CJ 101     Introduction to Criminal Justice (4)

Provides an overview of the field of criminal justice, including the history, theory, and structure of the criminal justice system, with an emphasis on substantive and procedural criminal law, policing, prosecution/defense, the courts, and institutional and community corrections.

CJ 204     Ethics in Criminal Justice (4)

Introduces the Criminal Justice student to ethical decision making in the criminal justice system. Explores ethical dilemmas and challenges in policing, criminal courts and corrections, using both philosophical principles/theories and hands-on criminal justice issues and applications. Prerequisite: CJ 101.

CJ 310     Explaining Crime (4)

Presents an overview of the sociological study of crime and criminal justice, primarily in the contemporary United States. Material is broken down into four major topics: 1.) types and categories of contemporary criminal behavior; 2.) myths and facts about contemporary crime patterns; 3.) theories about why crimes are committed; 4.) how known crimes are dealt with by the U.S. criminal justice system. Prerequisite: CJ 101.

CJ 420     Police and Society (4)

Introduces the functions, roles, and services of the various policing agencies in the United States. This includes the history, development, and role of the police as a component of the justice system, with particular attention to the relationship of the police to community, society, and related institutions of social control; societal control of the police as well as the influences of social change and urban decay and disorder on methods of policing.

CJ 456     Crime Mapping Technologies (4)

Examines geographic concepts and techniques as they apply to the study of crime. Uses sociological theories of spatial relations and urban studies (especially social ecology) to examine patterns of offending and victimization. Uses a range of data sets and computer applications, such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to map criminal behavior at the local, regional, state, and national levels. Explore policy implications of crime mapping capabilities. Prerequisite: CJ 332.