| |
|
This page contains revisions
since the catalog's original publication:
Additions are in red
Deletions are in red
strikethrough
Go back to current
version
Crime and Justice Studies Course Descriptions
CJS 1301 (CRIJ 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) SY
CJS 1307 (CRIJ 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, and an analysis
of public policies concerning crime control. (3-0) SY
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.
(Same as SOC 3360) (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. (Same as ISSS 3351)
(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 3305 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. (Same
as SOC 3332) (3-0) T
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 examines federal
immigration law and the issue of illegal aliens and crime. The
course emphasizes the practices and policies of federal
law enforcement's efforts to control illegal
aliensimmigrants, including the
relationship between illegal aliensimmigration
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 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 3313 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 3315 Race, Ethnicity, and Justice
(3 semester hours) Examines hoe 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 3316 Corrections (3 semester
hours) The policies, practices, and problems of the correctional system
are traced historically with an emphasis on contemporary problems surrounding
the incarceration of criminal populations in jails and prisons, and
the expansion of community-based corrections. (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 the 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 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
1301 or CJS 1307 and 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, police
policies and practices, and current political issues in municipal, state,
and federal police agencies. Prerequisites: CJS
1301 or CJS 3303 and CJS 3313. (Same
as SOC 4365) (3-0) R
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 Current 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 Analyzing Crime (3 semester
hours) Provides students with hands on experience
studying crime and public opinioin. Course also
exposes students to ways of thinkingthe techniques
of analyzing crime data and public opinion about crime issues.
Class sessions will be devoted to familiarizing
students with the methods of criminological research by developing hypotheses
about crime and, through a variety of statistical analysis techniques,
will analyze data sets to test the hypotheses. The course will make
use of a software-based workbook that includes all the data files and
statistical analysis routines that will be utilized. Topics
can include death penalty, gun control, policing, race and gender, and
the criminal process. Prerequisites: CJS 3302, CJS 3304, and
SOCS 3305. (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 qualitative
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 applicationslearn
techniques for spatial analysis of point patterns and area-based data.
They apply software programs such as Arcview, SpaceStat, and CrimeStat,
to analyze the locations of crime events and rates,
offenders, police patrolling practices, judicial districts and community
corrections and how these relate to physical and social characteristics
of neighborhoods. 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 coorections, 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: ”Media and Crime”, Gangs”,”
“White Collar Crime,” 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
|
|
