SOC 362 Criminal Justice (2 SH)

This course is designed to provide a basic foundation for understanding the different components of our criminal justice system, including Law Enforcement (roles, techniques, constitutional implications, and contemporary controversies including use of force, racial profiling, and implementation of technology); Courts (organization, process, specialization, judiciary, attorneys, trial procedures, and contemporary controversies including fines, bail, and indigent defense); and Corrections (historical development, purposes, prison subcultures, prisoners' rights, recidivism, and contemporary controversies including privatization, solitary confinement, death penalty, mass incarceration, and the "tough on crime" movement). Additionally, this course will cover Victimology (Crime Victims' Rights Movement, patterning of victimization, costs and consequences of victimization, victims' role within the criminal justice system, Victim Impact Statements, and victim advocacy), as well as Crime Prevention (primary/secondary/tertiary techniques, local programs, and role of Restorative Justice).