1. MUST
- FOLLOW OUTLINE
- USE THE REFERENC
ES PROVIDED
- CITE REFERENCES IN-TEXT USING APA
Research Project Overview
The Research Project provides students an opportunity to apply
what they have learned about crime and criminology during the
length of the course. The overall goal of the Research Project is
for students to choose a topic from the course text that interests
and challenges them, analyze the topic by reviewing credible
and evidence-based scholarly resources relative to the problems
and challenges that exist, and apply the theories, concepts, and
principles covered in the course. It is recommended that
students review all of the assignments, requirements, and
grading rubrics so that they know exactly what is expected of
them throughout the course and for the final Research Project.
Write a four to six (4-6) page paper in which you:
Give a brief explanation of your chosen topical area.
Based on your chosen topic, define the problems and challenges
that exist in crime and criminology. Explain the historical
issues that have contributed to the problems and challenges.
Address the internal and external stakeholders and how they
contribute to both the problems and the solutions in crime and
criminology.
Discuss the data and information that you have collected while
conducting research on your topic. Discuss how the data relates
to the problems and challenges in crime and criminology.
Develop a solution that addresses the problems and challenges
in crime and criminology, based on your research.
Use at least six (6) scholarly sources in this assignment.
Note:
Wikipedia, Ask.com, Answers.com, Freedictionary.com, and

2. other open source Websites do not qualify as scholarly.
Outline
Thesis: Organized crime in Mexico has surged over the past few
years and is increasingly affecting the drug trafficking crisis in
the United States.
I. Introduction
1.
Thesis
2.
Organized Crime
a.
Definition -
Organized crime is defined at the fbi.gov website as any group
having some manner of a formalized structure and whose
primary objective is to obtain money through illegal activities.
3.
Drug Trafficking
a.
Definition - Drug trafficking is an illicit trade involving the
cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of substances
which are subject to
drug prohibition
laws.
4.
Security in Mexico
5.

3. Role of U.S. Law Enforcement
II.
Body
1.
Mexico and the U.S. Drug Trafficking Crisis
2.
Background of Priority Areas
a.
Organized Crime
b.
Drug Trafficking
3.
GAO Research – U.S. - Mexico Border Issues Relating to Drug
Trafficking
a.
Nature of the Problem Discussed
b.
Effects on the U.S.
4.
Role of Law Enforcement
a.
Combined Policing Efforts in Mexico
b.

4. Countering the Threat over the Border
5.
The Future
a.
U.S. - Mexico Border Relations
III.
Conclusion
1.
Thesis --
The drug trafficking situation in the United States has grown
over the past few years from Mexico’s flourishing organized
crime.
2.
Analytical Summary -
Can the U.S. and Mexico combine policing efforts to
reduce drug trafficking in the U.S.?
3.
Concluding Statement -
By examining the security situation in Mexico and assessing its
impact on the United States, the increased drug trafficking in
Mexico crossing the United States’ border can be controlled
with collective policing efforts.
References
Beittel, J. S. (2011). Mexico’s Drug Trafficking Organizations:
Source and Scope of the Rising
Violence (R41576).
Congressional Research Service

5. .
Finklea, K. M. (2010). Organized Crime in the United States:
Trends and Issues for Congress
(
R40525).
Congressional Research Service
.
Hagan, Frank E. (2013) Introduction to Criminology.
Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Kan, P. R. (2012).
Cartels at War: Mexico's Drug-Fueled Violence and the Threat
to U.S.
National Security
. Dulles, VA: Potomac Books.
Organized Crime. (n.d.). Retrieved January 12, 2016, from
https://www.fbi.gov/about-
us/investigate/organizedcrime
U.S. - Mexico Border: Issues and Challenges Confronting the
United States and Mexico
(GAO/NSIAD-99-190). (1999). U.S. Government Accounting
Office.
Links
Mexico’s Drug Trafficking Organizations: Source and Scope of
the Rising Violence
By June S.
Beittel
https://books.google.com/books?id=Z38r6HDRDPsC&pg=PA6&
dq=drug+trafficking+mexico&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiIo
MfVktfKAhUMFT4KHW2-
BU8Q6AEIKzAB#v=onepage&q&f=false

6. -
Finklea
, Kristin M. (2010).
Organized Crime in the United States: Trends and Issues for
Congress.
Retrieved from http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40525.pdf
-
Hagan
, Frank E. (2013) Introduction to Criminology. STUDENT
COURSE BOOK
-
Cartels at War: Mexico's Drug-fueled Violence and the Threat
to U.S ...
By Paul Rexton
Kan
https://books.google.com/books?id=g6fLcqJOiN4C&printsec=fr
ontcover&dq=drug+trafficking+mexico&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ah
UKEwiIoMfVktfKAhUMFT4KHW2-
BU8Q6AEIVTAJ#v=onepage&q&f=false
-
Organized Crime -
FBI website
https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/organizedcrime
-
U.S.- Mexico border issues and challenges confronting the
United States and
Mexico
Report by the GAO
www.gao.gov
July 1999
https://books.google.com/books?id=nmNPXAVMwbMC&pg=PA
20&dq=drug+trafficking+mexico&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEw

