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Foundations Of Criminal Justice –

cja303

(3 credits)

This course is a survey of the criminal justice system, including the agencies and processes involved in the administration of criminal justice. It provides an overview of police, prosecution, courts, and the correctional system. The problems of the administration of justice in a democratic society are also discussed.
This undergraduate-level course is 5 weeks. To enroll, speak with an Enrollment Advisor.

  • What is Criminal Justice?

    • Identify the major components of the criminal justice system and provide an overview of the criminal justice process.
    • Recognize the different perspectives of individual rights and public-order advocates.
    • Differentiate between the consensus and conflict models of the criminal justice process.

  • Statistics

    • Explain the differences between major crime reporting programs in the United States.
    • Describe crime rates, arrest rates, and clearance rates in the United States.

  • Causes of Crime

    • Explain the manner in which theories of crime are constructed.
    • Identify the major theories of criminal behavior.

  • Criminal Law

    • Discuss modern criminal law, including its sources.
    • Recognize the types of defenses that may be acceptable under the United States legal system.

  • Policing and Police Issues

    • Recognize the role of the police in contemporary society and be familiar with concepts such as community policing.
    • Examine the issues facing police departments in today's society, including the legal constraints faced by the police.

  • Media Portrayal of Crime and Criminal Justice

    • Explore the influence of media on public perception of crime.
    • Assess the role of politics and entertainment in selective media coverage.
    • Evaluate the causes of inaccurate reporting.

  • The Courts and the Criminal Trial

    • Outline the dual court system in the United States.
    • Describe the historical development of United States courts.

  • Sentencing

    • List the goals of criminal sentencing.
    • Identify the alternatives available to today's sentencing authorities.

  • Community Corrections

    • Distinguish between probation and parole and examine the purposes of each.
    • Identify the nature and purposes of community corrections.

  • Institutional Corrections

    • Discuss the history of prisons and jails in Western society.
    • Explore prison society and the nature of inmate values and roles.
    • Identify the issues facing prisons and prison administrators today.

  • The Death Penalty, the War on Drugs, and the War on Crime

    • Evaluate arguments for and against the death penalty.
    • Define and describe the War on Drugs.
    • Compare the impact of the Drug Wars to the potential impact of the drug legalization.
    • Define and describe the War on Crime.
    • Debate the influence of the criminal justice system in achieving justice and reducing crime.

  • The Future of Criminal Justice

    • Explore the issue of multinational crimes and criminal justice.
    • Identify and analyze obstacles to fighting international crime and terrorism.
    • Compare and contrast the United States' criminal justice system to other systems.
    • Examine high-technology crimes, including computer crime.
    • Recognize the terminology associated with high-tech crime and computer crime.
    • Identify some of the challenges faced by the criminal justice system in the face of modern technology.
  • The University of Phoenix reserves the right to modify courses.
  • While widely available, not all programs are available in all locations or in both online and on-campus formats. Please check with a University Enrollment Advisor.
  • Transferability of credit is at the discretion of the receiving institution. It is the student’s responsibility to confirm whether or not credits earned at University of Phoenix will be accepted by another institution of the student’s choice.

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Find out how we can help you meet your goals. Not all courses are available to residents of all states. Ask your Enrollment Advisor for details.

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