PLSC 263: The Politics of The Wire: HBO's Portrayal of the American City

Overview

Final Paper

The final paper should be 12-15 pages doublep-spaced, and include the following: an introduction that includes your research question, theory, hypothesis, and findings; a brief review of the literature that you relied on to develop your theory; a research design section that restates your theory and hypothesis and describes the research you conducted; an analysis section that describes how you “analyzed” the information you collected and the results of your research; and a conclusion section where you revisit your theory, whether your research supported it and what additional evidence and research might be necessary to answer your research question. The paper should also include the following, which are not included in the page count: a bibliography and an appendix that shares more information on your research process—which meetings you attended on what dates with links to or scanned copies of agendas, or links to or information about how you accessed your archival sources. Grading 1. Research question (10 points) 2. Thesis statement from which the rest of the paper follows (35 points) 3. Data collection and analysis (15 points) 4. Correctness of facts (20 points) 5. Organization (20 points) **The expectation is that this project represents your own work and is completed without the assistance of any AI technology. Please reference the syllabus for the course policy on use of this technology, which requires prior permission, a description of intended use, and fully citation of the portions of the paper using this technology, both in-text and in the bibliography.

Here is what we have so far as out research outline:

Research Proposal

1. Research Question
   1. How does the presence of socioeconomic disparities affect the efficacy of law enforcement and community policing efforts in the urban areas similar to the city of New Haven. As we continue to watch the wire, we notice a recurring theme of socioeconomic disparities and the impact it has on various aspects of urban life including law enforcement and community dynamics. An example talked about in class and in section was this concept of deindustrialization. In the city of Baltimore, there is a strong emphasis on economic decline, job loss and abandoned factories/warehouses. This concept of deindustrialization gives way to this recurring theme of socioeconomic disparities altering the city of Baltimore as whole. Specifically, the noticeable changes are visible within the police force in addition to the Baltimore community.
2. Theory
   1. We argue that socioeconomic disparities lead to mistrust and resentment within the marginalized communities undermining the effectiveness of law enforcement and community policing efforts. Ultimately, the disparities constrain the collaboration between law enforcement and its community.

1. Concepts and Measurement
   1. Socioeconomic Disparities: The concepts from our theory that we need to measure are the socioeconomic disparities. We will measure these socioeconomic disparities using a quantitative and qualitative approach. By using a quantitative measure we can identify the median household income in different neighborhoods. Additionally, using a qualitative measure, allows us to gather the perceptions of economic opportunity and social mobility among residents. We can gain this information from data surveys along with personal interviews.
   2. Effectiveness of Law Enforcement and Community Policing: Additionally, it will be important to measure how effective law enforcement is around these neighborhoods. By utilizing quantitative and qualitative measures, we can identify the number of reported crimes and compare it among neighborhoods. Paring the number of reported crimes with the measure of police effectiveness and community trust will enable a direct correlation to measure our theory.
2. Other Considerations
   1. We believe it would be ideal to measure the level of community engagement and collaboration between residents and law enforcement agencies. This would involve examining factors such as historical experiences with law enforcement, community policing initiatives and the number of resources available to designated community development.
3. Research Plan
   1. We plan to conduct ethnographic research by attending public meetings in neighborhoods of varying socioeconomic status in New Haven. By attending and observing these meetings, we can gather data on the dynamics of community interactions, the level of trust in law enforcement and the extent of community involvement in policing efforts.

Hypothesis: As socioeconomic disparities increase within a community, trust in law enforcement decreases, leading to higher crime rates and a decreased effectiveness of community policing initiatives.