Policing Theory And Practice –

cja333

(3 credits)

This course is designed to provide students the opportunity to gain a better understanding of policing in the United States. It offers the foundations of policing, from police roles to the issues that police officers are facing today.

This undergraduate-level course is 5 weeks. To enroll, speak with an Enrollment Advisor.

Topics and Objectives

The Role of Police in Our Society
- Understand the difference between perceptions, media portrayals and reality.
- Discuss role conflicts.
- Describe the development of the police role in the United States.
- Identify means of controlling the police role.
Policing from a Systems Perspective
- Analyze policing from a systems perspective.
- Identify the components of the police system and its subsystems.
- Examine the interactions of police with other components of the criminal justice system.
Patrol
- Understand patrol as a division and as a function.
- Analyze how the patrol component is organized and how services are delivered.
- Identify and describe the activities and dominant features of patrol.
Criminal Investigations and Other Support Units
- Understand criminal investigations as a division and as a function.
- Identify the phases of preliminary and follow-up investigations.
- Recognize investigative tools.
- Examine support units and the need for them.
Organization and Management
- Understand organizational theories and their application to police agencies.
- Identify the elements and characteristics of an organization.
- Recognize the importance of management.
- Describe the elements of accountability.
- Analyze the implications of policy and change.
Police and the Law
- Explain the general relationship of policing and the law.
- Recognize the relationship of the police to the U.S. Constitution.
- Identify constitutional amendments related to policing and describe their relationship to policing.
- Define corruption and its related components.
The Use of Discretion
- Define discretion.
- Analyze typical uses of discretion.
- Identify the sources of discretion.
- Examine methods for control of the use of discretion.
Relating to the Community
- Define police-community relations.
- Identify special groups and explain their interactions with police.
- Recognize the difference between perceptions and evidence of certain police behaviors.
- Discuss the effects of the media and police-community relations (PCR) units.
Community-Oriented Policing
- Define community-oriented policing (COP).
- Identify the various funding sources for COP.
- Discuss the implementation of COP.
- Recognize barriers to the success of COP.
Quality Police Personnel
- Identify police officer selection criteria.
- Examine the issues related to police officer training.
- Analyze career paths available to police officers.
Female Police Officers
- Examine the role development of women in policing.
- Identify obstacles and barriers for female police officers.
- Discuss the "firsts" and future of women in policing.
The Personality of Police Officers
- Examine why people become police officers.
- Discuss attitudes and personality changes in police officers.
- Analyze the issues of stress and the police subculture.
- Identify and describe styles of policing.
Current and Future Issues
- Identify the issues associated with the use of force.
- Understand health issues faced by police.
- Discuss possible future changes in laws.
- Examine current and future roles of technology and its implications for policing.
- Identify the elements of professionalism as it applies to police officers.
- Identify the role of police in defending the homeland.

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.

Policing Theory And Practice –

cja333

The Role of Police in Our Society

Policing from a Systems Perspective

Patrol

Criminal Investigations and Other Support Units

Organization and Management

Police and the Law

The Use of Discretion

Relating to the Community

Community-Oriented Policing

Quality Police Personnel

Female Police Officers

The Personality of Police Officers

Current and Future Issues

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