Criminology

CRIM 1301 (CRIJ 1301) Introduction to Criminal Justice (3 semester credit hours) An overview and analysis of the major agencies, personnel, and decision-making points which comprise the criminal justice system. Includes problems and issues confronting legislatures, police, courts, corrections, and the community, as they respond to crime in a free society. Legal precedents guiding the decisions of criminal justice agents are also discussed. (3-0) Y

CRIM 1307 (CRIJ 1307) Introduction to Crime and Criminology (3 semester credit hours) Survey of the nature, location, and impact of crime in America. Includes historical foundations of crime, theoretical explanations of criminality and delinquency, the recording and measurement of crime, descriptions of criminal careers, crime topologies, and an analysis of public policies concerning crime control. (3-0) Y

CRIM 2306 (CRIJ 1310) Criminal Law (3 semester credit hours) This course will examine the statutory basis of crime, the legal requirements surrounding the establishment of "mens rea" and legally permissible defenses permitted under criminal due process. Emphasis is placed on both criminal statutes and case law. (3-0) Y

CRIM 2308 (CRIJ 1313) Juvenile Law (3 semester credit hours) This course examines the statutory bases which distinguish delinquency from adult crime and the juvenile justice system from the criminal justice system. Emphasis is placed on the rationale for treating juveniles accused of crime differently than their adult counterparts. (3-0) R

CRIM 2313 (CRIJ 2328) Police and Society (3 semester credit hours) This course examines the central issues of enforcing law and promoting public safety in society with emphasis placed on both internal organizational issues of police administration and external enforcement operations. (3-0) Y

CRIM 2316 (CRIJ 2313) Corrections (3 semester credit hours) This course will provide an introduction to the history and background of American corrections and the fundamental theories of punishment and treatment. Emphasis will be placed on the policies, practices, and issues within the correctional system, the incarceration of criminal populations in jails and prisons, and the expansion of community-based corrections. (3-0) Y

CRIM 2317 (CRIJ 1306) Criminal Prosecution and Court Process (3 semester credit hours) This course examines the processes and politics of bringing criminal defendants to trial. Topics also include decision making points and the constitutional system of criminal due process under which criminal law is practiced. (3-0) Y

CRIM 3300 Crime and Civil Liberties (3 semester credit hours) The functions of the police, courts, prosecution, and corrections are analyzed within a context in which constitutional rights and civil liberties affect the functioning of the criminal justice system. Major emphasis is placed on the extent to which civil liberties and procedural rights constrain or limit the system's effectiveness in delivering crime control, while at the same time ensuring justice. (3-0) Y

CRIM 3301 Theories of Justice (3 semester credit hours) Survey of the basic theoretical rationales and perspectives concerning the concept of justice with selected readings from classical and contemporary theorists. (3-0) R

CRIM 3302 Advanced Criminology (3 semester credit hours) This course provides students with an in-depth study of crime, criminals, and the reaction of the criminal justice system to both. It explores the interrelationships among law, policy, and societal conditions. The major focus of the course is theoretical explanations for crime and criminality. Prerequisite: CRIM 1307. (3-0) Y

CRIM 3303 Advanced Criminal Justice (3 semester credit hours) Analyzes the major agencies, personnel, and decision-making points which comprise the criminal justice system. Explores some of the major theories and research about the roles that the various agencies and actors play in the criminal justice system. Includes discussion of the problems and current issues confronting legislatures, police, courts, corrections, and the community, as they respond to crime. Prerequisite: CRIM 1301. (3-0) Y

CRIM 3304 Research Methods in Crime and Justice Studies (3 semester credit hours) Examines methods of crime and justice research. Topics include the nature of scientific inquiry, framing a research problem, choosing a research design, developing hypotheses, sampling designs, and measuring variables. Topics will be covered as students conduct their own study. (3-0) Y

