Criminal Justice and Criminology
The major is designed to prepare students for career opportunities in the criminal justice field, to include law enforcement, courts and corrections, and private security, or for further study at the graduate level in criminal justice, criminology or law. To successfully complete the criminal justice major, the following coursework is required:
- 33 Criminal Justice core component credits
- 12 Criminal Justice elective credits
- 12 skills components credits
- 11 credits of a foreign language [Spanish or Arabic recommended]- waived for Students whose native language is not English
- 37 academic core credits
- 15 general elective credits: May be fulfilled through a second major, minor or certificate program. Recommended programs are: Criminalistics, Accounting, Computer Forensics and Security, Forensic Psychology, or Pre-Law
A minimum of 120 credits is required for degree, the last 30 of which must be taken at La Roche University.
Summary of Requirements
Criminal Justice Required Courses: 33 credits (Select CRIM3030 or CRIM3042; CRIM2016 is crosslisted with SOCL2016; CRIM3030 is crosslisted with SOCL3030)
CRIM1001INTRODUCTION TO CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This introductory course will introduce criminal justice as a system that is an institutional agent of American society. The components of police, courts, and corrections are discussed with the goal of defining their function and purpose and interdependence on one another. The patterns of crime and the processes of the American Criminal Justice System, law enforcement, judicial process, and corrections will be examined. Students will learn the terminology of the field, examine the methods of inquiry used in the field, and learn the objectives, policies and procedures of probation, parole, and prisons as well as some of the issues and problems.
CRIM1003UNDERSTANDING THE U.S. CONSTITUTION (POLI1003)
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This course is an introduction to the U.S. Constitution's role in American society and the philosophical, historical, and political influences on its framers. The course focuses on the structure and content of the Constitution. The course also examines the landmark Supreme Court cases that have shaped American society from 1790 to the present time. Students, through a multimedia approach, will examine those cases and the historical, social, and political factors that were a backdrop to the rulings issued by the Court. Cross-listed with POLI1003
CRIM2011INTELLIGENCE ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION TECHNIQUES (NSCS2011)
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This course examines the process used by analysts to develop strategic intelligence. Students will participate throughout the course as a member of a group tasked to complete an estimative project. Students will learn to apply strategic theory to critical national security problems. Cross-listed with NSCS2011
PREREQUISITES:
CRIM1001 & ENGL1012 or ENGL1012H
CRIM2016POLICE AND SOCIETY (SOCL2016)
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This course reviews current issues and problems in law enforcement and interrelations with the society-at-large and cultural/ethnic sub-groups. It examines informal exercise of police authority or force, governmental/agency policies, legal requirements, role demands, and conflicts experienced by police officers, and the norms of the police sub-culture. Cross-listed with SOCL2016
CRIM2018PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY: LEGAL AND ETHICAL CONCEPTS
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This course examines the existent standards, codes, and laws pertaining to the legal and ethical conduct required of professionals working in the criminal justice and national security fields. Theoretical concepts will be explored, but the course will focus on the application of legal and ethical constructs to the everyday behavior of justice system professionals.
PREREQUISITES:
CRIM1001 & ENGL1012 or ENGL1012H
CRIM3005CONSTITUTIONAL LAW (POLI3005)
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This course will explore the difficulty in interpreting the meaning of constitutional language. The interpretive role of the U.S. Supreme Court will be studied through an examination of landmark constitutional decisions. The major schools of thought that guide interpretation will also be studied. Cross-listed with POLI3005.(Previously CRIM2005)
PREREQUISITES:
ENGL1012 and CRIM1003
CRIM3010CRIMINAL LAW
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
The basic principles of substantive criminal law will be illustrated. Concepts and patterns of criminal law and procedure will be discussed. The elements of specific crimes will be analyzed through case study. Public policy and the legal principles for determining criminal and civil liability will be considered.
