BA in Criminal Justice

Prerequisite: CJCU 300.

Criminals and institutional personnel involved in corrections at all levels will be reviewed in depth. History, politics, and contemporary corrections issues such as punishment theories, sentencing alternatives, prison experience and prisoner rights, female and juvenile incarceration problems, overcrowding, and 21st century corrections will be examined.

Prerequisite: CJCU 300.

This course focuses on law enforcement and its interaction with society. Various perspectives will be explored including police subcultures, use of force and authority, selective enforcement and discretion, community reactions and media relations with police, dissent and conflict management.

The purpose of this course is to sensitize students to the issues surrounding gangs and gang behavior. Students will analyze race, gender, age and demographics of gang make up. The course provides insight into gangs and gang behavior historically and in contemporary times. Students will analyze law enforcement strategies to deter and address gang activity. Additionally, students will evaluate theories of gang behavior.

This course provides an overview of the criminal laws and sanctions specifically applied to domestic violence. Students will address various types of court proceedings including family court, juvenile court, and civil trials. They will also consider incidence, research, and theories of domestic violence and their influence on criminal justice response and intervention.

This course addresses general principles of evidence law in the United States, together with comparative study of French evidence law. Students will examine foundational principles of evidence law including materiality, relevance, competence, hearsay, judicial notice, the roles of the judge and jury, and standards of proof. Students will also analyze jurisdictional issues surrounding digital evidence and the handling of crime scene forensic evidence. The Federal Rules of Evidence serves as the framework of inquiry throughout the course.

This course studies the structure of the newest federal cabinet level agency, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in terms of prevention and response capability. It studies the capacity of the agency to respond to terrorist events, natural disasters, man-made emergencies, safety of US transportation systems and protection of US borders. It also explores the relationships, sharing and cooperation of all federal agencies in regard to intelligence gathering capability to support DHS counter-terrorism missions as well as the impact of counter-terrorism has on civil rights.