CRIM 3307 Immigration and Crime (3 semester credit hours) The course emphasizes the practices and policies of law enforcement's efforts to control illegal immigration, including the relationship between illegal immigration and counterterrorism, as well as victimization experienced by immigrants. (3-0) R

CRIM 3309 Media and Crime (3 semester credit hours) Examines the media's image of crime and the criminal justice system. An emphasis is placed on how various types of media construct or perceive criminal activities, how the media influences public policy and shapes perceptions of crime as a social problem. Topics include crime news, films and television dramas depicting crime and criminals, the media as a cause, consequence and cure for crime and news-making criminology. (3-0) R

CRIM 3310 Youth Crime and Justice (3 semester credit hours) Examines the concept of juvenile delinquency as a distinct type of criminal activity from that committed by adults and assesses the distinct juvenile justice system that has evolved to handle children. Topics will include the historical roots of delinquency and the juvenile justice system, delinquency measurement, explanations of delinquency, and the socio-demographic correlates of delinquency status. (3-0) Y

CRIM 3311 American Crime: Truths, Half-Truths, and Lies (3 semester credit hours) This course examines the nature of the crime problem in the United States. In so doing, it discusses the trends underlying criminal behavior, the causes of criminal behavior, and the policy responses associated with such behavior. These are big questions, with some facts but many more pieces of fiction. This course will separate fact from fiction so as to afford students with a deeper appreciation of the crime problem in America and how to best address it. (3-0) R

CRIM 3312 Drugs and Crime (3 semester credit hours) Provides students with a survey of legislation that has been attempted to combat the use of drugs, the relationship between drug use/abuse and crime, and the public policy problem surrounding the control of drugs. Topics include a historical analysis of the laws passed to control drugs, the relationship between drugs and crime, and a policy analysis of the alternative means available to deal with the drugs/crime problem. (3-0) R

CRIM 3319 Comparative Justice Systems (3 semester credit hours) Survey of the differing policies, practices, and procedures of crime and justice cross-nationally. Special emphasis will be devoted to U.S. / Mexico comparisons, while additional emphasis will be placed on such comparisons as U.S. / Canada and U.S. / England. (3-0) R

CRIM 3320 Homicide and Capital Punishment (3 semester credit hours) Examines the policy and legal controversies surrounding the application of capital punishment (i.e., the death penalty) as a punishment for homicide. Topics include capital punishment through history, U.S. Supreme Court decisions and contemporary problems with the application of the death penalty. The course will also analyze the nature, extent, and distribution of criminal homicide. (3-0) R

CRIM 3323 Violence and Gun Control (3 semester credit hours) The primary purpose of this course is the examination of facts surrounding one of the most heated issues of our times: the relationship between guns, violence and gun control. The course provides a comprehensive criminological view of the topic rather than a political or legal one. Students will learn about evaluating evidence, the "stricter gun law" debate, and flaws in arguments on both sides of the issue as well as tricks used by advocates to persuade people to agree with their point of view. (3-0) R

CRIM 3324 Gender, Crime, and Justice (3 semester credit hours) Analysis of the role of gender crime and the justice system. The emphasis is on gender differences in the commission of crime and the types of crimes committed, criminal justice processing, and the employment of women in the criminal justice professions. (3-0) T

CRIM 3325 Victimology (3 semester credit hours) Analyzes the major perspectives on victimization. The emphasis is on patterns of victimization, the role of victims in the generation of crime, and the experience of victims in the criminal justice system. Special attention will be devoted to: sources of data (particularly the National Crime Victimization Survey), trends, variations by demography and offense type and ways in which those variations may affect how criminal justice officials respond to particular types of offenses. (3-0) R

CRIM 3326 Victimless Crimes (3 semester credit hours) Examines public order crimes, which includes a variety of behaviors that are illegal yet generally perceived by those engaging in them to be legitimate, justified, and acceptable. Many such offenses are illegal only because the government has said so, especially public order violations where there may be no identifiable victim. The objective of this course is to develop an understanding of the complexities and controversies that swirl around these offenses. Prerequisite: CRIM 1301 or CRIM 1307. (3-0) R

