Criminology and Criminal Justice (CRIM)

Description: The justice process and the criminal justice system in general. Concepts of crime, deviance and justice, and general theories of crime causality. Individual rights in a democratic society and the legal definitions of various crimes. Law enforcement, judicial, juvenile justice and corrections subsystems explored and a number of reform proposals presented.

Description: The role of the police in American society. Origins of policing, the nature of police organizations and police work, and patterns of relations between the police and the public.

Description: Analysis of the structure and function of the criminal court system in the United States, including the roles of prosecutor, defender, judge, jury, and court administrator. Issues confronting the system considered from historical, philosophical, sociological, and psychological perspectives. Ideals of the system compared with actual functioning and court reform proposals.

Description: History and evolution of the corrections process. Covers all aspects of institutional and community-based corrections.

Description: Discussion will focus on the issues related to implementation, management, effectiveness and challenges of community-based programs. Provides a broad overview of the structure and functions of Community-based Corrections. By the end, expect to understand the best practices in community corrections.

Description: Deals with the legal aspects of the investigation and arrest processes as well as the rules governing the admissibility of evidence in court.

Description: Introduction to the principles, methods and techniques of empirical social research.

Description: Basic statistics of public sector research and public administration decision making. Data processing techniques as they relate to statistical analysis and on understanding the proper application of statistics.

Description: Philosophical examination of justice and its administration. Provides the student with a richer understanding of the conceptual foundations of justice.

Description: The means by which society attempts to use criminal law to prevent harm to society. Acts which are declared criminal and the punishment prescribed for committing those acts. Philosophies and rationales that have shaped current day substantive criminal law. English Common Law and the historic evolution of substantive criminal law from its early origins.

Description: General survey of the nature of causes of crime and efforts of the criminal justice system to predict, prevent, modify, and correct this behavior.

Description: How delinquents and juveniles in need of supervision are handled within the juvenile justice system. The nature and extent of delinquent behavior status offenses, child abuse and neglect; theories of delinquency and their implications for intervention; cultural and social factors related to delinquency; as well as the philosophy by and functioning of the juvenile justice system.

Description: Survey of minority groups and criminal justice in the United States. Racial minorities as victims of crime, as offenders, as defendants, and as criminal justice professionals.

Description: Women's experiences as victims of crime, as offenders, as defendants, and as criminal justice professionals.

Description: Job-related experience in a criminal justice agency and permission to enroll must be received from the student's adviser each semester.

Description: Provides advanced majors and minors with experience conducting research in the field of criminology and criminal justice. Students will work under the supervision of a faculty member to complete research tasks that integrate learning with service. Tasks may include reviewing relevant literature, instrument development, data collection, data entry/cleaning, data analysis, codebook development, presentation of findings.

Description: Focuses on the intersection of individuals with mental health, substance abuse, and/or severe & persistent mental illness diagnoses and the criminal justice system. Examine how individuals become involved in the criminal justice system and how the criminal justice system and other social services respond to their involvement.

Description: Contemporary concepts, principles, and theories of organization and administration as they relate to criminal justice agencies. Historical development and modern practices of public policy.

Description: Examines ethical issues that arise in the three major areas of criminal justice: police, courts, and corrections. General philosophical theories of ethics as well as Codes of Ethics that operate to control the institutional and personal behavior of police, courts and correctional systems.

Description: Investigates the etiology of many forms of norm-violating conduct. Rule-breaking behavior as defined by the criminal statutes.

Description: In-depth analysis of the history and operation of prisons and jails in the United States and other countries. Management and operation of prisons and jails from the perspective of both employees and incarcerated persons.

Description: Examines the criminal justice system response to domestic violence/intimate partner violence. A focus on the interactions between battered victims and components of the criminal justice system, as well as the role of the community in addressing and preventing this violence serves as the foundation for this course. Insight into factors contributing to the incidence of intimate partner violence, explore the background/history of domestic violence.

Description: Provides an introduction to the topics and issues that are pertinent to the study of victimology. Prevalence, predictors, and consequences of various forms of victimization, including child abuse, intimate partner violence, rape and sexual assault, stalking, and homicide over the life-course. Examines the nature of criminal justice victimization data, and the issues related to the measurement and costs of victimization.

