Course Syllabus

CJ160 – Crime and Punishment (Online)

Arcadia University
Criminal Justice
Dr. Denise Leifker

Office: Easton Hall 333

Phone: (530) 635-2195

E-mail: leifkerd@arcadia.edu

Welcome!
Welcome to your Arcadia University course, CJ160 – Crime and Punishment
This course reviews the problem of crime and the societal response to criminals. Institutions discussed
those intended to discover the crime and the criminal and those designed to deal with the criminal, the vic
and society, once the criminal has been labeled. Finally, the bureaucracy of crime and its measurement
social phenomenon are discussed.

At the conclusion of this course, students will be able to:

• Understand and assess the main components of the criminal justice system, including their historic
roots.
• Evaluate statistics on crime.
• Evaluate the various explanations of crime in society.
• Assess the nature and purpose of law.
• Categorize the styles of policing in America.
• Evaluate the issues (both legal and otherwise) that face police officers on a daily basis as well as ov
their careers.
• Create a map that symbolizes the court system at both the adult and juvenile justice levels and
understand the differences between the two types.
• Categorize the styles of sentencing in the United States, while understanding the goals of each.
• Evaluate the use of probation/parole/and community corrections as part of the criminal justice syst
• Compare and contrast the functions of prisons and jails in society.
• Appraise drugs in our society and their link to crime, while considering the concepts of legalization
and decriminalization.
Required Materials
Required Text: Schmalleger, Frank. 2009. Criminal Justice Today: An Introductory Text for the 21st Cent
(10th edition) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

In addition, you will use Arcadia's online databases and other web resources.

Since this course is being delivered online, your computer system will need to meet specific hardware and
software requirements (See the Policies Section on Blackboard). For this course, you will need to have acc
to Microsoft Office (or Open Office).

1 – Headset w/ microphone

Evaluation
A 93% to 100%
A- 90% to 92%
B+ 87% to 89%
B 83% to 86%
B- 80% to 82%
C+ 77% to 79%
C 73% to 76%
C- 70% to 72%
D+ 67% to 69%
D 63% to 66%
D- 60% to 62%
F Failure to complete required work

Unit 1 (Assignments 1-4) 55 points

Unit 2 (Assignments 1-3) 50 points
Unit 3 (Assignments 1-3) 50 points
 Unit 4 (Assignments 1-3) 45 points
Unit 5 (Assignments 1-2 and Term Paper) 105 points
Unit 6 (Assignments 1-3) 45 points
Unit 7 (Assignments 1-3 and Final Exam ) 175 points
Total Points 525 points

Introduction
This course is being presented in an online fashion; It is important that you login on a regular basis (daily
possible) and work on a consistent basis to complete your requirements. It is a 7 week course, making the
weekly requirements quite high, so be sure to stay on top of your assignments. Since we are not meeting
face-to-face, it will be imperative that you participate in the discussion forums. Also, the Cyber Cafe is
available for you to develop community outside of the course content.

You will need to be self-motivated and try to stay as organized as possible; developing a schedule would b
good idea. I also suggest that you login in the beginning of the week and copy all assignments to a Word
document. This will allow you to construct a quality answer, spell check, grammar check, and copy and pa
into the forum.

You are required to respond to a minimum of two other student postings for forums that require interaction
with your peers. I will be looking at the way you analyze the postings and the extent of the conversation.
Please use this opportunity to share your own experiences and feelings, but remember to support your
assertions with current research findings or factual information.

"Studies report that peer learning promotes greater conceptual and procedural gains for students,
accommodates a broad range of learning styles, results in greater enjoyment of the learning task, and
encourages a stronger persistence in learning" (Johnson & Johnson, 1999).

Your discussion board postings will be evaluated based upon their substantive nature and how efficiently i
addresses the question at hand. Simple responses such as "I agree" are of no value and will not be counted
an acceptable posting. Please try to be brief but concise and to the point.

Discussion Etiquette

In this course, I welcome the creation of a dialogue that is open, thoughtful, and founded in verified
information. At times, some of you will not agree on the positions that are taken in the forum. This diversi
is welcomed. However, each student must exercise respect for the thoughts and comments that are posted
their peers. If any posted comments are inappropriate or of an offensive nature, they will be removed from
forum and the issue will be addressed with the author of the content. Please adhere to the following
 guidelines:

¤ Never post, transmit, promote, or distribute content that is known to be illegal.

