Criminal Justice & Security Courses

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.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course explores developments and changes in the practice of criminal justice brought about by the war on terrorism, as well as rapid technological change, and other social dynamics. Specific topics include: homeland security, the police response to terrorism, police accountability, racial profiling, and the expanded participation of the community in ensuring public safety. Students also learn about how technology has altered the way crimes are committed as well as the ways that law enforcement and the communities they serve confront the problem and address emerging public safety issues.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

Criminology is an introductory course in the study of crime and criminal behavior, focusing on the various theories of crime causation. This course highlights the causes of crime, criminal behavior systems, societal reaction to crime, and criminological methods of inquiry.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

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.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This is an introductory course in the study of criminal law, general legal principles, and how the criminal law functions in and affects modern society. This course highlights a variety of key topics, including the concept of crime and the development of criminal law, defenses to criminal charges, and a number of specific types of crimes, including personal crimes, property crimes, public order crimes, and offenses against public morality. Legal issues affecting punishment will also be discussed, as will ways the criminal law impacts victims of crime.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course explores the basic core knowledge of constitutional criminal procedure. Emphasis is placed on the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendments, searches and seizures, interrogations and confessions, identifications, pre-trial and trial processes. In addition, the United States Constitution as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court is examined along with philosophical policy considerations. Application of core knowledge is developed through simulation exercises and examination of homeland security issues.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course prepares the student to communicate effectively in both written and verbal forms. The course covers best practices in investigative reporting, written reports and memos, and interpersonal verbal communication within criminal justice settings, including interactions with victims, suspects, incarcerated persons, government officials, staff, and civilians.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course is an overview of American court history, including the development of state and federal courts. Court administration, the roles of professional and non-professional courtroom participants, and stages in the process are discussed.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course is a survey of the punishment phase of the criminal justice system, including the history, evolution, and process of American corrections. It provides an overview of corrections, including the persons, agencies, and organizations that manage criminals. Jails and prisons are described, including portrayals of inmates and their characteristics, and administrative operations. Other issues examined include overcrowding, inmate rights, privatization, the emergence of community corrections, female prisoners, and juveniles.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course is a survey of the origins and development of organized crime in the United States. It examines the structure and activities of organized criminal enterprises, considers different models that have been employed to describe organized crime groups, and explores theories that have been advanced to explain the phenomenon. Major investigations of organized crime and legal strategies that have been developed to combat it are also considered.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course is a general orientation to the field of juvenile justice, including causation theories and the development of system responses to delinquent behavior. The problems facing juveniles today are addressed, and adult and juvenile justice systems are compared, including initial apprehension, referral, and preventive techniques. Specific issues examined include chemical dependency, mental illness, and compulsive and habitual offenders. Special attention is given to the problems inherent in the police handling of juveniles and the function of juvenile courts.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course explores the standards and codes of professional responsibility in criminal justice professions (e.g., Law Enforcement Code of Ethics, ABA Standards of Professional Responsibility, American Jail Association Code of Ethics for Jail Officers, and the American Correctional Association Code of Ethics). It also explores analysis and evaluation of ethical dilemmas, roles of professional organizations and agencies, ethics and community relations, ethics in criminal justice laws and procedures and civil liability in law enforcement and correctional environments.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course offers a comprehensive, critical and balanced examination of the issues of crime and justice with respect to race and ethnicity. Procedures and policy in a pluralistic and multicultural society are examined relative to law enforcement, courts and corrections environments.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