PREREQUISITES:
Seniors Only
CRIM3030THEORIES OF CRIMINAL DEVIANCE (SOCL3030)
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
An examination of the etiology and major theories of criminality, with special reference to the rational choice, routine activity, biological and psychosocial theories of deviance. This course will examine criminal deviance by analyzing both criminal and victim populations, with particular emphasis on crime typology and the analysis of criminal behavior. The responses of the Criminal Justice System and private security experts to criminal behavior from situational crime prevention techniques to correctional treatment methods are explored and discussed. Cross-listed with SOCL3030
PREREQUISITES:
ENGL1012 or ENGL1012H
CRIM3042APPLIED CRIMINOLOGY
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This course is designed to examine crime and offender typologies and the investigative and legal methods that can be applied to prevent, resolve, or solve crimes committed by career offenders. An overview of the major theories or crime causation is furnished. An emphasis is placed on choice theory, routine activities theory, routine activities theory and their applied model-situational crime prevention. The topics of crisis negotiation, interpersonal conflict resolution, crime prevention, and informant development are explored and practical exercises are employed to enhance student understanding.
CRIM3045CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This course covers the fundamentals of criminal investigation. It concentrates on the essentials of securing a crime scene, modus operandi of perpetrators, sources of information, principles of careful observation and recording interview/interrogation and case preparation.
CRIM4055SENIOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE CAPSTONE
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
The Senior Capstone course is the final correlating experience of the educational process for all criminal justice majors. Students will apply criminal justice theories and concepts in analyzing the published research concerning a critical issue in criminal justice and writing a comprehensive literature review of the selected issue. The student will also demonstrate, through test performance, the knowledge they have gained from the required courses of the criminal justice curriculum. Students will also participate in a variety of educational activities designed to assist them in obtaining employment in the criminal justice career field.
PSYC3011RESEARCH METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This course examines the major experimental designs and methods of scientific psychology. The nature of psychology as a science, types of and evaluation of research design and conclusions, conducting of research, preparation of research papers and ethics in research in psychology are covered.
PREREQUISITES:
PSYC1021 & PSYC3070 or CRIM2011 & MATH1040 or CRIM2012
SOCL2016POLICE AND SOCIETY (CRIM2016)
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This course reviews current issues and problems in law enforcement and interrelations with the society-at-large and cultural/ethnic sub-groups. It examines informal exercise of police authority or force, governmental/agency policies, legal requirements, role demands and conflicts experienced by police officers, and the norms of the police sub-culture. Cross-listed with CRIM2016
Elective Courses: select any 4 courses -12 credits (CRIM3063 is crosslisted with PSYC3063)
CRIM2010INTRODUCTION TO CORRECTIONS
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
Examines contemporary American correctional policies, and their relationship to the American criminal justice system. The nature of correctional institutions, correctional processes and policies will be presented. Current theories, trends and practices in the treatment of offenders, alternatives to traditional modes of incarceration, and problems and innovations in correctional administration will be discussed. Theories of correctional institutions as centers of rehabilitation or punishment will be examined along with public influences on correctional practices and policy development.
CRIM2030JUVENILE DELINQUENCY (SOCL2030)
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This course will offer an analysis of Juvenile Delinquency and the juvenile justice system. It will examine the theories of the causes of juvenile crime and the processes of the juvenile justice system. Cross-listed with SOCL2030
CRIM3000CORRECTIONAL COUNSELING
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
The evolution of prisons from punishment to rehabilitation is examined with a look at the fundamental beginnings of the penitentiary to modern day institutions with civil and legal rights. This course also examines the purpose and evolution of corrections as an agent of punishment including the death penalty and its history in relation to society. The foremost groups involved in corrections from the Quakers and early Christians to modern groups will be reviewed. The development of probation and parole as alternatives to incarceration will also be examined. The understanding of violent offenders and the utilization of prison counseling will be explored.
PREREQUISITES:
Junior or senior status
CRIM3012ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME: LAW, POLICYAND INVESTIGATIONS
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This course exposes students of Criminal Justice and Criminology to the variety of issues involved in the study of environmental crime. Environmental harms associated with the pollution of air, land, and water kill and injure more people than street crimes on an annual or daily basis. Students who complete this course will understand the complexity of environmental crime and how to use the law and investigative skills to address it.
