Course Syllabus

CJS 1301 – Introduction to Criminal Justice

Fall 2007
Mondays and Wednesdays 4:00-5:15pm

Katherine Polzer
Office Hours: Mondays 3:00-4:00
katiepolzer@yahoo.com

Please note that the best way to contact me is via e-mail.

Course Pre-requisites, Co-requisites, and/or Other Restrictions

No pre-requisites or co-requisites are necessary for this course.

Course Description

An overview and analysis of the major agencies, personnel, and decision-making points which
comprise the criminal justice system. Includes problems and issues confronting legislatures,
police, courts, corrections, and the community, as they respond to crime in a free society. Legal
precedents guiding the decisions of criminal justice agents are also discussed.

Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes

After completion of this course, students should be able to:

1) Illustrate the differences between the components of the criminal justice system
2) Explain how crime control policies and ideologies impact the criminal justice system
3) Analyze how Supreme Court rulings affect the components of the criminal justice system
4) Explain criminal justice responses to emerging crime problem

Assignments & Academic Calendar

Please note that the readings are due on the dates listed below

Date Description

8/20 Course Introduction, Ch 1 – The nature of crime, law and criminal justice

8/22 Ch.1- The nature of crime, law, and criminal justice

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8/27 Ch 2 – How is crime defined? How is crime measured? Crime trends, crime
patterns, “Causes” of crime and victimization

8/29 Ch 3 (pp. 66-78) – The historical development of criminal law, sources of the
criminal law, the legal definition of a crime
Ch 3 (pp 78-90) - Criminal defenses, reforming the criminal law, constitutional
criminal procedure, due process of law

9/3 LABOR DAY- CLASS CANCELLED

9/5 Ch 4 – Criminal justice in the new millennium: Terrorism, homeland security and
cyber crime

9/10 Ch 5 - Police in Society – History and Organization

9/12 Ch 6 – The Police: Role and Function

9/17 Ch 7 (pp. 176-190) – Who are the police, the police profession, police discretion

9/19 Ch 7 (pp. 190-215) – Problems of policing, Police and the rule of the law

9/24 Exam # 1

9/26 Ch 8 (pp. 218-233) – State courts, federal courts, federal and state court caseloads,
the judiciary

10/1 Ch 8 (pp. 233-246) – The prosecutor, prosecutorial discretion, defense attorney,

right to counsel, court administration

10/3 Ch 9 – Pretrial Procedures

10/8 Ch 10 (pp 274-282) – Civil rights during trial

Ch 10 (pp 282-291) – The trial process

10/10 Serial Killers Week

10/15 Serial Killers Week
10/17 Ch 11 (pp 292-301) – The history of punishment, the goals of modern sentencing,
imposing the sentence
Ch 11 (pp 301-321) – Sentencing models, how people are sanctioned, capital
punishment

10/22 Exam #2

10/24 Ch 12 – Community Sentences: Probation, Intermediate sanctions, and restorative

justice

10/29 Class Cancelled

10/31 VIDEO- TBA

11/5 Ch 13 (pp. 358 - 375) The history of correctional institutions, jails, prisons

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 Ch 13 (pp. 375-384) Alternative correctional institutions, inmate populations

11/7 Ch 14 (pp. 386-400) – Men imprisoned, women imprisoned, correctional

treatment methods
Ch 14 (pp. 400-415) – Guarding the institution, prison violence, prisoners’ rights,
leaving prison

11/12 Ch 15 (pp. 418- 429) The history of juvenile justice, establishment of the juvenile
court, juvenile justice today

11/14 Class cancelled- ASC Meeting

11/19 Ch 15 (pp. 429-446) – Police processing of the juvenile offender, the juvenile
court process, the juvenile correctional process

11/21 Class cancelled

11/26 Exam #3

Required Textbooks and Materials

Essentials of Criminal Justice (5th Ed.) Larry Siegel and Joseph Senna.
ISBN-10: 0495006025 | ISBN-13: 9780495006022

Suggested Course Materials

Supplemental readings may be distributed throughout the semester

Grading Policy

Your grade will be determined by your performance on the following:

3 in class exams (worth up to 25 points each) = 75 points
3 short response papers (worth up to 8.3 points each) = 25 points

Your final grade will be based on the following scale:

98 – 100 = A+ 77 – 79 = C+ 0 – 59 = F
94 – 97 = A 73 – 76 = C
90 – 93 = A- 70 - 72 = C-
87 – 89 = B+ 67 – 69 = D+
83 - 86= B 63 – 66 = D
80 - 82 = B- 60 – 62 = D-

Exams:
Each exam will consist of some combination of multiple choice, true/false, matching, and/or short
answer questions. Note that any material covered in the textbook, class discussions, or any
supplemental material (such as extra assigned readings, in-class movies, etc.) is “fair game”.

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Other than a pen or pencil, you will not need blue books or other materials for your exams. All
exams are closed book and closed note. The use of listening devices (MP3 players, etc.) and
electronics (including cell phones) is prohibited during testing. Anyone answering cell phone
calls, text messages, etc. during the exam will receive a 0. If you have an extreme exception,
please see me prior to the exam.

