Are the police a gang?

Are the police a gang? They often wear specific colors, work only in specific areas, they’re organized, use coded language and hand signs that are unique to their profession, and even sometimes commit crimes. Do these things, along with other factors, make cops a gang? Using course materials and other credible source material, students will write a 3 page paper that seeks to answer this question. Students must form their opinions in this paper with credible source material. Additional guidance will be given to students as they prepare to write this paper.

The paper must adhere to the following guidelines:

1. APA formatting and citation style (Note: you do not need to include an abstract)
2. Separate title page including student name, course and section, and paper title
3. Microsoft Word Document
4. 1’Inch (72 points) Margins all around
5. The overall indentation should be set left and right at a 0 pt, while the first line of the paragraph at 18 points, tabs should also be set at 18 points (however, in cases of using extended large direct quotes the tab should be at 36 points)
6. Do not justify the paper since that causes spacing issues. Always align the paper to the left
7. Times New Roman font
8. 12-Point font
9. Double-spaced (Sometimes word documents are automatically defaulted to have extra spacing. In order to make sure this is not the case, click on Page layout, and in the spacing section make sure that the before and after are set to 0 point)
10. Include page numbers.
11. Pictures, graphics, figures, and/or tables should not be included in the text. If you choose to include these in your paper they should be in an appendix. Please note that Appendixes do not count toward the assignment minimum/maximum page requirement noted in point 11 below.
12. Minimum of 3 pages of text (not including title page or references)

In addition, to the above formatting guidelines, when writing your paper keep the following in mind:

1. Avoid using contractions and first person in formal writing (i.e., in all of the papers you will submit for my course)
2. A proper paragraph should include at least 3 sentences
3. Make sure you do not have run-on paragraphs. A paragraph should never be over a page long
4. Make sure to use proper citations.
5. The Paper should also be formatted with proper headings and subheadings – i.e., Introduction, Gang History etc….
6. Do not include tables and figures in text as they mess up the formatting of the paper. If you are going to employ a table or figure to illustrate a point, do so in an appendix.
7. Never blindly rely on referencing programs that create citations for you. Always, ALWAYS double-check your work. I am not responsible if the program that you use has glitches and does not properly format your citations.
8. All of the sources included in the reference page should be cited in the text, and all of the citations in the text should be included in the reference page.

Finally, be aware of the differences between paraphrasing, direct quotes, and plagiarism. Paraphrasing involves saying the same thing the author (or source) says in your own words, and then properly citing in the beginning or end of the thought you have written. Direct quotes refer to stating, word by word, what someone else has written, and indicating this by putting the text within quotation marks and providing a proper citation, which includes the page number from where the material was taken. Direct quotes should only be used in instances where there is no other way for you to accurately rely on the concept being discussed in the source. Keep in mind that you are only allowed one direct quote for every four pages of text; hence if you write a 5-page paper you can only have 1 direct quote. Finally, plagiarisminvolves stating, word by word, what someone else has written without giving the author proper credit with a citation or including quotation marks around the copied text.