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Crime and Justice Studies Course Descriptions
CJS 1301 Introduction to Criminal Justice
(3 semester hours) An overview and analysis of the major agencies, personnel,
and decision-making points which comprise the criminal justice system.
Includes problems and issues confronting legislatures, police, courts,
corrections, and the community, as they respond to crime in a free society.
Legal precedents guiding the decisions of criminal justice agents are
also discussed. (3-0) Y
CJS 1307 Introduction to Crime and Criminology
(3 semester hours) Survey of the nature, location, and impact of crime
in America. Includes historical foundations of crime, theoretical explanations
of criminality and delinquency, the recording and measurement of crime,
descriptions of criminal careers, crime topologies, and an analysis
of public policies concerning crime control. (3-0) Y
CJS 3300 Crime and Civil Liberties
(3 semester hours) Examines the various components/agencies of the criminal
justice "system." The functions of the police, courts, prosecution,
and corrections are analyzed within a context in which constitutional
rights and civil liberties affect the functioning of the criminal justice
system. Major emphasis is placed on the extent to which civil liberties
and procedural rights constrain or limit the system’s effectiveness
in delivering crime control, while at the same time ensuring "justice."
(3-0) T
CJS 3301 Theories of Justice (3
semester hours) Survey of the basic theoretical rationales and perspectives
concerning the concept of “justice” with selected readings
from classical and contemporary theorists. (3-0) R
CJS 3302 Advanced Criminology (3
semester hours) This course provides students with an in-depth study
of crime, criminals, and the reaction of the criminal justice system
to both. It explores the interrelationships among law, policy, and societal
conditions. The major focus of the course is theoretical explanations
for crime and criminality. Prerequisite: CJS 1307. (3-0) Y
CJS 3303 Advanced Criminal Justice
(3 semester hours) Analyzes the major agencies, personnel, and decision-making
points which comprise the criminal justice system. Explores some of
the major theories and research about the roles that the various agencies
and actors play in the criminal justice system. Includes discussion
of the problems and current issues confronting legislatures, police,
courts, corrections, and the community, as they respond to crime. Prerequisite:
CJS 1301. (3-0) Y
CJS 3304 Research Methods in Crime and Justice
Studies (3 semester hours) Examines methods of crime and justice
research. Topics include the nature of scientific inquiry, framing a
research problem, choosing a research design, developing hypotheses,
sampling designs, and measuring variables. Topics will be covered as
students conduct their own study. Should be taken before SOCS 3305 or
STAT 1342. (3-0) Y
CJS 3306 Criminal Law (3 semester
hours) Examines the statutory basis of crime and the legal requirements
surrounding “mens rea” and legally permissible defenses
permitted under criminal due process. Emphasis is placed on both criminal
statutes and case law. (3-0) T
CJS 3307 Immigration and Crime (3
semester hours) The course emphasizes the practices and policies of
law enforcement's efforts to control illegal immigration, including
the relationship between illegal immigration and counterterrorism, as
well as victimization experienced by immigrants. (3-0) R
CJS 3308 Juvenile Law (3 semester
hours) Examines the statutory bases which distinguish delinquency from
adult crime and the juvenile justice system from the criminal justice
systems. Emphasis is placed on the rationale for treating juveniles
accused of crime differently than their adult counterparts. (3-0) R
CJS 3309 Media and Crime (3 semester hours) Examines
the media's image of crime and the criminal justice system. An emphasis
is placed on how various types of media construct or perceives criminal
activities, how the media influences public policy, and shapes perceptions
of crime as a social problem. Topics include crime news, films and television
dramas depicting crime and criminals, the media as a cause, consequence
and cure for crime and "news making" criminology. (3-0) R
CJS 3310 Youth Crime and Justice
(3 semester hours) Examines the concept of juvenile delinquency as a
distinct type of criminal activity from that committed by adults and
assesses the distinct juvenile justice system that has evolved to handle
children. Topics will include the historical roots of delinquency and
the juvenile justice system, delinquency measurement, explanations of
delinquency, and the socio demographic correlates of delinquency status.