¤ Never post harassing, threatening, or embarrassing comments.

¤ If you disagree with someone, respond to the subject, not the person.

¤ Never post content that is harmful, abusive, racially, ethnically, or religiously offensive, vulgar or
otherwise potentially offensive.

Academic Integrity

Please see the Policies Section on Blackboard.

Special Needs

Please see the Policies Section on Blackboard.

Weekly Schedule
Objectives for Unit 1

• Present an overview of the Criminal Justice Process

• Compare and contrast the models of Crime Control and Due Process.
• Identify the sources of crime data including: UCR, NIBRS, NCVS, and special categories of
crime.

Required Reading:

Chapter 1- What is Criminal Justice?

Chapter 2- The Crime Picture

Assignment 1: Please submit a short biography of yourself and include: name, age, student status, major,
interests in criminal justice and interests outside of class.

Assignment 2: Describe the two concepts: Crime Control and Due Process in no less than 200 words and
indicate which side you align yourself with.

Assignment 3: Identify two of the main sources of crime data and list an advantage and disadvantage of
each. Your textbook identifies about 4 main types. Feel free to use agency websites for more details.

Assignment 4: Post an example of a crime that you know of that has occurred where you live. Identify al
the crimes that occurred in the incident and which one would be counted according the hierarchy rule by th
UCR or NCVS.
Objectives for Unit 2

• Classify crime/criminals with one of the identified theories of crime.

• Identify the various categories or types of law.
• Recognize what the elements of a crime are and what that means for convictions.
• Describe the four main types of criminal defenses used in the U.S. legal system.

Required Reading

Chapter 3- The Search for Causes

Chapter 4- Criminal Law

Assignment 1: Prepare a short paper summarizing the theory of your choice (no less than 250 words).
Choose a theory that is interesting to you and briefly describe its features. Feel free to use a search engine
outside source to bolster the content of your paper and make it even more informative than the information
the textbook provides.

Assignment 2: Prepare a short response (no less than 100 words) on the differences between a felony,
misdemeanor, and an "offense" or "infraction".

Assignment 3: Discussion Board- Identify a famous person that has been convicted of a crime. Identify w
they were convicted of and whether it was a felony, misdemeanor or infraction. Then choose a theory that
you believe describes them. It can be the theory you already described for your first assignment or a diffe
one. Make sure the connection between the criminal and theory is clear. Remember to respond to two of
your peers on the discussion board- indicate whether they were correct in the category of crime they picke
and what you think of the theory they chose.
Objectives for Unit 3

• Discuss the English roots of American policing.

• Describe the three major levels of law enforcement and the respective duties of various agencie
• Discuss the operational strategies of police departments.
• Describe the different types of police organizational structures.
• Explain the concept of discretion.
• Recognize issues of gender, race and ethnicity as they relate to policing.

Required Reading

Chapter 5- Policing History and Structure.

Chapter 6- Policing: Purpose and Organization

Assignment 1: Choose a federal law enforcement agency of your choice and describe its duties, hierarchy
approximate starting salary, and the level of education or experience necessary to obtain an entry level
position. The assignment must be no less than 250 words in length. Feel free to use your textbook and the
agencies websites to help you.

Assignment 2: Come with an idea that would help bolster community support to encourage the concept of
community policing in a city, town, or village. Be creative and think of a project police could offer or a
program or something like that, encouraging community involvement. Write up your proposal in no less t
200 words.

Assignment 3: Discussion Board- Describe a situation that involves police discretion. Describe the event
then give the discretionary options that the police officer has to choose from.
Objectives for Unit 4

• Discuss legal restraints on police practices.

• Recognize personal freedoms in society.
• Interpret the legality of searches and seizures.
• Define the concept of arrest.
• Discuss the police working personality.
• Recognize types of police corruption.
• Explain the dangers of police work.
• Describe police use of force and profiling.
• Recognize civil liability issues police officers face.

Required Reading

Chapter 7- Policing: Legal Aspects

Chapter 8- Policing: Issues and Challenges

Assignment 1: Choose a U.S. Supreme Court case described in this chapter and prepare a “brief” includin
synopsis of the case facts along with the majority opinion and any dissenting opinions. Make sure to indic
at the end what the USSC ruled. Please use the internet to find additional information on the case if the
textbook does not provide enough information.

