Introduction to Criminal Justice 2013/2014
Great Path Academy
Instructor: Ms. Gillies
Email: [email protected] Telephone: 860-512-3743
Office: GPA 231
Office hours: Block 1A and Block 1B
Course Description:
Introduction to Criminal Justice is a survey of the history and philosophy of American justice concepts with an emphasis on present day practical application through the efforts of the law enforcement, court and correction segments of the criminal justice system.
Course Objectives:
Course Policies:
All of Great Path Academy’s rules and expectations are enforced in Ms. Gillies’ classroom.
These policies are reviewed at the beginning of each quarter and consistently enforced throughout the school year. Each student is expected to know, understand and follow these policies.
Attendance:
Prompt daily attendance is expected. All students must be seated in the classroom and prepared to learn when the bell rings. Additionally, if a student is aware of up-coming absences, it is her/his responsibility to inform Ms. Gillies before the absence and arrange make-up or alternative work. A friend in class is helpful to collect materials and information if you are absent.
Classroom Behavior:
You are a member of a community of learners. For any community to thrive, certain concepts must be embraced. In our community, I expect the following general behavior of all students.
Respect: All students will respect themselves, their community members and their learning environment.
Responsibility: All students must accept responsibility for themselves and their actions. Safety: All students will follow all rules and directions in order to maintain a safe learning
environment.
Late Work:
All assignments must be completed on the scheduled due date. Unless otherwise noted, assignments are collected at the beginning of the class period. 10% will be deducted each day that the assignment is late.
v You are responsible for your academic progress and communication with Ms. Gillies about problems or struggles is expected from you.
Active participation and preparedness:
Class participation is essential in this course. The active engagement of everyone in the class is central to create a learning atmosphere that is significant to your success. Students will be called upon to discuss the text, current events, presentation topics and other course materials. In order to participate effectively, students must be prepared for class! Students are expected to not merely recite material read, but to lead our thinking about it. Don’t be concerned or embarrassed about making mistakes; we often learn more from our mistakes than from being right the first time.
Academic Integrity:
An academically honest student submits for evaluation only such work, including tests, papers, reports, presentations or ideas that have been written, performed or created solely by that student.
On those occasions when the stated rules of a course permit collaborative efforts, the contributions of other individuals and sources should be appropriately acknowledged. It is, at all times, the responsibility of the student to maintain conduct consistent with the concept and definition of academic integrity, including not only the avoidance of plagiarism, but also other actions further outlined under College Policies in the Student Handbook.
Grading by Quarter
Participation (expected each class) 10% Homework (given daily) 15% Quizzes (3 per quarter) 20% Tests (at least one per quarter) 30% Research papers (one per quarter) 25%
Total: 100%
Course Outline:
Quarter One: Crime in America
Unit 1: What is Criminal Justice?
ØHow have both the social and economic conditions of the last half of the twentieth century impacted the American experience with crime?
ØHow does criminal justice relate to wider notions of equity and fairness in America? ØHow do multiculturalism and diversity impact the practice of criminal justice in
contemporary American society? Unit 2: The Crime Picture
ØHow has the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program been altered by the ongoing implementation of the National Incident-Based Reporting System?
ØHow and why is crime categorized?
Plagiarism is the act of taking someone else’s idea, writing or work, and passing it off as one’s own. If you fail to give credit to the source of the material, whether directly quoted or put in your own words, this lack of credit constitutes plagiarism. Whether you take, buy or receive material from the Internet, from a book, from another student or from any other source, and you fail to give credit, you are stealing ideas; you are engaged in plagiarizing. Plagiarism is a serious violation of academic standards and has serious academic consequences for the student.
Unit 3: Criminal Law
ØHow does the “rule of law” affect the social, economic and political stability in the United States?
ØHow does the American legal system categorize criminal defense? Quarter Two: Policing
Unit 4: Policing: Purpose and Organization
Ø How do the basic principles of policing differ among democratic societies?
ØHow has policing developed in American society?
ØHow do community and traditional policing differ?
ØHow does the practice of police discrimination affect officers, their departments and
policing as a whole?
