Distance Learning

Courses

Introduction to Criminal Justice

Credits:  3 Prerequisite:  None
Corequisite: Satisfactory English scores to place into co-requisite remediation or higher

This is a survey course of the essential components of the criminal justice system. These components include police, courts and corrections. The interrelationships between components are illustrated. Processes and procedures within each component are reviewed. This survey course is a prerequisite to subsequent upper division courses.  Students who successfully complete CRJU 1100 will be able to:

  • Identify the three components of the criminal justice system and explain the basic function and theory of each
  • Define the role of each component of the system and its relationship to branches and levels of government.
  • Analyze and discuss crime trends on statistical data from the UCR and NCVS.
  • List and interpret constitutional guidelines applicable to criminal justice practitioners, with specific attention on the 4th-8th, and 14th Amendments.
  • Discuss the history and origins of American law enforcement.
  • Identify and discuss contemporary issues in policing.
  • Discuss and critique the adversarial concept of the court systems in the US.
  • Discuss the history of American corrections.
  • Describe and discuss the differences between jails and prisons.
  • Identify, explain, and critique the four justifications for punishment.
  • Compare and contrast the adult and juvenile justice systems in America.

Course Requirements:

  • Online Quizzes and assignments
  • Basic knowledge of computers and computer applications

Additional Requirements:

Introduction to Law Enforecment

This course is required for students majoring in criminal justice. This is a study of the philosophy and history of law enforcement at the federal, state, county and city levels. It is designed to expose students to the characteristics and operational missions of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. Special emphasis will be placed on historical influences and conflicting roles with which the profession has struggled. Students become familiar with policing goals, contemporary police organizations and methods of operations, police culture and approaches to community police and problem oriented policing.

Offered: Fall

Introduction to Criminal Law

Development of substantive criminal law.  Crimes against persons, property and public order.  Criminal procedure, constitutional basis, speech, assembly, arrest, search, self-incrimination and right to counsel, due process, and civil rights.  

Co-requisite: None

Prerequisites: Satisfactory English cores to place into co-requisite remediation or higher.  

Offered: Spring 

Intro-to Criminal Law & Procedures

This course includes an historical overview of criminal procedure including criminal procedure and common law. The Constitution’s impact on criminal procedure and the impact of the Supreme Court are included in the overview. Probable cause and the requirements of search warrants and central issues. Arrests, illegal seizures, the exclusionary rule and the appeals process are examined.

Prerequisite: CRJU 1100.

 

Introduction to Criminology

Nature, distribution and characteristics of crime and the criminal; major theories of crime causation.  

Co-requisite: None

Prerequisites: Satisfactory English cores to place into co-requisite remediation or higher.  

Offered: Spring 

Introduction to Corrections

Development of modern correctional thinking; characteristics of the correctional institution and the inmate; correctional methods in the institution and the community; the future of corrections. 

Co-requisite: None

Prerequisites: Satisfactory English cores to place into co-requisite remediation or higher.  

Offered: Fall

Report Writing and Research

This course is designed as a departmental effort to improve the writing skills of criminal justice majors, including technical and agency requirements in properly formatting reports. Students will utilize library resources, compiling bibliographies and abstracting articles.

Offered: Fall, Spring

American Corrections

This is an interdisciplinary overview of the American Correctional System. Corrections refer to the sentencing, imprisonment and treatment of offenders coming to the attention of officials in criminal justice. Topics include the history of the American Prison System; research conducted on the inmate subculture, structure and of corrections, case law on prisoner rights litigation and community based corrections.

Prerequisite: CRJU 1100.

Criminology

Criminology is the study of the amount of crime in society theories of crime causation and the origins of criminal law. Elements of corpus delicate and the different methods of measuring crime are considered. The focus of the course is on the major schools of criminology: classical school, positive school and critical school. Empirical research studies within each school will be reviewed.

Prerequisite: CRJU 1100.

Org and Admin of CRJU

This course provided an analysis of the basic principles of administration and management as they apply to criminal justice agencies. Emphasis is placed on theories of bureaucracy, exercise of power planning and models of decision making. Principles of organization are applied to police, courts and corrections.

Prerequisite: CRJU 1100.

