CRJ 102 - Western Nevada College



CRJ 101

Introduction Criminal Justice I

Spring 2010

Credits: 3

Transfer: UNLV and UNR

Prerequisites: None

Instructor: Maury Reichelt, MA

Sergeant, Nevada Department of Public Safety

Phone: 684-2427

E-mail: mreichelt@dps.state.nv.us

Division Chair: Robert Morin, J.D. , Ph.D.

Office: Bristlecone 350A

Phone: 445-4401

Fax: 445-3141

E-mail: rpmorin@wnc.edu

Text: Criminal Justice Today, 10th edition, by Frank Schmalleger

Study guide for the text is highly recommended

Course Description:

Surveys the history, philosophy and functions of criminal justice system, law enforcement, criminal law and constitutional rights as they affect system functioning.

Course Objectives or Outcomes:

The primary goal of this course is to develop a general understanding of the criminal justice system’s response to crime in society. It is important to note that the general theme of this course involves the delicate balance between community interests and individual rights that criminal justice decision making requires. We will explore this theme by examining the criminal justice process in some detail, focusing on how the system is structured to respond to crime. This requires an understanding of the core elements of the criminal justice system: police, courts and corrections. It is noted the text book is covered over two classes. For this course, we will explore the criminal justice system in two parts (covering chapters 1 through 8):

Part 1: In Part 1, we will examine crime in America. We will briefly touch on the basic functions of each component of the criminal justice system, discuss the definition of crime and different kinds of crime, and then explore the causes of crime.

Part 2: This part of the course will focus on the beginning stages of the criminal justice process, exploring policing and police decision making. We will explore the history and structure of policing, police management, and legal aspects of policing.

Topical Outline

The following is a tentative schedule of material to be covered. This schedule is subject to minor changes with advance notice to students.

Week One-1/26: Review syllabus, define goals of the class and discuss policies of Western Nevada College. Address current issues in the news today.

Each student will be required to stay current on recent events in the newspaper that correspond to our class and bring in the articles for the week you feel pertinent.

Discuss expectations and answer questions concerning the up-coming semester.

Read Chapter 1

Week Two – 2/2: Discuss Chapter 1, regarding crime in the last half century, Social Justice and American Criminal Justice: and The System, American Criminal Justice.

Week Three–2/9: Discuss Chapter 1, regarding The Process, due process and individual rights, Criminal Justice and Criminology, and Multiculturalism and Diversity in Criminal Justice.

Read Chapter 2

Week Four-2/16: Discuss Chapter 2, regarding the Uniform Crime Reports.

Week Five-2/23: Discuss Chapter 2, regarding the National Crime Victimization Survey, Comparisons of the UCR and the NCVS and Special Categories of Crime.

Read Chapter 3

Week Six-3/2: Discuss Chapter 3, regarding Criminological Theory, the Classical School and Biological Theories

FIRST TEST Chapters 1 and 2

Week Seven 3/9: Discuss Chapter 3, regarding psychobiological, psychological, sociological, social process and conflict theories, and emergent perspectives.

Read Chapter 4

Week Eight-3/16: Discuss Chapter 4, regarding the nature and purpose of law, the rule of law, types of law, general categories of crime, and general features of crime.

Week Nine-3/23: Spring Break (No Class)

Week Ten-3/30 : Discuss Chapter 4, regarding elements of a specific criminal offense and types of defenses to a criminal charge.

Read Chapter 5

Week Eleven-4/6: Discuss Chapter 5 (all), regarding the historical development of the police, American law enforcement today to include federal, state and local agencies, and private protections services.

Read chapter 6

Week Twelve-4/13: Discuss Chapter 6, regarding the police mission, operational strategies and managing police departments.

SECOND TEST Chapters 3, 4 and 5

Week Thirteen-4/20: Discuss Chapter 6, regarding policing styles, discretion and the individual officer, professional ethics, ethnic and gender diversity in policing and police departments as learning organizations.

Read Chapter 7

Week Fourteen-4/27: Discuss Chapter 7, regarding the abuse of police power, individual rights, search and seizure, and arrest.

Week Fifteen-5/4: Discuss Chapter 7, and the intelligence function.

Read Chapter 8

Week Sixteen-5/11: Discuss Chapter 8 (All), regarding police personality and culture, corruption and integrity, the danger of police work, police use of force, racial profiling and biased policing and police civil liability.

Week Seventeen-5/18: THIRD AND FINAL EXAMINATION Chapters 6, 7 and 8

Simple Rules of order:

1. Talking among the students is not permitted during the lecture or video presentation. The professor is easily annoyed and will embarrass you if you insist on talking during these times.

2. Cheating and plagiarism is not permitted. Those caught cheating on an exam or plagiarism on homework can expect to be punished to the fullest extent of the college’s guidelines. These punishments may include failure on the exam, failure in the course or expulsion from the college.

3. Discussion of the material is encouraged. The professor has been known to arbitrarily increase student’s grade because they contributed to the course through discussion. This discussion should be directed at the professor, not at each other.

4. Attendance is mandatory. You cannot purchase a degree in Criminal Justice from Western Nevada College. You must earn it!

5. Late assignments will be penalized by one grade per day, unless alternative arrangements are made with the professor prior to the due date of the assignment.

6. Pagers and cellular phones will be turned off during class (No text messaging).

7. This is a three credit class. You are allowed one absence without penalty/being dropped from the class. Use it wisely. Students are encouraged to speak to the professor should a problem arise where they must miss more than one class. A role sheet will be present in class each week and it is your responsibility to sign in. If a lecture is missed it is your responsibility to get class notes from another student. So make a friend in class!

8. There are NO make-up exams or homework. You miss an exam or homework assignment, you get an ‘F’ for that particular piece of missed work. If you are unable to take an exam or turn in a homework assignment on the scheduled day, you must make arrangements with the instructor prior to the due date.

Evaluation: Course evaluation will consist of three exams. The tests will not be comprehensive. They will consist of the most recent material discussed after the previous test. Examinations may include multiple choice, short answer, fill in the blank and true/false. All material in the book may be covered whether or not explicitly mentioned in class. All exams will have an 80 minute time limit.

Grading: Grades will be assigned on the basis of the average of the three tests and the homework. 90-100% is an A, 80-89% is a B, 70-79% is a C, 60-69% is a D, and below 60% is failure. Class participation can bump up your grade.

The grading break down is as follows:

Exam #1 – 30% of total Exam #3 – 35% of total

Exam #2 – 35% of total

R: This class is rated “R”. This class contains adult language, adult situations and brief nudity. Any problems with this, you might want to drop the class now!

Follow your course syllabus closely. It will tell you the subject for discussion/lecture on a given day. Plan to spend at least three hours of outside preparation for every class session. Because student abilities vary from course to course you may need to put more time than this on your work. If you have a disability and need academic accommodation please contact Disability Services at (775) 445-3267 Carson Campus.

IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF EACH STUDENT TO READ AND UNDERSTAND THE SYLLABUS.

AND FINALLY

PLEASE UPDATE YOUR STUDENT SERVICES RECORDS, I.E.,

Phone number, address, email, etc…

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