(Same as SOC 3362) (3-0) R
CJS 3312 Drugs and Crime (3 semester
hours) Provides students with a survey of legislation that has been
attempted to combat the use of drugs, the relationship between drug
use/abuse and crime, and the public policy problem surrounding the control
of drugs. Topics include a historical analysis of the laws passed to
control drugs, the relationship between drugs and crime, and a policy
analysis of the alternative means available to deal with the drugs crime
problem. (3-0) R
CJS 3314 Police and Society (3 semester
hours) Examines the central issues of enforcing law and promoting public
safety in society with emphasis placed on both internal organizational
issues of police administration and external enforcement operations.
(Same as SOC 4362) (3-0) R
CJS 3316 Corrections (3 semester
hours) Introduces students to the history and background of American
corrections and the fundamental theories of punishment and treatment.
Emphasis will be placed on the policies, practices, and issues within
the correctional system. The incarceration of criminal populations in
jails and prisons, and the expansion of community-based corrections
will also be discussed. (3-0) R
CJS 3317 Criminal Prosecution and Court Process
(3 semester hours) Examines the decision making, politics, and processes
of bringing criminal defendants to trial and the constitutional system
of criminal due process under which criminal law is practiced. (3-0)
R
CJS 3319 Comparative Justice Systems
(3 semester hours) Survey of the differing policies, practices, and
procedures of crime and justice cross nationally. Special emphasis will
be devoted to U.S. / Mexico comparisons, while additional emphasis will
be placed on such comparisons as U.S. / Canada and U.S. / England. (3-0)
R
CJS 3320 Homicide and Capital Punishment
(3 semester hours) Examines the policy and legal controversies surrounding
the application of capital punishment (i.e., the death penalty) as a
punishment for homicide. Topics include: capital punishment through
history, U.S. Supreme Court decisions and contemporary problems with
the application of the death penalty. The course will also analyze the
nature, extent, and distribution of criminal homicide. (3-0). T
CJS 3322 Crime Prevention (3 semester
hours) Examines the situational, social, and legislative approaches
to the prevention of crime and delinquency. The emphasis is on the theories
of victimization and the extent to which victim demographics play a
role in crime, and the implementation and consequences of various crime
prevention policies and approaches and their differential effects on
victims throughout various sectors of society. (3-0) R
CJS 3324 Gender, Crime, and Justice
(3 semester hours) Analysis of the role of gender in crime and in the
justice system. The emphasis is on gender differences in the commission
of crime and the types of crimes committed, criminal justice processing,
and the employment of women in criminal justice professions. (3-0) T
CJS 3325 Victimology (3 semester
hours) Analyzes the major perspectives on victimization. The emphasis
is on patterns of victimization, the role of victims in the generation
of crime, and the experience of victims in the criminal justice system.
Special attention will be devoted to: sources of data – particularly
the National Crime Victimization Survey, trends, variations by demography
and offense type and ways in which those variations may affect how criminal
justice officials respond to particular types of offenses. (3-0) R
CJS 3326 Victimless Crimes (3 semester
hours) Examines public order crimes, which includes a variety of behaviors
that are illegal yet generally perceived by those engaging in them to
be legitimate, justified, and acceptable. Many such offenses are illegal
only because the government has said so, especially publis order violations
where there may be no identifiable victim. The objective of this course
is to develop an understanding of the complexities and controversies
that swirl around these offenses. Prerequisite: CJS 1301 or CJS 1307.