CRIM 3327 Violent Crime (3 semester credit hours) This course explores the etiology, enactment, and control of serious interpersonal violence. The analytic focus includes robbery, homicide, aggravated assault, sexual assault, state violence, and white collar violence. Prerequisite: CRIM 1301 or CRIM 1307. (3-0) R

CRIM 4311 Crime and Justice Policy (3 semester credit hours) In-depth analysis of crime and the efforts to control crime through public policy. Although crime is most often committed by private persons against individual victims, crime is a public problem and society's reaction to crime and criminals is one of the most controversial areas of public policy. Crime control, deterrence and incapacitation, gun control, law enforcement, and court processes are just a few of the areas in which public opinion and policy are in current controversy and debate. Prerequisite: CRIM 3302 or CRIM 3303. (3-0) Y

CRIM 4315 Race, Ethnicity, and Justice (3 semester credit hours) Examines how race and ethnicity pose differential risks for criminal behavior in conjunction with differential justice system responses to crime and criminals in minority communities. Prerequisite: CRIM 3302 or CRIM 3303. (3-0) R

CRIM 4322 Senior Research Seminar (3 semester credit hours) Major concepts and principles of Criminology will be applied to the analysis of crime. Capstone required course for senior Criminology majors. Completion of all major core requirements. Prerequisites: EPPS 2301 and (EPPS 2302 or EPPS 2303) and Upper-division standing and instructor consent required. (3-0) S

CRIM 4323 Communities and Crime (3 semester credit hours) Analyzes the sources, consequences, and control of crime within communities. The emphasis is on social and ecological theories of crime, and on population instability, family structure, and the concentration of poverty as causes of crime. Community crime prevention efforts are also discussed. Prerequisite: CRIM 3302. (3-0) T

CRIM 4324 White Collar Crime (3 semester credit hours) Examines the criminality of individuals from higher social statuses, organizations, professions, and businesses. Also examined are individual crimes of trust (e.g., tax evasion, embezzlement, etc.) that are qualitatively different from traditional street crimes (e.g., burglary, robbery, etc.), but are not necessarily limited to corporations or individuals of high social status. Theories relevant to the etiology of such acts are considered as well as policies relevant to the punishment and prevention of white collar crime. (3-0) R

CRIM 4336 Introduction to Terrorism (3 semester credit hours) Examines the origins, nature, and operational characteristics of terrorist groups around the world. Students are exposed to a wide range of topics, ranging from the definition of terrorism to the unique characteristics of terrorist cells in the United States and abroad. Historical and contemporary terrorist attacks are explored within their context. (3-0) R

CRIM 4337 Landmark Supreme Court Cases (3 semester credit hours) Discusses important U.S. Supreme Court decisions and their influence in criminal justice. Special attention is given to the Bill of Rights and other key constitutional provisions of relevance in the areas of police, courts, corrections, and crime control policy. (3-0) R

CRIM 4396 Selected Topics in Criminology (3 semester credit hours) Topics may include "Gangs," "Organized Crime," and "Criminalistics." May be repeated for credit as topics vary (9 semester credit hours maximum). (3-0) R

CRIM 4V97 Independent Study in Criminology (1-6 semester credit hours) Independent study under a CRIM faculty member's direction. May be repeated for credit (6 semester credit hours maximum). Instructor consent required. ([1-6]-0) S

CRIM 4V98 Internship in Criminology (1-6 semester credit hours) Provides faculty supervision for a student's internship. Internships must be related to the student's course work. Credit/No Credit only. May be repeated for credit (6 semester credit hours maximum). Instructor consent required. ([1-6]-0) S

CRIM 4V99 Senior Honors in Criminology (1-6 semester credit hours) For students conducting independent research for honors theses or projects. May be repeated for credit (6 semester credit hours maximum). Instructor consent required. ([1-6]-0) R