CRIM3020SPECIAL TOPICS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE:
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
Crime analysis is the systematic examination of multi-faceted crime data. The identification, collection, storage, modification and dissemination of crime data enables law enforcement agencies to identify crime trends, patterns, and modus operandi; advise law enforcement administrators about emerging tactical trends; determine long term strategic trends; and improve operational and administrative effectiveness. Criminal analyst should master the ability to write, brief and disseminate findings to law enforcement stakeholders clearly and concisely. This course will provide an overview of these processes. The course will involve basic familiarization of a GIS (Geographic Information System) that is designed for graphical presentation and analytical discernment.
CRIM3034ENTERPRISE AND TRANSNATIONAL CRIME
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
The course addresses organized crime in the United States and internationally. It presents organized crime as criminal business ventures that meet the demand of its consumer base and/or engages in activities that provide profits both legal and illicit into the organization. International crime is introduced, demonstrating how organized crime networks transcend national borders, and how individual criminals have learned to use the ease of travel and identity falsification to operate in or conceal themselves from national law enforcement. Law enforcement strategies and their effectiveness are covered.
PREREQUISITES:
CRIM1001 & ENGL1012 or ENGL1012H
CRIM3036TERRORISM
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This course addresses the historical and current-day development and spread of terrorism. The class investigates the goals of terrorism and the social, political and ideological reasons for the use of terrorism. Counter-terrorist activities and preventive measures are explored. The course will address law enforcement responses to incidents of terrorism.
PREREQUISITES:
ENGL1012 or ENGL1012H
CRIM3040CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION AND FORENSICS
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This course introduces the student to basic and advanced procedures employed by crime scene investigators, with the emphasis on the detection, collection, processing and presentation of physical and testimonial evidence. The course also identifies items commonly found at crime scenes and examines their significance as trace and physical evidence used to link a suspect with a crime. Many aspects of the legal and scientific processing, preserving and documenting a crime scene for court presentation will be examined. Theories of information, observation and interrogation as they relate to crime scene investigation will be examined, as well as the ethics of current investigative procedures utilized by modern law enforcement agencies.
CRIM3041CSI II - CRIMINALISTICS
Credits (Min/Max): 4/4
A comprehensive examination of the application of science to the physical evidence of a crime. Crime scene processing procedures will be linked to the laboratory analysis of physical evidence. The course will also include training in scientific report writing and courtroom testimony, to include a moot court exercise.
PREREQUISITES:
CRIM1001 & BIOL1004 & CHEM1002
CRIM3043COMPUTER CRIME
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
A comprehensive examination of computer crime, information systems security and cyber law. The investigative process as applied to the cyber criminal will be emphasized. Statutes specific to cyber crime will be studied. Crime prevention strategies and techniques will be presented and applied using the case study method.
CRIM3046SECURITY MANAGEMENT AND LOSS PREVENTION
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This course features an overview of public and private security, including history of private security and asset protection, the role of security in American society, and current industry practices. The course covers the security role in industry, business and government and includes loss prevention, control and risk management. The legal foundations of private security are covered, as is interaction with government law enforcement. Specialization and career opportunities are discussed.
CRIM3052ADMINISTRATION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE ORGANIZATIONS
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This course examines the principles of management and leadership as they relate to criminal justice organizations. Leadership, planning, and legal concepts are emphasized, and the case study method is employed as an applied learning tool.
CRIM3054LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMUNICATIONS
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This course instructs students in the proper methodology of law enforcement communications. Students will be required to conduct interviews, effectively compile investigative notes, and reduce this information to a series of written and oral reports.
