Criminal Justice

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

100 Introduction to Criminal Justice (3 s.h.)
This course provides a general overview of the social creation of crime and of social responses to crime. Students analyze the social circumstances that produce crime in diverse societies and cultures. They also study a variety of legal and law enforcement systems that define and control crime. This course focuses on the perspectives of all those involved in the production of crime and on the critical analysis of those perspectives.

215 Criminal Investigations (3 s.h.)
This course covers the fundamentals of criminal investigation including the gathering of investigative information from victims and witnesses, the search and recording of crime scenes, and the principles involved in collecting and preserving physical evidence. There is a strong emphasis on investigative policies, procedures, and practices that are necessary and essential to secure the truth within today’s legal climate.

220 Police Administration (3 s.h.)
This course introduces the student to police organizations, focusing on the procedures, politics, and human relations issues that police supervisors and administrators must understand in order to succeed.  Students will explore topics such as the evolution of American policing, the organization of policing in the U.S., the nature of police leadership, the management of police organizations, and current issues in policing.  The course will examine the many influences that have affected change within police administration to include: the closing of the frontier in 1890, the evolution of different management techniques adapted from private business, contributions by innovative police chiefs, WWII, the civil unrest of the 1960’s, and the events of September 11, 2001.  The course will examine and critically analyze organizational design, planning, human resource management, organizational communication, labor relations, financial management, and the legal constraints on the organization.  This course counts as an “applied”, professional – training course for the major.  Students will have the opportunity to research major influences and changes in the police organization.  Students are encouraged to take CJ100 prior to taking this course.

225 Police Response to Disasters (3 s.h.)
This course will explore the development of public safety response to major incidents following the National Response Framework (NRF), the Incident Command System (ICS), and the National Incident Management System (NIMS).  Students will learn how to manage public safety resources in school shootings, major accidents including trains and planes, pandemics, terrorist attacks, and natural disasters including hurricanes, earthquakes, and fires.  Students will conduct classroom exercises using real life or fictional events to manage major incidents and catastrophes.  They will learn to critically analyze policy as well as specific events for effectiveness in achieving practical, social and ethical goals.  Students will learn how to develop more useful procedures through analysis both failure and success for “lessons learned”.  This course counts as an “applied”, professional – training course for the major.  Students are encouraged to take CJ100 prior to taking this course.

387 Senior Internship (3 s.h.)
This course is one of four fulfilling the criminal justice senior requirement. The senior internship offers students a field experience in one of a wide range of Criminal Justice professions. Students keep a journal and work with their advisor in order to benefit as much as possible from this opportunity. Ideally, the internship provides data that can be analyzed and developed as part of the senior thesis.

400 / 401 Senior Seminar / Thesis (3 s.h.)
This course is one of four fulfilling the criminal justice senior requirement. Students in the senior seminar will conduct  an in-depth investigation of a topic in criminal justice and write two scholarly analyses .  Student in Senior Thesis will conduct research on a topic in criminal justice and write a thesis presenting their findings.  In both cases, senior papers will demonstrate a significant command of criminal justice theory, academic literature and research methodology.   Ideally, both the seminar papers and thesis will analyze information acquired during the senior internship.

Note: Directed inquiries, teaching assistantships, and internships in criminal justice can be arranged on an individual basis.