7. iitenAlNfKAhWB4SYKHevVAjc4ChDoAQg5MAU#v=onepage
&q&f=false
=
Bibliographies:
Reference:
Beittel, J. S. (2011). Mexico’s Drug Trafficking Organizations:
Source and Scope of the Rising
Violence (R41576).
Congressional Research Service
.
Annotated Bibliography
:
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) serves as shared
staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress.
CRS approaches complex topics from a variety of perspectives
and examines all sides of an issue. Staff members analyze
current policies and present the impact of proposed policy
alternatives. June S. Beittel is an Analyst in Latin American
Affairs. This resource provides background on drug trafficking
in Mexico by categorizing the major drug trafficking
organizations operating today and analyzing the scope and scale
of the violence. The report studies current trends of the
violence, analyzes prospects for curbing Mexico’s violence in
the future. The goal of CRS reporting is to present drug strategy
to reduce the activity of the drug trafficking organizations.
Beittel’s research on Mexico’s drug trafficking organizations
demonstrates the increasing concern about the violence into
U.S. communities along the border and further inland.
Reference:

8. Finklea, K. M. (2010). Organized Crime in the United States:
Trends and Issues for Congress
(
R40525).
Congressional Research Service
.
Annotated Bibliography
:
This CRS report, Organized Crime in the United States by
Kristin M. Finklea, centers on the issue on whether the evolving
nature of organized crime requires new enforcement tools and if
the concern is great enough for Congress to allocate resources
to counter the threats. Finklea is an Analyst in Domestic
Security for CRS. This report provides a background on
organized crime in the United States as well as the tools that
Congress has afforded for the federal government to combat it.
As a resource to the research paper, Organized Crime in the
United States will provide a clear definition of corruption,
summarize the background and explain the efforts Congress has
produced in the past to combat organized crime.
Reference:
Hagan, Frank E. (2013) Introduction to Criminology.
Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Annotated Bibliography
:
Introduction to Criminology by Frank Hagan is the college
course book.
The book includes an overview of the major elements of the
criminological enterprise. The objective is to classify and

9. analyze different crime trends and patterns, analyze
criminological theories, and conduct research.
Hagan is the Director of the James V. Kinnane Graduate
Program in Administration of Justice and is the author of
several books and journal articles about criminology. As a
resource for the research paper, Hagan has provided an
introduction to criminology with thorough descriptions and
explanations of criminal behavior. Hagan’s major interests in
criminology and organized crime will assist me with the final
details of the research and provide the necessary definitions of
the course work.
Reference:
Kan, P. R. (2012).
Cartels at War: Mexico's Drug-Fueled Violence and the Threat
to U.S.
National Security
. Dulles, VA: Potomac Books.
Annotated Bibliography
:
Paul Kan has produced a brilliant analysis and reflective policy
recommendations to deal with the alarming situation faced by
the U.S.’s neighbor, Mexico, as they face a bloody and
challenging internal battle to establish the rule of law in the
face of the violent drug cartels. Kan’s Cartels at War book is
the definitive work that is available to understand the struggle
for Mexico’s organized crime and the threat that it places on the
U.S. As a resource for the research paper, Cartels at War is the
one of the best available sources for an intellectual
understanding of the challenges the U.S. faces concerning the
Mexican drug trafficking danger. Kan has provided a conceptual
framework to understand this challenge and explains how the
U.S. can recognize that a peaceful, law-abiding Mexico is vital
to our future. Kan has done a thoroughly commendable

10. analytical job of objective scholarship with this book.
Reference:
Organized Crime. (n.d.). Retrieved January 12, 2016, from
https://www.fbi.gov/about-
us/investigate/organizedcrime
Annotated Bibliography
:
FBI.gov is an official site of the U.S. Government’s Department
of Justice. FBI.gov works with international partners to build
cases and disrupt groups with global ties. This government
website provides resources about uncovering organized crime
operations, identifying confidential sources and intelligence
with analysis sharing and statistics. The FBI Organized Crime
Program employs a methodology that yields a maximum impact,
pursues targets with direct ties to international criminal
enterprises, and ensures that targets are dismantled or
significantly disrupted. By using FBI.gov as a resource, the
research paper will have up-to-date, critical information and
intelligence on the Mexican drug trafficking implications for
the U.S. The Department of Justice law enforcement agencies
have outstanding relationships with law enforcement agencies
on both sides of the Mexico border. The Department strives to
manage investigative activity and improve intelligence to
effectively manage efforts with the goal of detecting,
infiltrating, and dismantling drug trafficking groups that are
directly responsible for the violence in Mexico.
Reference:
U.S. - Mexico Border: Issues and Challenges Confronting the
United States and Mexico

11. (GAO/NSIAD-99-190). (1999). U.S. Government Accounting
Office.
Annotated Bibliography
:
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an
independent agency that works for Congress. The GAO
investigates how the U.S. federal government spends taxpayer
dollars that supports Congress by helping to improve
performance and ensure the accountability of the federal
government for the benefit of the American people. To obtain
statistics on the major issues on the U.S. – Mexico border, the
GAO conducted an extensive literature search and relied on
several GAO reports and government studies. GAO’s U.S. –
Mexico Border Report outlines the strategy to develop closer
relations with Mexico. These in-depth analysis summaries the
nature of the major border issues and provides information on
the U.S. Mexican efforts that are underway to address them. The
GAO and Mexico consider drug trafficking to be the major
threat to their national security and have endeavored to address
drug-trafficking problems through coordination and
development of a binational counter-narcotics strategy. As a
resource for the research paper, this GAO report will identify
the important implications of U.S. efforts to sanction illicit
drugs and illegal immigration relating to organized crime and
drug trafficking.