This course provides an overview of the criminal justice system discussing law enforcement, the courts, corrections, juvenile justice, and current issues. This course examines the Constitutional requirements, historical development of the system, the agencies, processes and theories within the criminal justice system. Emphasis is placed on how the various systems interrelate and interact with each other to attain the goal of an equitable delivery of crime-related public services
Quarters Offered
Fall,
Winter,
Spring,
Summer
Course Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to demonstrate the following knowledge or skills:
- Compare and contrast criminal justice agency roles, responsibilities, and functions on the local, state, and federal level.
- Identify and effectively use a broad range of Criminal Justice terminology.
- Describe the criminal justice process, including arrest and progressing through trial, adjudication and disposition, as viewed from law enforcement, judicial, and correctional perspectives.
- Students will explain the history of law and discuss how the constitutional principles and fundamental rights are relevant to our criminal justice system.
- Identify significant theories and/or perspectives of the criminal justice system.
- Articulate the issues surrounding ethics, bias, discretion, diversity, and professionalism within the CJ System and how these relate to, reflect, and influence the community as a whole.
- Discuss the Criminal Justice System in the context of a real case.
Institutional Outcomes
IO1 Communication: Students will be able to execute effective oral and written communication skills related to their discipline (e.g., report writing).
IO3 Human Relations/Workplace Skills: Students will be able to explain ethical decision making and know why high personal ethics is vital in criminal justice.
IO3 Human Relations/Workplace Skills: Students will be able to explain ethical decision making and know why high personal ethics is vital in criminal justice.
Course Content Outline
- Part 1- Criminal Justice/Crime in America
Crime and Justice
Criminal Justice System
Criminal Law and Procedure - Part 2- Police
Police History
Policing Operations
Policing: Issues and Trends - Part 3- Courts & Adjudication
Prosecution and Defense
Pretrial Processes
Courts and the criminal trial
Sentencing & Punishment - Part 4- Corrections
Community corrections: Probation and Intermediate Sanctions
Incarceration, Release and Community Supervision
Juvenile Justice
Department Guidelines
There is a preference for all instructors for this class to use the same book so that the students who advance and instructors who teach the advanced courses can all know where the foundational knowledge was gathered. There is also the preference that there be some discussion of the material applied to real life cases, ideally local cases.
PO4, PO5, PO7, and PO9 should be assessed.