Criminal Justice Course Descriptions
JUS 101 Introduction to Criminal Justice (3credits)
Taught: Fall and spring
This course provides an overview of the criminal justice system; organization and operation of police, courts, and corrections; race, ethnicity, gender, and criminal justice decision-making, current trends and future prospects.
General education credit: Individual and Society.
JUS 200 Police in America (3 credits)
Taught: Fall and spring
Philosophy and history of law enforcement; crime and police problems; organization and jurisdiction of local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies; professional career opportunities and qualifications.
JUS 201 Corrections in America (3 credits)
Taught: Fall and spring.
An interdisciplinary examination of all areas of corrections in the United States informed by law, psychology, sociology, and public policy. Topics explored include history and philosophy of punishment, prisons and jails, institution programming,
management of various offender populations, incarceration trends, intermediate sanctions, and parole.
JUS 203 The Criminal Court Systems (3credits)
Prerequisites: 101.
Taught: Fall and spring.
Analysis of the American courts; structure, functions, and roles of incumbents in the courts; emphasis on political and economic contexts within which the court works. Includes survey of research on American legal system.
JUS 204 Criminal Investigation (3 credits)
Taught: Fall and spring.
Kinds, degrees, and admissibility of evidence; collection and handling of evidence; introduction to forensics and criminalistics; application of investigative techniques to specific offenses; types of investigations such as wire tapping, undercover, and sting operations; current trends and future prospects.
JUS 205 Criminal Evidence (3 credits)
Prerequisites: JUS 101.
Taught: Fall only.
JUS 210 Legal Research (3 credits)
Taught: Fall only.
Methods of research in establishing authoritative legal opinion and the processing of legal activities.
JUS 215 Private Sector Security (3 credits)
Prerequisites: JUS 101.
Taught: Spring only.
Overview of the American private police system; historical development, trends in private security; organizational structure; career opportunities, and philosophical differences between security and policing.
JUS 231 Race, Gender, and the Law (3 credits)
Taught: Fall and spring.
Political formulation of race and gender; race and gender issues related to criminality, victimization, prosecution; adjudication, sanctions, and employment within the legal system; antecedents of contemporary practice; prospects for change.
General education credit: Global Viewpoints.
JUS 294 Topics: Justice Studies (3 credits)
Prerequisites: JUS 101.
Taught: Variable, check with department Intensive study of a specific or special issue in law enforcement or criminal justice conducted in a seminar fashion or through independent study.
Topics vary as new issues arise.
JUS 301 Ethics in Criminal Justice (3credits)
Prerequisites: JUS 101 and sophomore standing.
Taught: Fall and spring.
Examines the concepts of morality and law and their relationships especially the ethical underpinnings of justice and the law. Analyzes the nature of ethics as it bears on social problems and the law, including philosophical analysis and theories of ethics and are encouraged to view society and the law philosophically.
JUS 302 Criminal Law (3 credits)
Prerequisites: JUS 101 and sophomore standing.
Taught: Fall only.
Major crimes; classification, elements of proof, intent, conspiracy, responsibility, parties, and defenses; common law and adaptations.
JUS 303 Criminal Procedure (3 credits)
Prerequisites: JUS 101 and sophomore standing.
Taught: Spring only.
Leading constitutional cases on criminal justice; Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth amendments to the Federal Constitution; nature and application of the Bill of Rights to the states; search and seizure, confessions and admissions, and right to counsel and speedy trial.
JUS 310 Police Management (3 credits)
Prerequisites: JUS 101 and sophomore standing.
Taught: Fall only.
Organization and administration as applied to operational services, patrol, criminal investigation intelligence and vice units, juvenile units, and traffic administration.
JUS 311 Police in the Community (3 credits)
Prerequisites: JUS 101 and sophomore standing.
Taught: Spring only.
Collaboration between police and community to identify and solve community crime problems; strategies and procedures to incorporate community opinion into policing and management; methods of increasing community responsibility in law enforcement.
JUS 312 Institutional Corrections (3 credits)
Prerequisites: JUS 101 and sophomore standing.
Taught: Fall only.
Legal requirements, management issues, and proper procedures in administering correctional operations in the U.S.
JUS 313 Rights of the Convicted (3 credits)
Prerequisites: JUS 101 and sophomore standing.
Taught: Fall only.
Overview of the American correctional system; law of sentencing; corrections; constitutional rights of prisoners; laws, cases, significant changes in judicial policy toward prison litigation; legislative trends toward curtailment of prisoner's rights and benefits.
JUS 315 Criminal Justice Research Methods (3 credits)
Prerequisites: JUS 101 and sophmore standing.
Taught: Fall and spring.
Application of basic research methodologies for criminal justice. Topics include research design, sampling, validity, reliability, experimental designs, with a primary emphasis on survey and evaluation research techniques.
JUS 317 Perspectives on Crime (3 credits)
Prerequisites: JUS 101 and sophmore standing.
Taught: Fall and spring.
A multidisciplinary approach to understanding the theories, issues and traditions underlying criminal justice and criminal behavior, biological, psychological, economic, and sociological theories of crime; crime measurement.
JUS 319 Criminal Justice in Film (3 credits)
Prerequisites: JUS 101 and sophmore standing.
Taught: Variable, check with department.
The media play important roles in shaping public perceptions of criminals and criminal justice professionals as well as public attitudes towards crime, violence, and "appropriate" methods of social control. This course is intended to enhance awareness and understanding of accurate and inaccurate filmic depictions of criminal justice.
JUS 320 Advanced Crime Scene Technology and Criminalistics (3 credits)
Prerequisites: JUS 101 and sophmore standing.
Taught: Fall only.