Global Terrorism

This course will focus on worldwide terrorism as an evolving phenomenon, from both historical and contemporary viewpoints. Students will derive their own definitions of what constitutes "terrorism." and terrorists" from a wide-ranging study of the groups and individuals associated with politicized action by force and violence. In doing so, the class will attempt to arrive at a consensus regarding the effects of terrorism and the responses to it, both by governments and by citizens at large. Terrorist methods, weapons, and tactics will be examined as they relate to overall strategies and goals, and current trends will be examined in detail. Finally, each student in which past and current terror events will be reviewed and analyzed, and a forecast will be prepared (and defended of what may be expected in the future.

Prerequisite: CRJU 1100.

Offered: Spring

Survey of Juvenile Justice Sys

This course deals with ways to stem the juvenile crime trends, while simultaneously balancing constitutional and other legal issues, confront our society. Our juvenile justice system has sought to address the problem that involves the constitutional and fair processing of children and youth who violate the law. This course is designed to address these issues.

Prerequisite: CRJU 2600.

Comp Inter legal System

This course, although designed specifically for a Student Study Abroad Program, can also be offered in-residence at Albany State University. The course seeks to enhance the student's knowledge of legal theories and practices in selected countries throughout the world. It includes comparisons of different countries and their systems for responding to various legal issues and dilemmas with an emphasis on various law enforcement structures and strategies, court systems, and correctional systems.  Offered: Summer

Criminal Justice Research

This is a survey course on the methods/procedures of conducting social science research. Empirical methods utilized in sociology, psychology, economics, journalism are reviewed, sampling techniques and various approaches to hypothesis testing are emphasized.

Prerequisite: CRJU 1100 and CRJU 2400or CRJU 2900.

Research Statistics

This is a survey of descriptive and inferential statistics used in Criminal Justice research. Applications of parametric and nonparametric methods of hypothesis testing constitute the emphasis of the course. Measures of central tendency and dispersion are related to inferences to population parameters. Pearson’s Product Moment correlation, regression, analysis of variance and other tests of sample means are reviewed.

Prerequisite: CRJU 3410 and CRJU 1100 and CRJU 2400.

CRJU Ethics and Professionals

No field of professional employment is more strewn with ethical considerations than the area of criminal justice. As students leave to join the work force they must be prepared to act professionally and ethically in any number intense situations. Further, students will be exposed to concepts and ethical points are critical to the success of their professional careers. Students will leave this with an increased awareness and concern for ethical issues in criminal justice, and a firm understanding of the importance of professionalism in their efforts for career advancement. Prerequisite: CRJU 1100 and CRJU 2400

Philosophy of Law & Punishment

This course exposes students to the various philosophies that laws and systems of punishment are based on today. The history of law in society is reviewed. Due process and Crime Control philosophies are compared and contrasted. Each philosophy is applied to the various stages of criminal justice processing: arrest, trail, appeals and corrections. Various works of key philosophers in the field will be presented and discussed.

Prerequisite: CRJU 1100 and CRJU 2900.

Offered: As Needed

Drugs and Crime

Chemical dependency is correlated to a number of societal problems including crime, poverty, and unemployment. This course estimates the prevalence of drug use, types and amounts of drugs on the market, relationship between drug use and crime and various explanations of this relationship. Stages of drug dependency are reviewed. Demand and supply side approaches to the war on drugs are compared and contrasted. Demand and supply side approaches include drug testing, drug treatment programs, and other prevention activities.

Prerequisite: CRJU 1100 and CRJU 2900.

Offered: Summer

Special Topics

This course will allow students to participate in specialized classes on a variety of topics. These topics will be presented by visiting scholars, faculty completing research in specialized areas, faculty returning from sabbaticals, and exchange from other faculty from other institutions and countries. Examples of the types of courses that will be offered in CRJU 4620 are as follows: International Crime, Crime and the African American Experience, German Criminal Justice System, Computers and Crime. This course is designed to allow student’s access to the most current and diverse subject matter available to the department on a continuing basis. Course syllabi will vary from course to course.

Prerequisite: CRJU 1100 and CRJU 2400.

