Criminal justice process and achieving social justice outcomes policy development

We have discussed previously the potential tension between assuring individual justice in the criminal justice process and achieving social justice outcomes at the state level. For years the argument has been made that drug-related arrests (in our case, drug arrests) are a major driver of disproportionate impacts on minority populations. In this paper, you are going to address how a policy regarding drug arrests could be used to achieve both individual- and group-level outcomes that achieve equality, equity, or both.

Your paper will require you to follow the eightfold path outlined in the Bardach & Patashnik text (I recommend you use the steps as headers in the narrative). The key policy issue is how to ensure individual justice and achieve equivalent group outcomes around drug arrests. To produce your policy statement, you will provide the following:

A- A brief discussion of population-based proportional differences in drug arrests in Florida (see resources below) and how these are hypothetically related to differential criminal justice outcomes among majority and minority populations.
B- Following the path, address each of the steps along the way to arrive at a brief policy statement. Use peer-reviewed research, not journalistic or advocacy-produced data, for any supporting documentation you want to include.
C- Summarize with a brief discussion of why your proposed policy solution will or will not achieve the desired outcome of ensuring individual justice and equivalent group outcomes in regard to drug arrests in Florida.

Eightfold Path (Use As Guideline In Organization of Essay)
1.Define The Problem
2. Assemble Some Evidence
3. Construct The Alternatives
4. Select The Criteria
5. Project The Outcomes
6. Confront The Trade-Offs
7. Stop, Focus, Narrow, Deepen, Decide!
8. Tell Your Story

This paper is to be no more than 10 double-spaced, 12-point font (Times Roman is the standard) pages in length (approximately 2500 words). The page length does not include cover page (please put your name on it!), references, or any attachments you may need to make your point. In the end, your grade will reflect the logic of your argument as you proceed from problem to policy solution using the eightfold path and empirical data.