Response Papers:
Your response papers can be turned in on any class day which are not scheduled exam days. Only
one response paper may be turned in on any given day. All three of your response papers must be
turned in no later than November 7. You may not turn in a response paper on any topic once it
has been covered in class. Any papers turned in after being discussed in class will receive a grade
of 0.

You must turn in a paper based on the topic we will be discussing in class that day and should
adhere to the following format:

a) Discuss a current event (an issue that has been in the news within the past year) and relate it to
the material discussed that day. You do not have to use all the material scheduled for the day, but
rather a select portion that “fits” with your topic. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways,
but make sure you fully explain your ideas. The best papers are those that mention a few key
points and fully expand on them, rather than trying to address several issues and not expanding
enough.

b) You may not use the same current event more than once. For example, if you use Enron for
one response paper, you may not use it again.

c) The papers should be no more than two full pages and no less than a page and a half.

d) Your paper should be double-spaced, 12 point font (Times New Roman), 1” margins on all
sides.

e) Papers will only be accepted in class (no e-mailed, faxed, etc. will be accepted). You must be
present in class to turn in your paper.

f) Your papers must be written by you. If you utilize a news source, book, website, or other
source, please indicate your sources (using MLA or APA format). Sources do not count toward
your page limit. Any work turned in that is not the original work of the student will be subject to
the university’s plagiarism policy (see below) and administrative consequences.

g) Papers not adhering to these guidelines will receive a grade penalty (no exceptions).

Extra Credit:

I reserve the right to provide (or not provide) extra credit opportunities. Any extra credit
opportunities provided will be available to everyone who is in attendance the days these
opportunities are announced or distributed in class.

Course & Instructor Policies

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I expect you to:

1) Attend class regularly and to be on time for class. It is ultimately your responsibility to know
the material presented in lectures and discussions, as that is what will be covered on your exams.
If you must miss class, please make arrangements to get the notes from one of your classmates.
With the exception of attendance on exam dates and days you are turning in response papers,
attendance in this course is voluntary. However, attendance will be taken each day so that I can
track who is attending for purposes of response papers, etc. Although attendance is entirely
voluntary, if you miss a class day (regardless of the reason), you are not entitled to any
opportunities (such as extra credit, etc.) that are given to the students who do attend class on that
day.

2) Be respectful to others in the class. People are entitled to their opinions and there is not always
a “right” and “wrong”. Be prepared to see things from a point of view that is different than your
own. Anyone who is disrespectful to anyone else will be asked to leave and will lose any benefit
from being present that day (i.e. the ability to turn in response papers, extra credit opportunities,
etc.).

3) Participate in class. Not only should you actively listen to lectures and discussions, but please
also ask questions when you are unclear on something presented in class, or contribute when you
feel you can add to the discussion.

4) Read the assigned materials before each class. This will make it easier for you to follow and
understand the material when we go over it in class.

5) Be on time on scheduled exam days. Unless there is a documented reason for a missing an
exam (i.e. as documented by a doctor’s note), no make-up exams will be given. Missing an exam
for any other reason will result in a grade of 0 for that exam. If you must miss an exam day
due to an extreme illness, it is your responsibility to contact me before the time of the exam. If I
have not received notice of your circumstances by the time the exams are handed out, you will
receive a 0 on the exam and will not be able to make it up.

Academic Integrity

The faculty expects from its students a high level of responsibility and academic honesty. Because
the value of an academic degree depends upon the absolute integrity of the work done by the
student for that degree, it is imperative that a student demonstrate a high standard of individual
honor in his or her scholastic work.

Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, statements, acts or omissions related to
applications for enrollment or the award of a degree, and/or the submission as one’s own work or
material that is not one’s own. As a general rule, scholastic dishonesty involves one of the

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 following acts: cheating, plagiarism, collusion and/or falsifying academic records. Students
suspected of academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary proceedings.

Plagiarism, especially from the web, from portions of papers for other classes, and from any other
source is unacceptable and will be dealt with under the university’s policy on plagiarism (see
general catalog for details). This course will use the resources of turnitin.com, which searches the
web for possible plagiarism and is over 90% effective.

Withdrawal from Class

The administration of this institution has set deadlines for withdrawal of any college-level courses.
These dates and times are published in that semester's course catalog. Administration procedures
must be followed. It is the student's responsibility to handle withdrawal requirements from any
class. In other words, I cannot drop or withdraw any student. You must do the proper paperwork
to ensure that you will not receive a final grade of "F" in a course if you choose not to attend the
class once you are enrolled.

Incomplete Grade Policy

As per university policy, incomplete grades will be granted only for work unavoidably missed at
the semester’s end and only if 70% of the course work has been completed. An incomplete grade
must be resolved within eight (8) weeks from the first day of the subsequent long semester. If the
required work to complete the course and to remove the incomplete grade is not submitted by the
specified deadline, the incomplete grade is changed automatically to a grade of F.

These descriptions and timelines are subject to change at the discretion of the Professor.

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