Criminal Justice (CRJU)
CRJU 1001 Intro Criminal Justice
CRJU 1100 Intro Criminal Justice
Prerequisite: None.
Credit Hours: (3-0-3).
This course is designed to help students to develop an analytical understanding of the criminal justice system by means of a thorough study of Law Enforcement, Courts, and Corrections. The course begins with a brief review of the U.S. Constitution, emphasizing its role as the basis for American Criminal Justice.
CRJU 2001 Intro Law Enforcement
Prerequisite: CRJU 1100 or permission of instructor.
Credit Hours: (3-0-3).
This course introduces the background and history of law enforcement. Topics include organization, administration, and duties of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies; history and philosophy of law enforcement; practices and problems in law enforcement; and the emerging concepts in law enforcement.
CRJU 2003 Introduction to Corrections
Prerequisite: CRJU 1100 or permission of instructor.
Credit Hours: (3-0-3).
This course provides an introduction to the American Correctional System. Topics include the history of corrections, correctional facilities, problems in corrections, probation, parole, pre-release programs, alternative sentencing, rehabilitation, community relations and involvement, legislation, staffing, and employment.
CRJU 2005 Intro Crim Investigation
Prerequisite: CRJU 1100 or permission of instructor.
Credit Hours: (3-0-3).
This course introduces the historical evolution of the criminal investigation process. Topics include basic investigation concepts, methods of police investigations, note taking and reporting, crime scene focal points, interviewing and interrogations, and Uniform Crime Reporting of major crimes in the United States.
CRJU 2010 Intro Criminal Law
Prerequisite: CRJU 1100 or permission of instructor.
Credit Hours: (3-0-3).
This course is designed to help students to develop an analytical understanding of criminal law by means of a thorough study of the nature and history of criminal law, criminal liability, offenses, and defenses. Emphasis is placed on state criminal laws, but federal criminal laws are introduced.
CRJU 2100 Intro Law Enforcement
CRJU 2200 The Judicial Process
Credit Hours: (3-0-3)
This course provides and overview of the judicial component of the criminal justice system which focuses on the structure, role, jurisdiction, and operation of the courts and the courtroom workgroup in the adjudicatory and appellate process at the local, state, and federal levels.
CRJU 3100 Criminal Law
Prerequisite: CRJU 1000
Credit Hours: (3-0-3)
This course offers an overview of both substantive and procedural law related to the definitions, investigations, processing, and punishment of crimes. The course will introduce students to the legal idea of criminal responsibility, the concept and elements of criminal responsibility, required state of mind (mens rea), and prohibited conduct (actus reus). The course discusses the substantive content, structure, and sources of major crimes against persons and property and provides a comprehensive evaluation of various legal defenses to criminal liability under both common law (case law) and statutory law (legislative law) approaches.
CRJU 3110 Criminal Procedure
Prerequisite: CRJU 1000
Credit Hours: (3-0-3)
This course is a study of the nature and function of the law regulating the criminal processes, policies, and procedures in the administration of criminal justice. Special attention will be given to United States Supreme Court decisions.
CRJU 3200 Criminology
Prerequisite: CRJU 1100
Credit Hours: (3-0-3)
This course is a study of the nature and scope of crime in society with an emphasis on criminology theories.
CRJU 3250 Crime and Media
Prerequisite: CRJU 1100
Credit Hours: (3-0-3)
This course analyzes the role the mass media has on human behavior; subsequently affecting human judgement, attitudes, perceptions of crime, and societal reactions to crime in general. This course analyzes how the general public processes the "criminal event" and other pertinent information regarding crime; and how this process is fundamentally derived from the media and an instrumental element in the creation of "fear of crime." A fundamental question we will address this semester is: whether the mass media plays a significant role in the interpretation of criminality and our criminal justice system.
CRJU 3300 Corrections
Prerequisite: CRJU 1100
Credit Hours: (3-0-3)
This course is a study of the history, structure, and functions of corrections as well as the legal and philosophical basis for the punishment of criminal offenders.
CRJU 3350 Drugs in America
Prerequisite: CRJU 1100
Credit Hours: (3-0-3)
This course explores and analyzes the complex experience of illicit drug use in America from multiple angles with specific attention to the ways that our culture understands drugs, drug use, and drug policy as a social/criminal justice problem. Topics include punishment, interdiction, prevention, and or rehabilitation.
CRJU 3400 Juvenile Delinquency & Justice
Prerequisite: CRJU 1000
Credit Hours: (3-0-3)
This course reviews the juvenile justice system, including the impact of Supreme Court decisions, and examines the theories of juvenile delinquency and the implication of those theories for preventing and controlling juvenile deviance.
CRJU 3500 Criminal Investigation
Prerequisite: CRJU 1100
Credit Hours: (3-0-3)
This course is an overview of principles, techniques, law and procedure involved in the criminal investigative process from its inception to culmination.
CRJU 3501 Criminal Investigations II
Prerequisite: CRJU 3500
Hours: (3-0-3)
Continues information introduced in CRJU 3500, with special focus on the investigation of the crimes of burglary, robbery, forgery, homicide, assault, and bombings. Providing testimony in court, assessing modus operandi, and developing personality profiles will be examined, as well as obtaining fingerprints and other types of latent evidence.