(3-0) R
CJS 3327 Violent Crime (3 semester
hours) This course explores the etiology, enactment, and control of
serious interpersonal violence. The analytic focus includes robbery,
homicide, aggravated assault, sexual assault, state violence, and white
collar violence. Prerequisite: CJS 1301 or CJS 1307. (3-0) R
CJS 4305 Social Control and Criminal Sanctions
(3 semester hours) Examines various means by which society attempts
to control the deviant and criminal conduct of its members. Social control
encompasses both formal criminal sanctions and informal mechanisms and
a variety of institutions and social processes that are designed to
deter inappropriate conduct if possible and/or punish and reform such
conduct when it does occur. Moreover, social control has evolved considerably
over time and various social control philosophies and techniques have
been prevalent in one time frame but not in others. Prerequisites: CJS
3302 or CJS 3303. (Same as SOC 3332) (3-0) S
CJS 4311 Crime and Justice Policy
(3 semester hours) In-depth analysis of crime and the efforts to control
crime through public policy. Although crime is most often committed
by private persons against individual victims, crime is a public problem
and society’s reaction to crime and criminals is one of the most
controversial areas of public policy. Crime control, deterrence and
incapacitation, gun control, law enforcement, and court processes are
just a few of the areas in which public opinion and policy are in current
controversy and debate. (Same as SOC 3361) Prerequisites: CJS 3302 or
CJS 3303. (3-0) R
CJS 4314 Current Issues in Policing
(3 semester hours) Examines issues related to the accountability of
the police to the electorate through the political process. Focuses
on the governmental setting for police work,
CJS 4315 Race, Ethnicity,
and Justice (3 semester hours) Examines how race and ethnicity
pose differential risks for criminal behavior in conjunction with differential
justice system responses to crime and criminals in minority communities.
Prerequisite: CJS 3302 or CJS 3303. (3-0) R
CJS 4316 Advanced Issues in Corrections
(3 semester hours) The course examines selected contemporary issues
and topics in the correctional system. Significant emphasis is placed
on the extent to which theory and research contribute to understanding
current correctional system policies, practices, and problems. Prerequisites:
CJS 3303 and CJS 3316. (3-0)
CJS 4321 Senior Research Seminar
(3 semester hours) Major concepts and principles of Criminology will
be applied to the analysis of crime. Capstone required course for senior
Criminology majors. Prerequisites: Completion of all, or concurrent
enrollment in, major requirements. (3-0). T
CJS 4323 Communities and Crime (3
semester hours) Analyzes the sources, consequences, and control of crime
within communities. The emphasis is on social and ecological theories
of crime, and on population instability, family structure, and the concentration
of poverty as causes of crime. Community crime prevention efforts are
also discussed. Prerequisite: CJS 3302. (3-0) T
CJS 4330 Qualitative Criminology
(3 semester hours) Examines the research strategies, methodological
and philosophical issues, and legal and ethical issues of qualitative
research. Topics include phenomenology, ethnography (participant observation
and field research), case study, in-depth interviewing, ethnomethodology,
conversation analysis, content analysis, and historical methods. Prerequisites:
CJS 3302 and CJS 3304. (3-0) R
CJS 4331 GIS Applications in Criminology
(3 semester hours) Examines spatial distributions of crime, criminals,
and the criminal justice system. Students prepare computer-generated
maps and apply software applications to analyze the locations of crime
events and rates. We will investigate a variety of crime types (e.g.,
murder, robbery, and drugs). The course will also examine the residential
patterns of offenders, police beats, judicial districts, community corrections,
and juvenile justice districts and how these relate to physical and
social characteristics of neighborhoods. Prerequisites: CJS 3302, CJS
3304, and SOCS 3305. (3-0)
CJS 4396 Selected Topics in Crime and Justice
Studies (3 semester hours) Subject matter will vary from semester
to semester. Examples include: "Gangs",“White Collar
Crime”, "Criminalistics", and “Gun Control.”
May be repeated for credit (9 hours maximum). (3-0) R
CJS 4V97 Independent Study in Crime and Justice
Studies (1-6 semester hours) Independent study under a faculty
member’s direction. May be repeated for credit (6 hours maximum).
Consent of instructor required. ([1 6] 0) S
CJS 4V98 Internship in Crime and Justice
Studies (1-6 semester hours) May be repeated for credit (6
hours maximum). Consent of instructor required. ([1 6] 0) S
CJS 4V99 Senior Honors in Crime and Justice
Studies (1-6 semester hours) For students conducting independent
research for honors theses or projects. May be repeated for credit,
but no more than 6 hours may be taken by a student under this number.
([1 6] 0) S
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