Case studies provide an excellent opportunity for you to conduct more in-depth research and analysis on a relevant law enforcement intelligence topic or incident. Each student is required to write a 5-10 page research paper on the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings according to the guidelines below.
At a minimum, you will examine the After Action Report for the response to the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombings found at http://www.mass.gov/eopss/docs/mema/after-action-report-for-the-response-to-the-2013-boston-marathon-bombings.pdf (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. You are encouraged to research additional sources including Congressional reports, think tank reports, state reports, local perspectives, etc.
The following questions should guide you while writing the paper:
Were the bombings avoidable? If so, what could federal, state and local authorities have done differently to prevent the attack?
Was this attack a failure of intelligence collection, analysis or timely dissemination to local authorities?
Should the local authorities and private corporations involved in supporting the marathon provided enhanced security measures that weren’t already planned and/or in place at the time of the attack?
What were the 3 most important lessons learned from the attack? Why did you choose them?
How can federal, state and local agencies improve intelligence sharing to prevent another similar attack at a national event?
Have adequate security measures been implemented at other similar events since the attack occurred?
How well did the federal, state and local law enforcement agencies respond to the attacks?
The above questions are simply a guide for you to consider. As they are deliberately broad in scope, you should have enough flexibility to focus your paper on specific topics such as intelligence sharing, security measures, synergy between federal, state and local agencies, etc. If you are unsure how to specifically focus your paper feel free to contact me to discuss.
You may earn up to a maximum of 36 points for the case study, which will comprise 36% of your final overall grade for this course.
Following are guidelines, expectations and requirements for completing the case study:
Your paper must reflect your original work, and may not be completed or submitted as a team project.
You must include proper source citations within the text and a list of references or bibliography at the end of the paper. Wikipedia is not considered a valid source for academic papers. Plagiarism will not be tolerated.
The case study must be completed and submitted as a Word document.