CRJU 3600 Crim Justice Administration
Prerequisite: CRJU 1100
Hours: (3-0-3)
Introduction to criminal justice management theory, practice, and policy. This course includes a review of traditional schools or organizational theory, including bureaucracy, scientific management, human relations, and the behavioral approach, with particular emphasis on how each applies to criminal justice agencies.
CRJU 3700 Crim Just Research Methodology
Prerequisite: CRJU 3200
Hours: (3-0-3)
An introduction to criminal justice research methodologies, with a focus on research design, ethical concerns, conceptualization, sampling, data analysis, interpretation of research results, report writing, and application of research findings.
CRJU 3710 Mass Violence in America
Prerequisite: CRJU 1100
Credit Hours: (3-0-3)
This is a special topics course examining the phenomenon of mass violence within the United States during the 20th and 21st centuries. Topics include the historical content, offender and event typologies, antecedent warning behaviors, and theories behind acts of mass violence.
CRJU 3800 Race, Ethnicity, & Crim Just
Prerequisite: CRJU 1100
Credit Hours: (3-0-3)
This course addresses the racial impact of criminal laws enacted by the people's elected representatives, the actions and policies of law enforcement agencies, the courts, correctional institutions, the juvenile justice system, and the death penalty. It raises awareness and promotes critical thinking about the problems that exist in our system, how those problems originated and evolved, and possible solutions for these problems.
CRJU 3810 Victimology
Prerequisite: CRJU 1100
Credit Hours: (3-0-3)
This course addresses the physical, emotional, and financial impact of crime victimization; the relationship between victims and offenders; how the criminal justice system interacts with crime victims; and the policies designed by the government to offer assistance to individuals who are victimized by crime. The course raises awareness and promotes critical thinking and problem solving about the most effective strategies for interaction with crime victims, the measurement of crime victimization, and victim trends.
CRJU 4000 Internship in Criminal Justice
Prerequisite: CRJU 1100
Credit Hours: 0-12-3
Supervised practical experience in an appropriate criminal justice agency. This course allows students the opportunity to discover the integration between theory and practice. This course may be taken three times for a total of nine hours of credit.
CRJU 4110 Law of Crim Evidence
Prerequisite: CRJU 1100
Credit Hours: (3-0-3)
This course is an examination of the rules of evidence used in criminal prosecutions, including burden of proof, presumptions, inferences and stipulations, relevancy of evidence and competency of witnesses, expert testimony, hearsay, and constitutional limitations.
CRJU 4200 Profiling The Serial Offender
Prerequisite: CRJU 1100
Credit Hours: (3-0-3)
This course is an examination of the type and patterns of crimes committed by serial offenders and the process by which profiles are developed to solve these crimes. This course is designed for those students interested in developing the insight necessary to understand serial criminal offending. Students will learn why studying serial offenders is important, the history of crime profiling, and the process associated with developing a criminal profile. Students will also be exposed to theoretical perspectives that help explain how one becomes a serial offender, and the various types of serial offenders (e.g. serial killers, mass murderers, cult killers, rapists, stalkers, etc.) Students will learn about the various offender typologies and will analyze actual cases throughout the course.
CRJU 4210 Terrorism & Crim Just System
Prerequisite: CRJU 1100
Hours: (3-0-3) An examination of the motives and actions of terrorists, the governmental response to terrorism, especially in the wake of 9/11, and the legal and constitutional restraints on the government. Included will be issues such as surveillance of American citizens, detention of suspected terrorists, enemy combatants, limits on the methods of interrogation, and use of military tribunals.
CRJU 4300 Community Correction
Credit Hours: (3-0-3)
This course is an examination of alternatives to incarceration. Special emphasis will be given to the issues of probation and parole, as well as diversion, community service, electronic monitoring, and various treatment programs.
CRJU 4350 Family Violence
Credit Hours: (3-0-3)
This course explores a range of crimes that occur in the family setting, including violence between intimate partners, child abuse, and neglect. Theoretical factors, as well as how the criminal justice system responds to both victims and perpetrators of family violence, will be examined.
CRJU 4500 Management of Forensics
Credit Hours: (3-0-3)
This course concerns the scientific investigation of crime with emphasis on the collection, analysis, comparison, and identification of physical evidence.
CRJU 4600 Police Problems & Practices
Prerequisite: CRJU 1100
Credit Hours: (3-0-3)
This course is an advanced examination of policing, exploring topics including the police subculture, the police use of discretion, the broken-windows approach, community policing, and problem-solving approaches.
CRJU 4700 Ethical Issues in CRJU
Prerequisite: CRJU 1100
Credit Hours: (3-0-3)
This course is an examination of the philosophical theories underlying ethics and how they relate to issues involving the police, courts, corrections, law, and principles of justice.
CRJU 4800 Sr Capstone Seminar in CRJU
Prerequisite: CRJU 1100, CRJU 3700, and 45 credit hours of upper level criminal justice courses and senior standing.
Credit Hours: (3-0-3)
This course serves as the comprehensive experience in criminal justice utilizing the student's knowledge and academic skills, including pursuing archival research, journal keeping, note taking and report writing to address a topic or issue of contemporary interest in criminal justice or one of its sub-fields. The course will be taught at the senior level and will focus on criminal justice issues at the national or international levels. In addition to the course requirements, students will complete a major research paper to be submitted at the end of the course. Criminal Justice majors must pass with a "C" or better. This course serves as a capstone course for criminal justice majors.