Criminal Justice

This interdisciplinary course teaches students how to use social and behavioral science databases to find primary and secondary peer-reviewed sources, accurately comprehend and critically evaluate these sources, and effectively synthesize this content to address academic and non-academic communities through writing. The course will explore the value of careful diction, syntax, voice, and the process of revision as students engage in the social forums of the legal and social world. In this course, students will also learn to apply the American Psychological Association's citation style. No credit awarded if student has already received credit for ENG 280 and/or SOC 260.

This course is designed to provide an interdisciplinary understanding of legal and social science research and its application. Students will learn to use the law databases to identify legal resources and to critically evaluate these resources with related social and behavioral science literature in mind. Special emphasis is placed on research and writing assignments requiring the use of legal and social science research, and identifying and understanding the applications of this research for policy and practice in the fields of law, criminal justice, psychology, and sociology. No credit awarded if student has already received credit for LAW 202 and/or LAW 302.

The capstone seminar is the culminating course of the Criminal Justice, Law, and Behavior Science program. Students who have pursued the various pathways within the major will come back together in the capstone to share their knowledge and experiences in the context of a theme, to be determined based upon the composition of the class (in terms of pathways pursued) and current events. Within that theme, students will focus on the relationship between law and human behavior and the role of law in society. Consistent with the overriding academic objective of the major, students will refine their understanding of the interaction of law and legal institutions with social, economic, and political systems. No credit awarded if student has already received credit for LAS 415.

A student in the Criminal Justice, Law and Behavioral Science major will participate in a professionally supervised work experience (a minimum of 120 hours for 3 credits). The internship will be relevant to the student's specialization and career interests in the Criminal Justice, Law and Behavioral Science program. The site location will be decided upon by the faculty supervisor, the student, and the site supervisor. Internship course assignments will integrate the disciplines of criminal justice, law, and behavioral sciences.

The introductory course in the criminal justice sequence. Students are introduced to the administration and objectives of law enforcement, the courts, corrections, probation, and parole. (Also SOC-111). Students cannot get credit for both SOC/CRM-111 and SOC/CRM-105.

An examination of deviant behavior from various perspectives in sociology. The course focuses upon the social functions of deviant behavior, the processes of social typing and labeling, who becomes deviant, and the connections between deviance and the major forms of social control found in society.

This course surveys how psychology provides answers within the criminal justice system. Specifically, this course will focus on the clinical, assessment, and treatment specialties.

This course helps students prepare for careers in forensic psychology as a profession, the choice of and preparation for specific careers, the integration of the academic content of the psychology major with a variety of professional practices, and issues in professional development. Diversity issues, including gender and ethnicity, will be addressed.

This examination of juvenile delinquency in the United States includes the nature of delinquency, factors associated with delinquency, and the major theoretical perspectives. Characteristic of the juvenile justice system are also explored.

In this course students will learn about the U.S. legal system, including the civil, criminal, and juvenile systems. Legal professions will also be discussed. What law is and how laws are created are studied. Students conduct court observations. 

This course will provide a broad overview of female offending, covering offender characteristics, crimes, and histories leading to criminal behavior. Theories of victimization and female offending, and feminist criminology will be introduced. The physical, psychological, legal, and social implications of women's criminal justice system involvement and incarceration will be explored. This class will consist of lectures, in-class discussion/activities, and guest speakers and videos, when appropriate.

An examination of philosophies of punishment in their historical setting, reformation of criminal laws and the origin of prison systems, probation, institutional care, parole, and the nature of correctional institutions.

This course examines law enforcement as a social institution in the United States. Particular attention is paid to the history and evolution of the police function; racial, ethnic, and gender dominance in policing; organization and management of police services; police community relations; and other contemporary law enforcement issues. 

For a variety of reasons, people perform unspeakable acts. We will examine those acts and those reasons. Like many topics in criminal justice, this one is complicated. There are many myths surrounding these topics and opinions on law enforcement’s efforts to stop the serial offender. We will look at the types of serial criminal behavior. We will look at the motivation, historical placement and methods of serial offenders. Although serial killers get the most attention, you will find them in the minority of criminals who commit their offenses multiple times. Although you may not be sympathetic to these characters, you will learn to understand them and their crimes.

An in-depth look at criminal procedure law focusing on constitutional issues arising from the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments. Particular topics include arrest and arraignment, grand jury proceedings, the right to counsel, search and seizure, and trial strategies.

