Criminal Justice Studies (CJS)

CJS 101. Introduction to the Criminal Justice Studies. (3)

Offers an overview of America's criminal justice system, with an emphasis on the development, functions, and current issues/problems facing the current criminal justice system. Course specifically focuses on the history, roles, and present state of the police, courts, and corrections. IIC. PA-2A.

CJS 177. Independent Studies. (0-6; maximum 10)

CJS 211. Policing in America. (3)

Provides students with an in-depth analysis of America's system of law enforcement. Policing course which covers: eras of law enforcement, law enforcement styles and patrols, entering and working in the police subculture, police ethics/civil liability, and the future of American law enforcement.

CJS 212. Crime Analysis. (3)

This course provides an introduction to crime analysis, including the framework of techniques, methodologies, and tools used to analyze crime data to support law enforcement agencies, criminal justice professionals, and policymakers in their decision-making efforts to reduce crime. Crime analysis helps agencies effectively allocate resources, identify crime patterns, and develop proactive strategies to enhance public safety.

CJS 220. Criminal Justice Field Experience. (3)

Students will contract with an appropriate independent agency for 120 hours of internship work. Hands-on experience within the students' chosen component of the criminal justice system, personal reflection, and opportunity for career direction will occur.
Prerequisites: CJS 101, 125 or 225, 211 and 281.

CJS 225. Law and Courts in America. (3)

Provides a critical examination of the American judicial system and legal processes. Focuses on the contextual meaning of law and justice to society and will encourage critical thinking from political, sociological, historical, and philosophical perspectives.
Prerequisite: CJS 101.

CJS 233. Free Speech: Crime,Campus,Cops. (3)

This course explores the philosophy, history, and law of expression with the goal of applying what is learned to contemporary free speech questions. Comparisons from around the world are included to provide context and depth to our understanding of free speech in the United States.
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

CJS 235. Forensic Science Survey. (3)

This survey course examines the many facets of forensic science. Students will become aware of the diversity of disciplines in which it is practiced and be introduced to typical forensic science specialities.

CJS 245. Human Trafficking and Contemporary Slavery. (3)

Overview of the trafficking and enslavement of human beings in our globalized world, including forced prostitution, child soldiers, bonded labor, and hereditary slavery. Explores the contributing roles of states, organized crime, culture (corruption, discrimination, inequality, poverty), and the media in domestic and global contexts. IIIB. PA-4C.

CJS 251. Global and Comparative Justice Exploration. (1-3; maximum 6)

Offers academic and social interactions with people of a different culture. Social activities, global and comparative research, and discussion of comparative and global criminal and civil justice issues culminate in short research reports, reflection papers, and presentations. Some of these activities occur outside of the scheduled class times. Global Justice Exploration is intended for international students who are interested in learning about the U.S. justice system and engaging in a comparison to the justice system of his or her home nation and other nations, and who are interested in having social experiences with domestic students.

CJS 256. Police Organization, Administration, and Management. (3)

Examines the structures, processes, and behaviors specific to police administration including: politics behind governing a police department, leadership and communication issues specific to the law enforcement field, and legal aspects of police administration.
Prerequisite: CJS 211.

CJS 270. Special Topics. (1-3; maximum 6)

An examination of a contemporary problem/issue in criminal justice through some combination of research, reading, discussion, and experiential learning. Topics will vary according to need and interest. This class may be repeated for credit provided different topiics are studied.

CJS 271. Introduction to Criminal Behavior. (3)

Focuses on theories of criminal behavior and activity. Provides criminal justice students with a micro level, law enforcement approach to criminal behavior. Students will be expected to learn and apply criminological theory, criminal typologies, and appropriate agency responses.

CJS 272. Forensic and Crime Scene Evidence. (3)

Focuses on crime scene evidence collection and analysis. Provides students with the definition, scope, and utilization of forensic science within the criminal justice system. Students will be expected to learn and apply crime scene processing, differentiate and analyze crime scene evidence, and understand special services provided by forensic agencies.

