Answer

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   Critical Thinking Elements Worksheet

    

   1. Provide a statement of fact and opinion related to an aspect of criminal justice. Support your statements with at least one source.

               Upon being arrested, between 50 and 80 percent of men will test positively for drugs (Statement of fact) (Skjaervø et al., 2016). This may be the reason why the crime and drug cycle has become so prevalent. Thus, since most people are not arrested for being high on drugs, it is important to determine whether it decriminalizing drugs will help to make it less of a problem, or if the issue will only get worse (Statement of Opinion).

   Identify at least one cognitive bias in the Critical Thinking text that could affect someone’s opinion regarding the field of criminal justice. Support your argument.

               In the field of criminal justice, the types of cognitive bias that may be experienced feature evaluating information bias and taking action bias (Friedman, 2017). The process of evaluating information is determined by ones existing ideas and thinking shortcuts that they are used to applying. Therefore, it may prevent an accurate evaluation of information. Once information is available, taking action may be delayed or prolonged even when there is sufficient evidence required to take action.

   Research and define an active issue in the field of criminal justice. What is the argument for both sides of the issue?

               An active issue in the criminal justice field is drug crimes. That is because approximately 45% of prisoners were incarcerated for drug related crimes (Ibrahim, 2020). However, it is evident that the fight against drug abuse through incarceration is not yielding the needed outcomes. That is why some policy makers are now arguing that it may be best to decriminalize some drugs as it would prevent criminals from earning from these illegal sales, hence leading to their downfall (Ibrahim, 2020).

   What is the difference between a deductive and inductive argument? Why is this important to someone working in criminal justice? Provide an example to support your argument.

               Deductive argument moves from idea to observation, while inductive argument moves from observation to idea when making conclusions (Jeon, 2017). Deductive argument gives a completely justified conclusion, while inductive is not fully justified. This is important in criminal justice since it ensures that decisions made are accurately based on facts rather than opinions and assumptions.