Unit 5: Policing: Legal Aspects
ØHow do the Bill of Rights and democratically inspired legal restraints on the police help ensure personal freedoms in our society?
ØHow do legal understandings of “arrest” differ from popular depictions of the arrest process?
ØHow have the Miranda warning requirements been affected by recent U.S Supreme Court rulings?
Unit 6: Policing: Issues and Challenges
ØHow has the police working personality relate to the police subculture?
ØHow has the terrorist attacks affected American policing today?
ØWhy has racial profiling become a significant issue in policing today?
ØWhat is the social significance of the ethnic and gender differences characterized in
policing today?
MIDTERM – 10% of semester grade
Quarter Three: Adjudication Unit 7: The Courts
Ø How did the American court system develop?
Ø How do the state and federal court systems differ in America?
Unit 8: The Courtroom
ØWho are the professional members of a courtroom and how do they contribute function of a courtroom?
ØWhat is the purpose of a criminal trial? Unit 9: Sentencing
ØWhat are the goals of contemporary criminal sentencing and how might they vary due to the offense?
ØHow have victim’s rights and services changed over time in American society?
Quarter Four: Corrections
Unit 10: Probation, Parole and Community Corrections
ØHow are probation and parole changing within our American justice system? Unit 11: Prisons and Jails
ØWhat role do both jails and prisons play in the American corrections system and what issues do they individually face today?
Unit 12: Prison Life
ØHow do prison subcultures influence prison life?
ØHow do women’s prisons differ from men’s?
ØWhat are some of the major issues that prison’s face today and what new issues might the
future bring?
Final Exam - 10% of semester grade
Final Note
Throughout the year we will have several guest appearances made by GPA’s own Officer Pagel!!
Great Path Academy
Instructor: Ms. Gillies
Email: [email protected] Telephone: 860-512-3743
Office: GPA 231
Office hours: Block 1A and Block 1B
Course Description:
Introduction to Criminal Justice is a survey of the history and philosophy of American justice concepts with an emphasis on present day practical application through the efforts of the law enforcement, court and correction segments of the criminal justice system.
Course Objectives:
- Describe the operation of the criminal justice system for adults beginning with the police investigation and ending with an acquittal or termination of the sanctions upon a finding of guilt.
- Explain the appellate process for contesting the fairness of the criminal justice process.
- Explain the relationship between the criminal justice process and the larger society within
which it operates.
- Describe the historical evolution of our system of justice.
- Argue the “pros” and “cons” of many of the controversial issues related to criminal
justice (e.g. death penalty, due process, etc.) Articulation:
Introduction to Criminal Justice is a yearlong articulated course which runs in correlation with Manchester Community College’s CJS 101: Introduction to Criminal Justice. In order to receive college credit for this course, you must receive a grade of B or better for the year. Since this is an articulated course it will be taught with the intensity of a college course and each student will be expected to perform on a college ready level.
Course Materials:
Schmalleger, Frank. Criminal Justice: A Brief Introduction (9th ed): Pearson Education, 2012.
Course Policies:
All of Great Path Academy’s rules and expectations are enforced in Ms. Gillies’ classroom.
These policies are reviewed at the beginning of each quarter and consistently enforced throughout the school year. Each student is expected to know, understand and follow these policies.
Attendance:
Prompt daily attendance is expected. All students must be seated in the classroom and prepared to learn when the bell rings. Additionally, if a student is aware of up-coming absences, it is her/his responsibility to inform Ms. Gillies before the absence and arrange make-up or alternative work. A friend in class is helpful to collect materials and information if you are absent.
Classroom Behavior:
You are a member of a community of learners. For any community to thrive, certain concepts must be embraced. In our community, I expect the following general behavior of all students.
Respect: All students will respect themselves, their community members and their learning environment.
Responsibility: All students must accept responsibility for themselves and their actions. Safety: All students will follow all rules and directions in order to maintain a safe learning
environment.
Late Work:
All assignments must be completed on the scheduled due date. Unless otherwise noted, assignments are collected at the beginning of the class period. 10% will be deducted each day that the assignment is late.
v You are responsible for your academic progress and communication with Ms. Gillies about problems or struggles is expected from you.
