Introduction to Criminal Justice

1

Law Enforcement, Courts, & Corrections

• Crime in the United States
• Criminal Justice: An Institution of Social Control
• Criminal Justice: The System
• Criminal Justice: The Nonsystem

• Describe how the type of crime routinely presented by the media compares with crime routinely committed.
• Identify institutions of social control, and explain what makes criminal justice an institution of social control.
• Summarize how the criminal justice system responds to crime.
• Explain why criminal justice in the United States is sometimes considered a nonsystem.

• Ch 1 Reading, pgs 1-15
  
• Presentation
  
• Topic 1 Extra Resources
  
• Reflective Response: Law Enforcement, Courts, & Corrections

Models & Cost of Criminal Justice

• Crime control model
• Due process model
• Crime control v. Due Process
• Costs of Criminal Justice

• Point out major differences between Packer’s crime control and due process models.
• Describe the costs of criminal justice in the United States, and compare those costs among federal, state, and local governments.
• Explain how myths about crime and criminal justice affect the criminal justice system.

• Ch 1 Reading, pgs 16-24
  
• Presentation
  
• Topic 2 Extra Resources
  
• Chapter 1 Practice Quiz
  
• Reflective Response: Models & Cost of Criminal Justice

3

History of Law Enforcement

• English Roots
• The Development of American Law Enforcement
• History of Four Federal Law Enforcement Agencies

• Briefly describe the jurisdictional limitations of American law enforcement.
• Trace the English origins of American law enforcement.
• Discuss the early development of American law enforcement.
• Describe the major developments that have occurred in American policing.

• Ch 5 Reading, pgs 139-168
  
• Presentation
• Topic 3 Extra Resources
  
• Reflective Response: History of Law Enforcement
• Case Study 1

4

Local, County, State, and Federal Law Enforcement

• The Structure of American Law Enforcement
• The Department of Homeland Security
• American Private Security

• Describe the structure of American law enforcement.
• Explain the relationship between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security.
• Discuss the development and growth of private security in the United States.

• Ch 5 Reading, pgs 169-199
  
• Presentation
• Topic 4 Extra Resources
  
• Chapter 5 Practice Quiz
  
• Reflective Response: Local, County, State, and Federal Law Enforcement

5

Issues in Policing

• Discretion
• Job stress
• Use of force
• Police corruption

• Describe the general attitude of the public toward the police and the police toward the public.
• Summarize the steps in an effective police officer selection process.
• Identify factors that affect the exercise of police discretion and methods of limiting discretion.
• Describe two general ways that law enforcement agencies can reduce stress on the job.
• Explain the circumstances under which police officers may be justified in using deadly force.
• List some of the ways to control and reduce police corruption.

• Ch 7 Reading
  
• Presentation
• Topic 5 Extra Resources
  
• Chapter 7 Practice Quiz
  
• Reflective Response: Issues in Policing

6

Midterm Exam

• Midterm Exam

• Midterm Exam

7

The American Court System

• The American Court Structure
• Key Actors in the Court Process

• Identify the type of court structure in the United States, and describe its various components.
• Summarize the purposes of courts.
• Identify the most powerful actors in the administration of justice, and explain what makes them so powerful.
• Summarize the types of attorneys available to a person charged with a crime.
• Describe the responsibilities of a judge.

• Ch 8 Reading, pgs 300-327
  
• Presentation
• Topic 7 Extra Resources
  
• Reflective Response: The American Court System
• Case Study 2

8

Substantive and Procedural Due Process

• Pretrial stages
• Plea bargaining
• The Criminal Trial

• Describe the purposes of an initial appearance.
• Explain what bail is, and describe the different methods of pretrial release.
• Describe what a grand jury is, and explain its purposes.
• Describe the purposes of the arraignment and the plea options of defendants.
• Describe the interests served and not served by plea bargaining.
• List and define the stages in a criminal trial.
• Explain the different roles of judges in adversarial and inquisitorial trial systems.

• Ch 8 Reading, pgs 328-353
  
• Presentation
• Topic 8 Extra Resources
  
• Chapter 8 Practice Quiz
  
• Reflective Response: Substantive and Procedural Due Process

9

History of Corrections

• Historical Overview of Institutional Corrections
• The Incercation Boom

• Summarize the purposes of confinement in Europe before it became a major way of punishing criminals.
• Describe how offenders were punished before the large-scale use of confinement.
• Explain why confinement began to be used as a major way of punishing offenders in Europe.
• Describe the recent trends in the use of incarceration in the United States.
• List some of the characteristics of the incarcerated population in the United States.

• Ch 10 Reading, pgs 386-413
  
• Presentation
• Topic 9 Extra Resources
  
• Reflective Response: History of Corrections
• Case Study 3

10

Local, State, and Federal Corrections

• Incarceration facilities

• Describe how incarceration facilities are structured, organized, and administered by the government in the United States.
• Name some of the common types of correctional facilities in the United States.
• Identify some of the procedures that institutions employ to maintain security and order.
• List the services and programs that commonly are available to inmates.

• Ch 10 Reading, pgs 414-449
  
• Presentation
• Topic 10 Extra Resources
  
• Chapter 10 Practice Quiz
  
• Reflective Response: Local, State, and Federal Corrections

11

Future of the Criminal Justice System

• The future of criminal justice
• Criminal justice in the Age of Terrorism

• Describe the possible future of law enforcement if the crime control model dominates and the possible future if the due process model dominates.
• Describe the possible future of the administration of justice if the crime control model dominates and the possible future if the due process model dominates.
• Identify perhaps the most divisive issue that will confront correctional policy makers in the future.
• Describe the possible future of corrections.
• List some of the cost-reduction strategies likely to be advocated in corrections in the future.
• List specific reforms of the “smart justice” movement and identify its overarching goal.
• Describe some of the challenges faced by criminal justice in the Age of Terrorism.

• Ch 14 Reading
  
• Presentation
• Topic 11 Extra Resources
  
• Chapter 14 Practice Quiz
  
• Reflective Response: Future of the Criminal Justice System

12

Review & Final Exam

• Final Exam

• Final Exam

Topic

Assessment

Points

1

Reflective Response: Law Enforcement, Courts, & Corrections

10

2

Reflective Response: Models & Cost of Criminal Justice

10

3

Reflective Response: History of Law Enforcement

10

3

Case Study 1

150

4

Reflective Response: Local, County, State, and Federal Law Enforcement

10

5

Reflective Response: Issues in Policing

10

6

Midterm Exam

150

7

Reflective Response: The American Court System

10

7

Case Study 2

150

8

Reflective Response: Substantive and Procedural Due Process

10

9

Reflective Response: History of Corrections

10

9

Case Study 3

150

10

Reflective Response: Local, State, and Federal Corrections

10

11

Reflective Response: Future of the Criminal Justice System

10

12

Final Exam

300

Total

1000