Assignment 2: Describe the concept of racial profiling in no less than 100 words.

Assignment 3: Discussion Board- How has racial profiling affected you or someone you know? If you hav
no exposure to racial profiling, give an example from the media that has occurred within the last 5 years.
Objectives for Unit 5
 • Discuss the history of American Courts
• Compare and contrast local, state, and federal court systems.
• Identify the actors that work in the courtroom and their functions.
• Identify the activities of pre-trial and the various stages of the criminal trial.

Required Reading

Chapter 9- The Courts: Structure and Participants

Chapter 10- Pretrial Activities and the Criminal Trial

Assignment 1: Discussion Board- Visit a local courthouse and observe a criminal proceeding (they are
usually open to the public), or watch a court-based television show (i.e. Boston Legal, Judge Judy). From
experience, I would like you to write up your observations on the discussion board. Note how things are
different from what you read in the book or the same.

Assignment 2: Describe the criminal trial from start to finish. Identify the different phases of the trial and
importance of each phase. You can do this assignment in an informal list type of document. Just make su
you clearly identify and note the importance of each phase. Remember that each system operates slightly
differently (juvenile vs. adult, local vs. state vs. federal), so note which system you are describing.

Research Paper: Prepare a 3 page reaction paper to a recent article from a local newspaper that addresses
some topic related to the criminal justice system. The paper should provide a summary of the article, how
article is connected to something you learned in this class, a link to two “scholarly” sources from the librar
and your personal reaction to the article.
Objectives for Unit 6

• List the five goals of sentencing.

• Compare and contrast indeterminate and determinate sentencing.
• Interpret the importance of the presentence investigation report.
• List the four traditional sentencing options.
• Identify the role of the victim in sentencing and how this has evolved.
• Explain the history and purpose of probation and parole.
• Discuss the pros and cons of probation and parole.
• Compare and contrast probation and parole.
• Recognize the legal environment probation and parole officers work within.

Required Reading:

Chapter 11- Sentencing

Chapter 12- Probation, Parole and Community Corrections

Assignment 1: Review the attached pre-sentence investigation report and write you own recommendation
including the sentence you think is appropriate and your justification for it. Note that the defendant has
entered into a stipulated plea that he will not be sentenced to prison, so your options are one year or less in
county jail or any other sentencing option you think is appropriate. I know some parts of this report will be
bit confusing to you, but primarily focus on the circumstances of the offense, the prior criminal history and
the defendant’s statement. Those sections tell you a lot. I provided you will a very short
recommendation/evaluation for an example.

Assignment 2: Identify three differences between probation and parole. You may do this in a list format a
attach it through this assignment link.

Assignment 3: Discussion Board- Describe a celebrity that has been on probation/community corrections (
ankle monitoring, etc.). Identify what they were placed on probation for (the charge) and whether or not th
were/are successful. Read the responses of your classmates and discuss whether you think
probation/community corrections was the appropriate sanction for this individual or if they were treated
differently because of their celebrity status.

Objectives for Unit 7

• Discuss the nature and history of early punishments.

• Compare and contrast prisons and jails.
• Discuss the role of private prisons in today's society.
• Recognize the legal environment surrounding juvenile justice.
• Compare and contrast the juvenile and adult justice systems.
• Discuss the history of drugs in America.
• Identify the different types of drugs, their effects and their legal classifications.
• Explain the link between drugs and crime.
• Discuss the war on drugs and its success or non-success.

Required Reading:

Chapter 13- Prisons and Jails.

Chapter 15- Juvenile Justice

Chapter 16- Drugs and Crime

Assignment 1: Identify three main differences between prisons and jails. Like the assignment from Unit 6,
you may do this in list format.

Assignment 2: Create a short story about a juvenile that is arrested for shoplifting. Explain how they migh
treated in the juvenile justice system and whether or not their punishment is successful or unsuccessful. Be
creative and compose a paper that is no less than 250 words. You can make the story as detailed as you wo
like starting with where they were when they were arrested and ending with them going on to college or be
arrested again.

Assignment 3: Discussion Board- Pick a drug of your choice and argue for legalization or decriminalizatio
of it. If you do not think any type of drugs should be legal or decriminalized than make this
argument. Describe the drug and then form an argument.

***Your final exam will be available on Wednesday at midnight until Friday at midnight.