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SOCIOLOGY 362. CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Analysis of the criminal justice system in the United States, including consideration of the police, the courts, and correctional institutions. Focus on contemporary problems and reform movements. Prerequiste: SOC 101. Alternate years.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course examines the components of the criminal justice system in the United States. We begin with a brief consideration of the distribution and causes of street crime and a basic overview of the criminal justice system. We then move on to focus on the police, the courts, and the correctional system. In each of these areas, our attention will be on the components of the criminal justice system as institutions and the social contexts that shape these institutions and the behavior of people in them. We will examine the history and current functioning of components of the criminal justice system, as well as contemporary reform movements. Although this is not a course in criminal law, elements of the criminal law will be the focus of our attention on occasion, and the course does provide an important perspective on the criminal justice system for those who are considering or planning careers in the law.
READING
The following three books are required for the course:
George Kelling and Catherine Coles, Fixing Broken Windows: Restoring Order and Reducing Crime in Our Communities
Arthur Rosett and Donald Cressey, Justice by Consent: Plea Bargains in the American Courthouse
Marc Mauer, Race to Incarcerate
DAILY SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE (2003)
|
MONDAY |
TUESDAY |
WEDNESDAY |
THURSDAY |
FRIDAY |
|
Crime
in the United States: An Overview (9-11) |
Criminal
Justice: An Overview (9-11)
Assignment
#1 Due at 9 AM |
Keeping
Peace and Fighting Crime (9-11;
1-2:30) FILM:
Street Cop |
Police Perspectives (9-11) |
Toward
a New Policing (9-11)
Assignment
#2 Due at 9 AM |
|
Beyond
911 (8:30-10:30;
1-2:30)
Class
Visit: Chief of Police and Officers from Cedar Rapids PD
Assignment
#3 due at 8:30 AM |
The
American Courthouse (8:30-11) FILM:
Presumed Innocent |
Prosecution
and Plea Bargaining (9-11,
1:2:30)
Film:
Real Justice |
Plea
Bargaining and Defense (9-11;
1-2:30)
Class Visit: Public Defender Fay Hoover
Grinde |
MIDTERM
EXAM (9-12) |
|
Prisons
and Punishment (9-11;
1-3)
Film:
Lock Down at Santa Fe |
The Get Tough Movement (9-11,
12:30-3)
Assignment
#4 Due at 9AM Film:
The Farm |
Trip
to the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison (Leave
at 8:00 AM. Return at approximately 4:00 PM) |
Race,
Class and Imprisonment (9-11,
1-2:30) |
Race, Class
and the Law (8:30-11:00) Class Visit:
Professor Rogers Smith Assignment #5
Due at 8:30 AM |
|
Community
Courts and Intensive Supervised Release (9-11)
Class
Visit: Parole Officer Jeff Kapler |
The
Future of Imprisonment (9-11)
Assignment
#6 Due at 9 AM |
FINAL
EXAM (9-12)
|
SUMMER
VACATION |
|