Students learn and demonstrate knowledge of research methodology within the criminal justice system and become acquainted with the range and scope of quantitative and qualitative tools available to the criminal justice researcher.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course in organizational behavior encompasses the study of individual and group behavior as they apply to criminal justice organizations – court systems, law enforcement, and corrections. Managing organizational behavior challenges individuals to understand organizational structure and systems, leadership, motivation, effective communication, change management, and performance systems. A comprehensive review of these processes, as well as others, will allow students to examine their role in criminal justice systems in our rapidly changing society. A note regarding the approach to this course: This course focuses upon the application of fundamental organizational behavior and management concepts in criminal justice agencies. For students to gain competence in this field, they must first understand the general concepts, and then how to apply them in a criminal justice environment. To that end, the text, Organizational Behavior, selected for this course presents organizational behavior concepts that might be applied to any organization, public or private. From this, students will come to understand the fundamentals of organizational behavior. Thereafter, discussion questions, papers, and assignments will focus upon the application of these concepts in a criminal justice environment so as to expose students to some of the unique characteristics of such agencies. Additionally, the excerpts from the text Criminal Justice Organizations text will also help to synthesize theory with practice. Together, this integrated approach will help students to apply organizational behavior concepts to their criminal justice careers. In CJA/450: Criminal Justice Administration and CJA/470: Managing Criminal Justice Organizations, the students will also be called upon to apply this learning.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course applies management and financial principles to criminal justice organizations. Emphasis is placed on budgets, financial accounting principles and assessing the effectiveness of the activities of criminal justice organizations. Constitutional requirements, court decisions, and legislation (such as EEOC requirements) as they impact management in criminal justice organizations are discussed. Basic accounting and financial terminology, and purposes and formats of financial statements are introduced: depreciation of assets, capital budgeting, cash management, lease versus purchase, and inventory management.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course examines the history of federal- and state-level crime control initiatives and explores the development of effective anticrime policies. The analysis of contemporary crime control policies is included.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course is a survey of important personnel issues inherent to organizations and, especially, to criminal justice organizations. Problems, procedures and solutions to common personnel issues will be explored.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course examines possible criminal justice futures and the broader topic of global justice. Students will research and discuss issues that police, corrections, and courts are likely to confront in the 21st century and beyond and will examine established predictive techniques in the field of futures research. Students will critically examine the varied criminal justice systems that exist in the global community. This is a capstone course requiring students to apply all they have learned throughout the program to the issues that will define possible criminal justice futures.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This is a survey course that introduces policing, the court systems, corrections, and private security and how they relate to each other. Challenges in these relationships are also presented.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course explores the various elements of organizational administration, behavior and management in criminal justice organizations and provides the student with an understanding of individual and group dynamics, problem solving concepts, and administrative processes associated with organizational behavior and structures that exist in the criminal justice system.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course takes an in-depth look at managing risk within the context of justice and security organizations. Topics focus on both the operational and legal aspects of risk management and include an examination of insurance against risk, legal liability, and risk related to policies, regulations, and case law.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course will examine the theoretical and philosophical basis of ethics and the standards of professional conduct and leadership applicable to justice and security agencies. Applicable case studies will be used, as well as contemporary situations in ethics.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This is an advanced course in theories and crime causation, including classical, biological, psychological, sociological, and social-psychological approaches. Victimology, to include victimization statistics, victimogensis, and the prevention of victimization, is included.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course provides an overview of the critical incident management process, covering a variety of events that impact justice and security organization. This course will discuss planning, prevention, response, and post-incident management, as well as inter-agency coordination.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course provides and overview of the nature of criminal activity that is facilitated through or that targets information systems. The course also reviews security measures that are designed to protect the software, hardware and data associated with information systems.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course addresses the development and influence of public policy with respect to specific justice and security issues facing the American society.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course provides the student with an understanding of contemporary concepts of physical facility security and personal protection.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course provides the student with a fundamental understanding of forensic science and technology, psychological profiling, and the application of scientific methodologies to the investigative process.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course prepares the student to identify operational goals and to design programs with associated policies and procedures required for the successful achievement of performance objectives.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course is an overview of the principles of security management and the consequences of failure to adequately protect business assets. The course includes an introduction to loss prevention and risk management. It provides an overview of the contingencies that influence modern security management, such as technology, legal issues, ethics, vulnerability assessments, criminal and terrorist activity, and interagency cooperation. The course also introduces various security specializations including corporate, academic, transportation, and government.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course identifies and contrasts the benefits of proprietary and contract security operations and introduces the student to a variety of security specializations. It also examines the purposes, objectives, procedures, risks, and types of organizations associated with the respective specializations.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course provides the student with an overview of safety issues that could be experienced by security personnel as first responders in various work environment emergencies. It includes a review of OSHA, EPA and Fire Code safety regulations and provides methods for identifying and correcting environmental risk factors related to hazardous materials, fire and other potential safety hazards. The course is also intended to provide the student with knowledge that will assist with the initial response to and investigation of work related accidents.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course identifies various types of criminal activity and provides the student with an understanding of the causes of criminal behavior and the societal response to crime. It also identifies and discussed the various elements of the American criminal justice system.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course examines legal, regulatory, ethical, and policy issues that influence the work performance of security personnel and it also discusses the potential consequences of noncompliance for individuals and institutions.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course prepares the student to communicate effectively in written and verbal form. It provides principles for effective investigative reporting and incident documentation as well as techniques for interviewing and understanding verbal and non-verbal communication.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course provides the student with an understanding of the various elements of a program budget; the process of budget development, justification and presentation; and principles of contract preparation. Special emphasis is given to these processes, procedures and practices in relation to security-oriented environments.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course encompasses the study of individual and group behavior in organizational settings, with special emphasis on those that are security-oriented. Management methods for organizational processes and change are presented along with leadership applications.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course prepares students to conduct comprehensive threat assessments with respect to physical facilities, personnel, equipment or operating systems and enables students to evaluate and manage vulnerabilities in terms of potential threats.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course provides the student with an understanding of the various levels of security that can be employed for the protection of people, property, and data housed in physical facilities.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course provides the student with an understanding of the procedures, techniques and technology associated with the protection of executives, employees, customers, and the general public from intentional harm, accidents, and naturally occurring emergencies.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

Investigation of criminal activity, employment applicant backgrounds and internal organizational issues are an integral part of the security manager's responsibilities. This course is designed to provide the student with an understanding of the principles and techniques of investigation.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course provides the student with an understanding of the security issues associated with computer network systems. The course also identifies security measures that are intended to protect the software, hardware and data associated with computer systems and include practices that security professional can employ to harden their organization's information systems against attack.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course evaluates world interests and the changing dimensions of security.  It helps the student understand the dynamic nature of global factors that significantly influence security strategies.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course helps the student understand the causes of domestic and international terrorism and the psychological and economic effects of terrorist acts.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description

This course examines the U.S. Patriot Act, the establishment and mission of the Department of Homeland Security and the role of local, state and private agencies in homeland security.

Credits: 3

Full Course Description