INTRODUCTION TO CRIMINAL JUSTICE
March 2010 (09/54)
Online Course Syllabus
History and development of major components of the criminal justice system.
police, courts, prosecution, defense, institutional and community corrections, and the juvenile
I. Overview and Course Goals
Welcome to Introduction to Criminal Justice online!
Material in this course is presented from
a legal, criminological, historical, and social systems perspective.
These different views will
help students develop an understanding of the derivation and mechanical operation of each
phase of a criminal case.
We also take a look at the personnel involved, the justice process
from investigation to arrest, court motions and procedures, the trial, appeal process,
punishment, and alternative sentencing.
The student should, upon course completion, be able
to explain how our criminal justice system evolved, how it presently operates, current
problems and concerns with the system, and how it might be improved.
Each week we will focus on different issues encountered within the criminal justice system.
Through online discussion assignments, quizzes, and dropbox assignments, we examine
criminal justice issues, procedures, and court decisions that have molded and changed our
criminal justice system.
These are reinforced and expanded in readings from Criminal
Justice Today 10,
During Week 1:
Discussion: For the first On-Line Discussion Assignment, students will introduce themselves
to the class and tell us what you would like to be doing career-wise in five years.
Dropbox: Important information from the Syllabus that will help students do well in this class.
During Week 2:
Discussion: Hate Crime and Elder Abuse issues
Dropbox: Uniform Crime Report (UCR), National Crime Victim Survey (NCVS), and
National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) programs.