CJS 276. Homeland Security and Critical Incident Management. (3)

Focuses on the role of law enforcement within Homeland Security and critical incident response/management. Students are expected to critically analyze the conflict between civil liberties and civil defense within the context of Homeland Security, understand the sequence and importance of critical incident management, and learn how to effectively implement law enforcement response and prevention tactics.

CJS 277. Independent Studies. (0-6; maximum 10)

CJS 281. Corrections in America. (3)

Focuses on the historical perspectives of corrections in America, institutional corrections, and the demographics of correctional clients. Provides an overview of correctional law, ethical and moral dilemmas and key issues in corrections.

CJS 282. Writing in Criminal Justice. (3)

Focuses on developing the writing skills of students who plan to pursue a criminal justice related career and/or continued education in the field. Students are instructed on writing an academic literature review and on grant writing which can be used to help secure funding for their future agencies.

CJS 311. Punishment and Social Control. (3)

Offers an in depth discussion of social policy; including social ethics, social inequality, and social deviance. Focuses on how race, class, and gender affect the concept of punishment in America.

CJS 312. Community Corrections. (3)

Focuses on the history and development of community based corrections, the utilization of probation, parole, and intermediate sanctions, and issues related to special populations under correctional supervision. Provides a discussion of appropriate offender classification mechanisms, theories of offender treatment, and recidivism considerations used throughout the process of sentencing.

CJS 321. Criminal Justice Administration. (3)

This course will provide a critical examination of how the different agencies within the criminal judicial system (police, courts, and corrections) function and interact. Discussion will include the principles of management and administration, and their application to CJ agencies. Topics include: management, organizational theory, leadership, communication, the rights of public and private employers and employees, and the decisions making process.

CJS 331. Juvenile Law. (3)

Provides a critical examination of the major Supreme Court cases on juvenile law and society's concerns on how the law impacts youth. Discussions will include the history of juvenile system as well as the legal rights of youth within the juvenile justice process and at school.

CJS 332. Criminal Law. (3)

Examines substantive criminal law, including: elements that comprise offenses and defenses in criminal law, the process of adjudication, and primary constitutional restrictions on criminal law.
Prerequisite: CJS 101.

CJS 333. Criminal Procedure. (3)

Investigates the development and evolution of constitutional protections for American civil rights and liberties. Provides a thorough examination of U.S. Supreme Court cases and supplemental readings, with attention to the legal, historical and political influences that have shaped constitutional liberties.
Prerequisite: CJS 101.

CJS 340. Internship. (0-20)

CJS 356. Crime Prevention and Problem Solving. (3)

This course examines the theoretical bases and application of crime prevention techniques, with emphases on situational crime prevention and problem solving. Relevant theories and principles to be discussed include routine activity theory, rational choice, problem oriented policing, crime patterns, and crime prevention through environmental design. Students will complete a range of field assignments and projects, including documenting signs of disorder, and creating a photography journal featuring examples of situational crime prevention efforts in the community. Finally, the strengths, weaknesses, practicality, policy challenges, and ethics of crime prevention approaches will be assessed.

CJS 377. Independent Studies. (0-6; maximum 10)

CJS 401. Race and Criminal Justice. (3)

This course investigates the critical role that race plays in our criminal justice system. The course will provide a sociohistorical framework of the criminal justice system, the inequalities that are inherently part if its structure, as well as the effects those inequalities have on different racial/ethnic groups in the United States. This course will encourage debate on exactly how just is the U.S. criminal justice system for minority groups and people of color. The course will also employ a life course perspective to investigate criminal behavior from juvenile delinquents through adulthood. Students in this class should objectively view the racial differences in the criminal justice system and be encouraged to reduce the racialized justice system.
Prerequisites: CRE 151 and either CJS 211 or 281.
Cross-listed with CRE.