Description: Addresses issues related to child abuse and neglect investigation, intervention and prevention efforts facilitated through criminal justice system processes. Discusses the history of child maltreatment, definitional challenges, statistical trends, physical and behavioral indicators, mandatory reporting, investigative processes, intervention strategies and prevention efforts.

Description: A systematic introduction to the study of human trafficking. Learn about what constitutes human trafficking, theories of victimization as they apply to trafficking, debates about the language and definitions surrounding sex trafficking and prostitution. Discuss the prevalence, predictors, and consequences of various forms of trafficking and critically assess efforts related to measurement, intervention, and prevision.

Description: Focuses on the experiences of victims of crime through the criminal justice system, from reporting the crime to the closure of the case. Examines types of victim services and advocacy throughout various points of the criminal justice system (police, courts, corrections), the history of victims' rights and the development of victim services over time.

Description: Socially constructed nature of drugs and drug policy, focusing on the variety of ways drugs and crime are connected and the socio-historical context of contemporary US drug policy.

Description: This course is a survey of the nature and extent of violence. The focus is on patterns of violence across social groups, the causes and correlates of violence and violent behavior, and programs/policies geared toward violence prevention and reduction. Also of interest is the relationship between theory and violence research.

Description: Focuses on sex offenses, sex offenders and the responses of the criminal justice system. Examines applications of criminological theory to sex offending, trends and patterns of behavior, characteristic of sex offenders and the psychological and legal responses to sex crimes.

Description: Examines the processes, practices, and people involved in the investigation of criminal acts, highlighting recent developments in policy, tactics and technology. Explores theoretical approaches to investigating various crimes, examining how aspects of each approach can benefit investigators. Involves analysis, discussion, and learning how to complete thorough investigations that will ensure best chances for successful case prosecution in court.

Description: Focuses on American youth street gangs. Topics include history of gangs, gang and gang member characteristics, gang life and strategies of gang control. Link between youth street gangs, prison gangs and other deviant collectivities will be explored.

Description: Designed to present an overview of the crime of homicide. Attention is given to homicide data, theories of why homicides occur, types of homicide, investigating/solving homicides, prosecuting homicide cases, and the impact on co-victims and society as a whole. Use critical thinking skills while exploring various investigative techniques.

Description: Specialized course which provides a comparison of the criminal justice systems of the United States and the United kingdom. Allows for an exploration of how the American system developed from the British system and why social and cultural factors influenced the differences/similarities in their development.

Description: Analyzes the dynamics of criminality and the social response to criminality across countries. Differences in crime and justice between developed and developing countries and between socialist and capitalist nations.

Description: Development of an understanding of terrorism as a political crime. Examines social, political, and psychological aspects of this behavior.

Description: Traces the origins and historical development of the activities that have come to be known as "organized crime." These crimes are some of the most dangerous to American society and range from the commonly known offenses of gambling, racketeering, and narcotics trafficking to the more subtle and sophisticated, less understood but equally serious, crimes of extortion, commercial bribery, and political corruption.

Description: Illegal acts committed by nonphysical means and by concealment or guile, to obtain money or property, to avoid the payment or loss of money or property, or to obtain business or personal advantage.

Description: Analysis of contemporary special problems in the broad spectrum of criminal justice.

Description: Faculty-guided research in an area of mutual interest to the student and the instructor. Students are responsible for selecting the area of inquiry prior to contacting the instructor.

Description: Identify and explore a contemporary issue relevant to crime and justice policy. Develop multimedia packages designed to educate and advocate for a chosen policy action (e.g., adoption, reform, replacement). The purpose is to integrate previous course experiences and skills, independent research, and community stakeholder engagement (via interviews) into an activity that demonstrates critical thinking, synthesis, and evaluation.

Description: Independent research project supervised by department/school faculty.

Description: Part of the department's Student Outcomes Assessment effort. Designed to monitor the department's performance and to identify changes needed.

Description: This course is an integrative online senior seminar to be taken during the final semester. It facilitates the transition to criminal justice professional through the use of specific assignments focused on areas of resume development, continuation of research, and reflection of academic progress.