Active participation and preparedness:
Class participation is essential in this course. The active engagement of everyone in the class is central to create a learning atmosphere that is significant to your success. Students will be called upon to discuss the text, current events, presentation topics and other course materials. In order to participate effectively, students must be prepared for class! Students are expected to not merely recite material read, but to lead our thinking about it. Don’t be concerned or embarrassed about making mistakes; we often learn more from our mistakes than from being right the first time.
Academic Integrity:
An academically honest student submits for evaluation only such work, including tests, papers, reports, presentations or ideas that have been written, performed or created solely by that student.
On those occasions when the stated rules of a course permit collaborative efforts, the contributions of other individuals and sources should be appropriately acknowledged. It is, at all times, the responsibility of the student to maintain conduct consistent with the concept and definition of academic integrity, including not only the avoidance of plagiarism, but also other actions further outlined under College Policies in the Student Handbook.
Grading by Quarter
Participation (expected each class) 10% Homework (given daily) 15% Quizzes (3 per quarter) 20% Tests (at least one per quarter) 30% Research papers (one per quarter) 25%
Total: 100%
Course Outline:
Quarter One: Crime in America
Unit 1: What is Criminal Justice?
ØHow have both the social and economic conditions of the last half of the twentieth century impacted the American experience with crime?
ØHow does criminal justice relate to wider notions of equity and fairness in America? ØHow do multiculturalism and diversity impact the practice of criminal justice in
contemporary American society? Unit 2: The Crime Picture
ØHow has the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program been altered by the ongoing implementation of the National Incident-Based Reporting System?
ØHow and why is crime categorized?
Plagiarism is the act of taking someone else’s idea, writing or work, and passing it off as one’s own. If you fail to give credit to the source of the material, whether directly quoted or put in your own words, this lack of credit constitutes plagiarism. Whether you take, buy or receive material from the Internet, from a book, from another student or from any other source, and you fail to give credit, you are stealing ideas; you are engaged in plagiarizing. Plagiarism is a serious violation of academic standards and has serious academic consequences for the student.
Unit 3: Criminal Law
ØHow does the “rule of law” affect the social, economic and political stability in the United States?
ØHow does the American legal system categorize criminal defense? Quarter Two: Policing
Unit 4: Policing: Purpose and Organization
Ø How do the basic principles of policing differ among democratic societies?
ØHow has policing developed in American society?
ØHow do community and traditional policing differ?
ØHow does the practice of police discrimination affect officers, their departments and
policing as a whole?
Unit 5: Policing: Legal Aspects
ØHow do the Bill of Rights and democratically inspired legal restraints on the police help ensure personal freedoms in our society?
ØHow do legal understandings of “arrest” differ from popular depictions of the arrest process?
ØHow have the Miranda warning requirements been affected by recent U.S Supreme Court rulings?
Unit 6: Policing: Issues and Challenges
ØHow has the police working personality relate to the police subculture?
ØHow has the terrorist attacks affected American policing today?
ØWhy has racial profiling become a significant issue in policing today?
ØWhat is the social significance of the ethnic and gender differences characterized in
policing today?
MIDTERM – 10% of semester grade
Quarter Three: Adjudication Unit 7: The Courts
Ø How did the American court system develop?
Ø How do the state and federal court systems differ in America?
Unit 8: The Courtroom
ØWho are the professional members of a courtroom and how do they contribute function of a courtroom?
ØWhat is the purpose of a criminal trial? Unit 9: Sentencing
ØWhat are the goals of contemporary criminal sentencing and how might they vary due to the offense?
ØHow have victim’s rights and services changed over time in American society?
Quarter Four: Corrections
Unit 10: Probation, Parole and Community Corrections
ØHow are probation and parole changing within our American justice system? Unit 11: Prisons and Jails
ØWhat role do both jails and prisons play in the American corrections system and what issues do they individually face today?
Unit 12: Prison Life
ØHow do prison subcultures influence prison life?
ØHow do women’s prisons differ from men’s?
ØWhat are some of the major issues that prison’s face today and what new issues might the
future bring?
Final Exam - 10% of semester grade
Final Note
Throughout the year we will have several guest appearances made by GPA’s own Officer Pagel!!