CRIM3063CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR: LAW AND PSYCHOLOGY (PSYC3063)
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This course, through an integration of psychology, criminology, political science and law, examines the role of the outlaw in both our community and global society. Elements of the course include psychological explanations of individual personality development, choice, both rational and thrill-motivated theories of criminality, examination of the role that powerful outlaws have played in our communities, and the rise of deviant individuals who have gained enormous power by capitalizing on the forces of globalization. The course also intertwines the legal means that society has employed to restrict the power of the outlaw in our society and the capacity of individuals to overcome attempts at domination. Cross-listed with PSYC3063
CRIM3065NETWORK ANALYSIS AND CRIME MAPPING
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
Crime analysis is the systematic examination of multi-faceted crime data. The identification, collection, storage, modification and dissemination of crime data enables law enforcement agencies to identify crime trends, patterns, and modus operandi; advise law enforcement administrators about emerging tactical trends; determine long term strategic trends; and improve operational and administrative effectiveness. Criminal analysts should master the ability to write, brief and disseminate findings to law enforcement stakeholders clearly and concisely. This course will provide an overview of these processes. This course will also provide an understanding of network analysis and visual representations of such analyses. Students will also obtain a basic familiarization with crime mapping and GIS (Geographic Information System) concepts and software designed for graphical presentation and analytical discernment.
CRIM4012EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT (NSCS4012)
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This course examines the issues and processes associated with the most critical domains of security management. In particular, the course will focus on risk analysis, security surveys, response planning, and the principles of the all-hazards approach to risk management. Cross-listed with NSCS4012
PREREQUISITES:
Junior or Senior Status
CRIM4051INTERNSHIP I - CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Credits (Min/Max): 1/6
A field course in which the student is actively involved in working with a criminal justice agency or a private security force. The student will meet periodically with a faculty mentor to examine the relationships between theoretical concepts and the field experience. A strong leadership and service-learning component will be integrated into the course.
CRIM4057INDEPENDENT STUDY - CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Credits (Min/Max): 1/3
This course is limited to those few students who have demonstrated an unusual level of ability and an intense commitment to a particular area of study.
FILM2035DRONES FOR PHOTO AND FILM
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) or "drone" technology is radically expanding the range and mobility of the camera for photography and video. In this course, the student will learn how to assemble and set up a UAV for flight, learn how to fly a multi-copter type UAV, and practice shooting effective moving and still images. Topics covered will include: specific components of the UAV, cameras and camera stabilization systems. In addition to the equipment used, subject matter will include legal requirements and ramifications, flying to get the shot, and proper protocol for flying in public. Safety will be stressed throughout the semester.
Skills Component: 12 credits (students may select CRIM2012, Analysis of Criminal Justice Data OR MATH1040, Probability & Statistics)
CRIM2012ANALYSIS OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE DATA
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This course is primarily concerned with the ways and means of understanding drawing conclusions from criminal justice data. Students will learn to develop, use and evaluate studies of criminal justice data, and use their work to evaluate the effectiveness of criminal justice activities. Covered will be policy implications of various law enforcement techniques vis-a-vis their effectiveness in both short and long term. Students will work with and critique published criminological research and explore the use of data of a more local nature.
ENGL2030TECHNICAL WRITING
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
Designed to apply the basic principles of communication to technical information so that the student can learn to present complex technical messages in the clearest possible way.
PREREQUISITES:
ENGL1012(H)
ISTC2008INTRO TO CYBERSPACE
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This course introduces the student to the world of the Internet. The course will focus on the effective and efficient use of the Internet to find and evaluate quality resources, communicate and collaborate using appropriate tools, create HTML files, and examine issues such as privacy, security and safety.
MATH1040PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
The study of the fundamentals of probability theory with applications to natural and social sciences as well as to mathematics. Discrete and continuous distributions, sampling theory, linear correlation, regression, statistical inference, estimation and analysis of variance are included.
PHIL1020LOGIC
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
This course is designed to help the student understand the methods and principles necessary for correct reasoning. The correct use of reason is indispensable for written and spoken communication. The course deals with language and its uses, fallacies, propositions, syllogisms, inference, probability and scientific hypothesis.
PHIL2026ETHICS (SLRS)
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
A survey of historical and contemporary responses to significant moral problems encountered in the Christian life. Topics include conscience, racism, peace and war, ecology, population control, economic justice and capital punishment. (SLRS)