary, simply copy and paste the rubric. 

4.  Save your paper as a PDF document.  This will allow me to use a stylus pen and write on your paper electronically.

Plus: my opinion is Hook, he was the reality politician

Criminological Perspectives

Describe the core arguments of each of the following criminological perspectives
Trait (biological/psychological)
Social (structure/process)
Classical/Choice (deterrence)
Support an argument for which of the two sentencing models (determinate or indeterminate) you feel is most likely to be effective at addressing crime from each of the three perspectives.
Determine, based on the totality of information youve gathered over the last two units, which sentencing model you believe is likely to have the greatest potential to reduce crime and why.
Format your work consistent with APA guidelines and include a title and reference page. Cite a minimum of three reliable sources within the body of your paper using in-text citations where appropriate.

Traffic Enforcement

Single page write up on your thoughts on the “citizen perception of aggressive traffic enforcement” and the “influence of traffic enforcement attitudes and behaviors of drivers”.

https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C26&q=traffic+enforcement&oq=traffic+enf#d=gs_gabs&u=%23p%3D0ZR-VSk9zWEJ

Policy brief for legalization of medical marijuana

Policy briefs provide a detailed analysis of an issue, but in a summarized format intended to be accessible to busy policymakers. In trying to balance those goals, the length of the brief is important. Your paper should be a length of 8-9 typed, double-spaced pages. You will likely receive a deduction in points if you submit a paper not meeting this requirement. The page total does NOT include your cover page or reference list. Use a 12-point font and 1 margins throughout. Please use page numbers.

**I also want the paper to touch briefly on the recreational policies, focusing on the social acceptance.

Identify an emerging public safety ethical trend or organizational ethical issue and present the issue in a PowerPoint presentation

Instructions
Identify an emerging public safety ethical trend or organizational ethical issue and present the issue in a PowerPoint presentation. Conduct research into your issue and incorporate the results of your research, including high-quality references, into your presentation.

The Ethical Issue Presentation shall cover all of the following topics:

-Presentation and discussion of academic and anecdotal resource materials
-Deconstruction of current public safety ethical issues related to your topic
-Discussion of the results of your research into public safety ethical issues related to your topic, including high-quality references
-Identification of acceptable and effective professional  public safety ethical principles related to your topic, including possible best practices

Include references on a separate slide, in proper APA format (7th edition)
This project is worth 100 points and is 20% of your final grade. The presentation should be 10 to 15 slides in length, excluding table of contents, graphics and tables, and references. Be sure to include references to support your presentation. In the following descending order of preference, information sources must be either peer-reviewed articles, government reports, or other sources approved by your instructor. Internet information sources from other than authoritative sources are discouraged. See the PowerPoint Project Rubric grading rubric for more information.

Chapter 6 – Essay 3

How would you measure crime in Edinburg, Tx? Is there e a community policing program? Do the neighbors encourage each other to report incidents to the police? Explain.

Formatting: You must cite your textbook and provide information about the assignment from it.
Helpful Links:
https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019
https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=7046

Avoid writing in the first person. This means avoiding I, my, you, we, our, us, or this observer. Do not use phrases like, I think that, or in my opinion, or I do not agree that. Simply omit such phrases, and go ahead with your statement. That said, academic writing generally does not include opinions.

Real Estate; Eminent Domain & Condemnation

Explore and explain eminent domain and condemnation under Florida law. The report should cite appropriate Florida statutes and at least one Florida state case involving eminent domain. I may also examine articles on this topic in the Florida Bar Journal and in law review articles that specifically discuss eminent domain and condemnation under Florida state law.