Offered: Summer

Foundations of Criminal Justice

A survey of the total criminal justice system including crime causation, police, courts, corrections, and juvenile delinquency, private security, research and planning.

Theory & Philosophy of CJ

This course is an overview of the history, philosophy, and practices of the criminal justice system. The course will provide an introduction to major theories of the policy making process, examines methods of policy analysis, and apply these methods to the study of contemporary criminal justice issues. Emphasis will be placed on professional ethics, the nature of law and punishment, the overview of the criminal justice system; law enforcement; court system; and how criminal justice problems are conceptualized and brought to the attention of policymakers, how policy unfolds, and how these responses are implemented, evaluated and revised overtime.

Organization & Administration

A study of theories of bureaucracy, the exercise of power, and the functional relations between police, courts, and corrections.

Research Methods

A study of theory construction, hypothesis development, operationalization, and modes of data collection

Research Statistics

An examination of parametric and non-parametric statistical methods, inferential statistics, tests of significance, and hypothesis testing. Prerequisite: CRJU 5600

Survey of Policing & Law

This course provides a comprehensive and advanced overview of the law enforcement systems in the United States focusing on local, county, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. The course will examine divergent philosophies, models and various operational systems of law enforcement agencies and allows students to gain a deeper understanding of law enforcement practices, duties, and responsibilities encountered as engaged by law enforcement professionals at various levels of operations. The course will also focus on the overlapping functions, conflicts and contradictions as well as some ethical issues and dilemmas associated with law enforcement practices and operations.

Policing in a Democratic Society

A study of the conflict between individual liberty and social control agencies, public acceptance of the order maintenance function of the police, the pros and cons of present limitations on police authority.

The Social Service Role of Criminal Justice Personnel

A study of the officer’s role in the field of social service to the community. Topics covered are human relations, social dynamics and crisis management. Police responsibilities to the elderly, juveniles and the mentally disturbed are stressed.

Law Enforcement Operations

An examination of law enforcement responsibilities and the allocations of resources to meet the role. Topics covered include managing criminal investigations, patrol operations, crime prevention, mass media relations and criminal court procedures.

Law Enforcement Managment & Planning

This course focuses on the implementation of criminal justice policies, planning, criminal justice management, decision-making and communications as basic management activities, budgetary processes and personnel management.

Foundations of Corrections

A survey of the history of punishment, prisons and penology in America. The social, intellectual and institutional environment in which corrections evolved is discussed. Analysis of the punishment experience as see by prison officials and offenders.

Administration of Psychological Test

Supervised training in the administration, scoring and interpretation of tests of intelligence, aptitude, interest and personality. Prerequisite: CRJU 5600 and CRJU 5610;

Interviewing & Counseling

An examination of the purpose and principles of effective interviewing. Analysis of individual problems and the process of problem-solving with criminal justice clients. Emphasis is placed on learning experiences to help unmotivated, involuntary clients.

Rehabilitation & Treatment

Development of frame of reference for rational treatment of offenders through description, examination and practice of treatment methods. Analysis of methods employed by correctional institutions to prepare inmates for reintegration into their environment upon release is also included.

Management of Correctional Institutions

An analysis of the organization and management of various types of correctional facilities. Focus is on personnel selection and training, legal and administrative requirements, security, maintenance, program implementation and staffing.

Thesis Seminar

The purpose of the thesis is to apply theories and techniques to relevant questions in the discipline of criminal justice. Students should pose the research question in the context of the police, the courts or corrections. The thesis topic must be approved and evaluated by the advisor.

Thesis

This course includes the analysis of data collected from appropriate research designs including computer analysis and appropriate statistical tests of significance, or a review of literature and theories or concepts that lend themselves to a thesis topic.

Technolgoy and Criminal Justice

This course familiarizes graduate students with the various uses of technology in the criminal justice system and raises ethical and legal issues with its use. Students in the non-thesis option may substitute MGMT 6205 Management Information Systems or PADM 6011 Computer Application for Public Administration.

CRJ Program Evaluation

This Course is designed to familiarize students with techniques that are utilized in evaluating the effectiveness of public programs and polices. The course is appropriate for all non-thesis graduate students. Students may substitute PADM 5823 Public Program Evaluation for the course.