Advanced criminal investigation techniques focusing on criminal profiling, DNA, forensic aspects of firearms examination, arson and explosives, illicit drugs and toxicology. Investigating violent deaths, sexual crimes and ritualistic crimes including autopsy/coroner investigations. Bloodstain pattern interpretation, forensic pathology and forensic psychology will also be
addressed.
JUS 333 Careers in Criminal Justice (3credits)
Prerequisites: JUS 101 and sophmore standing.
Taught: Variable, check with department.
Overview of various career options and career planning in criminal justice.
JUS 339 Applied Corrections (3 credits)
Prerequisites: JUS 101 and sophmore standing.
Taught: Spring only.
This course is designed to provide the students with experience in providing correctional options for offenders. Specific topics will include: the assessment of offenders, what works and what doesn’t in reducing recidivism among offenders, and examining substance abusing offenders in a correctional context.
JUS 351 Financial Investigations (3 credits)
Prerequisites: JUS 101 and sophmore standing.
Taught: Spring only.
An examination of the history, scope, and method of control of organized and white collar crime. Cultural and social implications are explored.
JUS 400 Juvenile Justice (3 credits)
Prerequisites: JUS 101 and sophmore standing.
Taught: Fall only.
Structure and format of the juvenile justice system; police, courts, and corrections; analysis and description of the organizational structure of each of the subsystems of the justice process; introduction to juvenile justice research findings.
JUS 401 Correctional Rehabilitation (3credits)
Prerequisites: JUS 101 and sophmore standing.
Taught: Fall only.
An overview of correctional coun-seling strategies and techniques; theoretical frameworks; diagnostic and classification schemes; principles of confidentiality; characteristics of program effectiveness.
JUS 402 Alternatives to Incarceration (3 credits)
Prerequisites: JUS 101 and sophmore standing.
Taught: Fall only.
A multidisciplinary approach to studying alternatives to incarceration. The history of probation, parole, and the emergence of intermediate sanctions are explored. Topics include boot camps, electronic monitoring, drug courts, halfway houses, intensive supervision. Finally, empirical research evaluating the effectiveness of these alternatives will be discussed.
JUS 403 Crime and Public Policy (3 credits)
Prerequisites: JUS 101 and Sophomore standing.
Taught: Spring only.
Crime as a political issue, political ideology and response to crime, lawbreaking as political protest and political violence; political trials; legislation or morality.
JUS 404 Evidence Preparation and Courtroom Testimony (3 credits)
Prerequisites: JUS 101 and sophmore standing.
Taught: Spring only.
Criminal justice professional's role in collection, analysis, and preparation of evidence for criminal trials and hearings; establishing witness credibility in hearings, trials, depositions; knowledge of federal and state laws, and court decisions governing expert witness status; presenting evidence and testimony at criminal hearings.
JUS 405 Crime Prevention (3 credits)
Prerequisites: JUS 101 and sophmore standing.
Taught: Fall only.
This course overviews methods of crime prevention (approaches outside the confines of the CJS). Theory and research related to neighborhood, school, and other situational efforts of crime prevention are explored providing an understanding of the objectives and effectiveness of various crime prevention strategies.
JUS 408 Victims and Crime (3 credits)
Prerequisites: JUS 101 and sophmore standing.
Taught: Spring only.
Examines crime victims from the theoretical perspective to the delivery of services. Foundation information includes victim data sources, crime victims' rights and victim typologies. Student explore victim service agencies, including volunteer, internship and employment opportunities in the public and non-profit sector.
JUS 409 Alternative Dispute Resolution (3 credits)
Prerequisites: JUS 101 and sophmore standing.
Taught: Spring only.
Victim/offender mediation and related strategies; principles of restorative justice including restitution, reconciliation, and empowerment; negotiation techniques and mediator styles; history and organization of mediation programs.
JUS 428 Crime Across the Life Course (3 credits)
Prerequisites: JUS 101 and sophmore standing.
Taught: Spring only.
The life course paradigm includes examination of sociology, psychology, and behavioral genetics to investigate the initiation, escalation, duration, and termination of the criminal career. The importance of genetics and biology, abuse in infancy and childhood, the role of parents and peers in adolescence, and the causes of deescalation will be discussed in examining the offending trajectory and turning points of criminals.
JUS 429 Women in Criminal Justice (3 credits)
Prerequisites: JUS 101 and sophmore standing.
Taught: Fall only.
This course will address women in the criminal justice system. Topics covered include: explanation of patriarchy and feminist theories, history of and women as employees in the criminal justice system, female crime theories, female crime and victimization, the response to their crime and victimization by the criminal justice system including programs intended to prevent violence and treat victims and offenders of crime.
JUS 494 Seminar: Justice Studies (3 credits)
Prerequisites: JUS 101 and sophmore standing.
Taught: Variable, check with department.
Intensive study of a specific topic or issue in criminal justice. Topics vary as new issues arise. May be repeated when topics vary.
JUS 496 Internship: Justice Studies (1-6 credits)
Prerequisites: JUS 101; sophomore standing; 3
additional semester hours of justice studies
coursework; and consent of intern coordinator.
Taught: Fall and spring.
Supervised field-work in one of four areas: (1) law enforcement, (2) courts and law, (3) corrections, or (4) support services. Offered on a pass/fail basis.
JUS 499 Readings: Justice Studies (1-3 credits)
Prerequisites: JUS 101; sophomore standing; 3 additional semester hours of justice studies coursework.
Taught: Variable, check with department.
Specialized reading or primary research interests completed through independent study at the direction of a specific instructor. May be repeated as projects vary. A maximum of six hours can be used toward the major or minor in criminal justice.