3 Credits

This course provides an overview of policing theories and practices used in United States law enforcement systems. It surveys the basics of police functions, from individual and organizational roles to the issues faced on a daily basis. This course also examines the procedures and methods of operation of police and critical issues in law enforcement.

3 Credits

This course is an introduction and overview of the legal system, the participants, the courtroom process, and post conviction process of the court system. It demonstrates the connection among all participants and how they relate to each other. Additionally, the course covers the history of the court system and the different types of court at the state and federal levels.

3 Credits

This course is an introduction to the various components of the corrections system within the criminal justice system. It provides an overview of corrections, including corrections history, the persons, agencies, and organizations that manage convicted offenders. Other topics that are covered include policy and procedure, sentencing, probation, and rehabilitations of prisoners.

3 Credits

This course explores the standards and codes of professional responsibility in criminal justice professions. It also explores ethical dilemmas, professional organizations and agencies, ethics and community relations, ethics in criminal justice laws and procedures, and civil responsibility in law enforcement and correctional environments.

3 Credits

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.

3 Credits

This course highlights the causes of criminal behavior and the theoretical interpretations of such behavior. Students are introduced to criminological methods of inquiry and review several different classifications of crime. Students also consider the public policy implications of various approaches to criminology.

3 Credits

This course is a general introduction to the field of juvenile justice, including an overview of the juvenile justice system and the differences between dependency and delinquency. Students address current problems facing juveniles, and compare adult and juvenile justice systems. Special attention is given to the problems inherent in the police handling of juveniles, the function of juvenile courts, sentencing, and future juvenile justice system issues.

3 Credits

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.

3 Credits

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, and pretrial 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.

3 Credits

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.

3 Credits

Students learn to perform introductory statistical techniques common to the criminal justice system including descriptive and inferential statistics, correlation, and factor analysis and demonstrate knowledge of the application and limitations of specific statistical tests. Students also analyze and critique the use of statistics in research published by criminal justice researchers.

3 Credits

Students learn and demonstrate knowledge of research methodology including problem formulation, design, data collection and analysis, interpreting and summarizing research findings while exploring the range and scope of research and evaluation tools available to the criminal justice professional. Students also analyze and critique criminal justice program and service evaluations published by criminal justice research professionals.

3 Credits

This course explores the basics of grant and proposal writing for criminal justice programs and agencies, from needs assessment to finding federal, state, and private funding. Students will practice program design and evaluation, research various grant application components and requirements, and identify funding sources and suggestions to develop successful grant proposals.

3 Credits

This course explores public sector revenue sources, allocation of funds, governance, public stewardship, responsible economic policies, debt, and the requirement for accurate and complete reporting. Various budgetary approaches used in federal, state, and local agencies are analyzed.

3 Credits

This course explores the relationships across all internal and external areas and levels of government regarding effective emergency management. Students examine the required planning, response, recovery, and mitigation components that government agencies must consider. Network management theories, inter-organizational communication, and potential collaboration models are explored.

3 Credits

Students learn and demonstrate knowledge of models and operational strategies used to develop and evaluate criminal justice policies and programs including issue identification, development of alternative solutions and strategies, and predicting the potential impact of justice system policy alternatives and programs. Students also analyze and critique criminal justice policy and program evaluations published by criminal justice research professionals.

3 Credits

This course examines both the principle issues in contemporary criminal justice management as well as the extrapolation of such issues toward possible futures within the criminal justice management field. Students will focus on relevant research in policing, courts, and corrections that reflect key elements of current conditions and what may be expected in the years to come that will be important to criminal justice administrators. Students will apply critical review and engage in in-depth discussion of these concepts as a basis for comprehensive understanding at local, state, national, and global levels of criminal justice administration.

3 Credits

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.

3 Credits

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. Students will discuss constitutional requirements, court decisions, and legislation as they impact management in criminal justice organizations are discussed. Basic accounting and financial terminology and purposes and formats of financial statements are introduced.

3 Credits

This course is a survey of important personnel issues inherent to organizations and especially to Criminal Justice organizations. Problems with, procedures for, and solutions to common personnel issues will be explored.

3 Credits

This course provides pre- or in-service administrators/managers the knowledge, skills and tools necessary to consider the long-term mission and direction of various criminal justice agencies and to build strategy and operations from both internal and external stakeholders to achieve identified mission goals. Students consider strategic planning as a process and method for implementing effective strategic management. Students receive a high-level overview of data collection and analysis methods for strategic planning that provide the ability to develop long-term solutions to continually evolving organizational challenges. Students explore long-term strategic management options, and how to use that information in planning, decision making, and developing strategies for more efficient organizational management of operations and programs.

3 Credits

This capstone course is designed for students to integrate their acquired knowledge of theory into practical applications. Students focus on integrating core content of criminal justice administration with specialized content from the criminal justice management concentration area. Students assess the impact of their educational experiences on their professional competence and values, critical thinking, problem solving, communication, information use, and collaboration skills necessary for the modern criminal justice manager.