Drugs and crime is a special topics course that covers the controversial nature of licit and illicit substances and their impact on individuals and society. The course includes a discussion of the history of drugs and drug users, the correlation between drugs, violence, and crime, drugs as a public health issue, the art on drugs, and other drug policy issues.

What do Al Capone, Serpico, J. Edgar Hoover, Bonnie and Clyde and Sammy the Bull have in common? In this course, tales of legendary cops and ‘robbers’ will be used to examine compelling questions of our time.

This course examines the nature, extent and consequences of criminal victimization. Specific attention is paid to victims of domestic violence, victims of rape and sexual assault, child victims of abuse and neglect, and elderly victims.

An in-depth examination of sociological, biological, and psychological theories of adult and juvenile criminal behavior. Also discussed is the incidence of crimes.

This is an advanced course on crime, theory of crime, and criminal behavior. Students will empirically explore the measurement of crime, crime distribution, and crime theory. Reading of primary research required. (Equivalent to SOC 312).

The relationship of women to the law is explored from many vantage points, including: how law has been used to limit/expand women's place in society; the differential enforcement of law by sex; and women's role in the legal system. (Also listed under: POL 319, SOC 319, WST 319) 

This course is an introduction to the restorative justice paradigm, which emphasizes the restoration and healing of relationships affected by crime, offender accountability for the harm cause, and the empowerment of victims and communities in responding to crime and justice. The course will compare and contrast a restorative justice model with the dominant retributive/punitive model of justice and explore the roles, experiences, and needs of key stakeholders in both models. Established and emerging practices and programs of restorative justice will be examined.

This course uses a multidisciplinary approach to examine the complexities of power, conflict, and violence in families. A main goal of the course is to improve students' analytic ability in consuming scholarly and popular knowledge about power and violence within the context of family relationships, including intimate partner and parent-child relationships. To achieve this goal, students critically evaluate how violence and abuse in families has been conceptualized over time and how researchers, service providers, policy makers, the criminal justice system, and the general public have responded to this social problem.

This course is designed to give the student an in-depth understanding of the complex phenomenon of prison inmates returning to the community. Students will examine the elements present in the prison and in the community that both help and hinder successful reintegration.  State and national reentry plans and programs will be discussed.

This course examines the concept of terrorism, including a historical perspective, contemporary issues and future trends. Specific areas of study include but are not limited to: origins of modern terrorism; motivation of terrorists – religious, ethnic and nationalistic; international and domestic terrorism; left-wing and right wing terrorism; and the cost-benefits of counter-terrorism.

This course explores the social construction of violent crime - what it is, what is known about it, and how society responds to it. We will study the offenders and the victims of violent crime - who they are, what happens when violent crime occurs between them, and how they respond to it. Specific types of violence are integrated into this discussion and may include such topics as gun violence, school violence, sexual violence, and hate violence.

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, there was a steady influx of people entering state prisons for drug sales and possession. Contemporary thinking suggested that many of these new inmates were in fact drug addicts, dealing in narcotics and other substances as an element of their untreated substance abuse problem. The idea of a drug court setting that sent people to treatment instead of prison captured the American imagination. Shortly after, a number of other types of courts -- aimed at the problem that resulted in the criminal behavior-- took shape. This is an in-depth examination of those courts, their supporters and critics.

This course explores cybercrime - cybercrime definitions and measurement, offenders and victims of cybercrime, and how the criminal justice system responds to cybercrime. Specific types of cybercrime are integrated into this discussion and may include such topics as identity theft, digital child pornography and cyberstalking.

Contemporary issues in criminal justice are examined. Students may enroll in this course more than once as topics change.

Examination of the means by which alleged matters are established or disproved; foundation for courtroom testimony with emphasis on legalization of proof, exclusionary rules, witness examination, res gestae, dying declarations, confessions, and presumptions.

Topics studied include laws of child abuse and neglect, juvenile delinquency, juvenile detention, family conflicts including protection, support, child custody, and related proceedings.

Forensic psychologists often provide treatment, design and direct programs, and provide clinical evaluations for people who are involved with the legal system. This course will explore the many ways clinical forensic psychologists apply their knowledge in the legal system. Methods of treatment, program design, and evaluation and assessment will be determined by the instructor.

Contemporary Issues in criminal justice are examined. Students may enroll in this course more than once as topics change.