CJS 411. Evidence Law and Expert Testimony. (3)

This course examines pretrial discovery, the basic rules that govern the admissibility of evidence at trial, and in greater detail, the law that applies to scientific evidence and to expert witnesses. Practical advice and simulations intended to prepare the student to be an effective witness are included.

CJS 445. Geographic Information Systems for Criminal Justice. (3)

Collect, organize, analyze, and display spatial data used in criminal justice and emergency management. Part of the course will be a GIS Crime Analysis Product. Taught on Regional Campuses.
Cross-listed with GEO.

CJS 451. Comparative Justice Systems. (3)

A survey of the major legal traditions in world, as well as an examination of rule of law, civil rights, policing, and punishment & corrections in specific jurisdictions for the purpose of understanding how law and justice systems develop, how systems interact and converge, and how peoples from around the world approach justice. Comparisons between the United States and other nations/systems will occur with the intention of better understanding, critically assessing, and improving systems in the United States.
Prerequisite: junior or senior standing.

CJS 461. Applied Research Methods in Criminal Justice. (3)

Presents the philosophical and theoretical foundations of applied research, issues specific to research in the criminal justice system, and quantitative and qualitative data analysis. Course will culminate in the completion of an applied research project.

CJS 470. Special Topics in Criminal Justice. (1-6; maximum 9)

An examination of a contemporary problem/issue in criminal justice through some combination of research, readings, discussion, and experiential learning. Topics will vary according to need and interest. This class may be repeated for credit provided different topics are studied.

CJS 477. Independent Studies. (0-6; maximum 10)

CJS 485. Capstone: Seminar in Criminal Justice. (3)

This course synthesizes the student's learning through reading, research, and discussion of issues in the criminal justice system. Students will conduct research on a topic of their choice, will learn how to present in a professional manner, and will engage in critical analysis and interaction with other learners. All students will complete a Service-Learning project who have not done so previously. SC.

CJS 632. Legal Aspects of Justice Administration. (3)

This course provides a thorough examination of selected legal issues that arise in the administration of police organizations and corrections programs. Drawing from several scholarly literatures, CJS 632 exposes students to techniques of legal research, writing and analysis; it also equips students with extensive knowledge of the case and statutory law that governs police supervisors and corrections administrators in their day-to-day work. Major topics include tort liability of police and corrections personnel, federal civil rights law and litigation, the legal duty to train and supervise, legal restrictions on the use of force, procedural due process, collective bargaining law, constitutional rights of officers and public access to information. All students in CJS 632 complete an individualized research assignment focused on a relevant legal issue chosen in consultation with the instructor.
Prerequisite: admission to the MS in Criminal Justice or permission of instructor.

CJS 641. Crime and Place. (3)

This online course provides the theoretical framework, research findings, and policy implications relating to the occurrence of crime across time and space. Topics include measures of crime, social disorganization theory, rational choice theories of crime, the role of communities, crime prevention through nvironmental design (CPTED), situational crime prevention, crime analysis, crime mapping, and directions for future research. The course will culminate in the completion of a policy white paper.

CJS 670. Special Topics in Justice. (1-6; maximum 6)

CJS 677. Independent Studies. (0-6; maximum 10)

CJS 685. Advanced Research Methods. (3)

This course provides the methodological framework upon which criminal justice research is constructed, including how to conduct basic social science research and to be informed consumers of research. Topics include the role of research in criminal justice, ethics, measurement and concepts, sampling, research designs, survey research, qualitative research, the use of secondary data, evaluation and policy analysis, and data analysis and report writing. The course will culminate in the completion of a research proposal.

CJS 691. Project. (3; maximum 6)

Directed research and writing of professional report on a subject to be determined in consultation with student's faculty supervisor and defended before a faculty committee. Open to criminal justice graduate students who have completed at least 15 hours of courework and have the permission of the instructor.