CRJU110 - Introduction To Criminal Justice
 Fall, 2005

 
 

"If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being." 

 

Alexander Solzhenitsyn – The Gulag Archipelago

 


 
 

Dr. David B. Gulick

Office Hours:
12:30 - 2:00 MWF Otherwise by Appointment

dgulick@udel.edu

 

 

 

Catalogue Description: 

 A general introduction to the study of the American system of criminal justice. The crime problem, the police, the judicial system, and correctional agencies will be examined. Special emphasis will be placed on depicting both the legal and behavioral realities of each stage of the criminal justice process.

 

Expanded Description: 

American systems of justice administration (federal, state, local) will be examined from a critical perspective. The content of the course will focus on the following general objectives:

  • To familiarize the student with standard concepts, definitions, systemic relationships, and key cases which define the structure and process of American criminal justice;
  • To examine the nature of our "knowledge" of "crime" and its persistence within the American polity;
  • To introduce the student to some of the "common sense" myths which distort our understanding of the character of American criminal justice;
  • To introduce the student to criminal justice as a career option; including job opportunities, professional organizations, standard literature of the field, and state-of-the-art techniques for locating and retrieving field-related information;
  • To provide a forum for gaining perspective and understanding of contemporary crime and justice issues as they appear in the media.

 

Course Philosophy:

 

This freshman-level course is presented within the context of the following working assumptions:

·        A basic knowledge of the workings (theoretical and actual) of the American criminal justice apparatus is not only fundamental to a legitimate liberal arts education, it is a critical element of citizenship.  It justifies both the cost of the course and the considerable investment in time and effort required both of the instructor and the students.
Corollary – The instructor takes the course seriously. Students are expected to do so also.

·        Large “lecture” classes, properly prepared and augmented by additional resources, are effective vehicles of learning.
Corollary – The instructor is responsible for preparing stimulating and informative lectures and developing in-class as well as out-of-class resources. Students are responsible for attending class regularly, proactively thinking about course-related materials, and taking responsibility for their own learning.

·        Any student accepted to the University of Delaware is capable of doing well in this course.
Corollary – Should the instructor be presented with the question; “I’ve read all of the material, studied properly, and come to class regularly and am still doing poorly, what can I do?” the answer is “I don’t know.” Though this situation should rarely, if ever, arise,   University Counseling Resources  are available and students are encouraged to take advantage of them early in the semester.

 

 

 

InsCourse Requirements and Resources:
 

  • Text: Inciardi,James A. Criminal Justice, Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, (7th ed.) 1998. (Required)

NOTE: The text will be the primary resource around which lectures will pivot. Some chapters will be covered in detail. Others will be highlighted only, and some will be skipped. Additionally, some chapters will be assigned for study and inclusion on exams without being discussed in class.  

  • Teaching Assistants: The teaching assistant for this semester will be introduced in class. If you are having trouble with the course, need to schedule a make-up exam, or otherwise need to discuss course related issues, you can contact the assistant by email. If necessary, s/he can help direct you to University resources that were developed to help students having academic difficulties.

  • Email: Students are required to have their University of Delaware email accounts activated by the end of the week of class. At that point, students will be held accountable for information sent to the class via email.  Email from accounts outside the University will not be answered.
  • LISTSERV: Techniques for using LISTSERV groups related to the field of criminal justice, particularly CJUST-L, will be presented in class.

  • World Wide Web: A vast array of criminal justice resources, including federal, state, and local agencies; crime statistics, and divergent views of the problems of crime and justice are available on the Web. Students will be strongly encouraged to avail themselves of these resources.

  • It is assumed that students are familiar with all academic policies stated in the University of Delaware Undergraduate Student Handbook.
  • All assigned text material must be read and studied prior to class. The text will be used as a resource for the majority of exam items as well as a general guide to course content. Class time will be used to supplement, clarify and critique material from the text. Students unfamiliar with text materials will find the content of class lectures difficult to grasp. Additionally, exams will include materials from the text, including entire chapters, not specifically covered i n class.
  • A study guide consisting of a pool of multiple choice items from which exam items will be drawn (stripped of answers) will be made available  prior to each exam.
  • Exams: There will be three hourly exams, the third being administered on the date assigned for the semester “final” (see dates below). The third exam will cover the last part of the course and a collection of T-F items from previous exams. Exams I, II, will consist of 50 multiple choice items drawn the text and 50 true-false questions covering information presented in lectures, in-class films and assigned readings. Makeup exams will be administered strictly according to University policy. Exams missed without an approved excused can be can be made up, but 30 pts. will be deducted from the score.

Exam Schedule:

Sept. 30      Exam    I – Chaps.  1,2,4,5 and lecture notes

Nov. 11   Exam    II – Chaps. 6,7,8,10,11 and lecture notes

Final Exam Date (TBA) Exam III – Chaps. 12,13,14,15 notes from lectures and films, T/F Items from Exams I and II included.

 

Grades:

Grades will be calculated exclusively by a weighted distribution  based only on exam scores. Do not ask to be given extra points. The following scoring format will be applied:

90 = A
89 = B+
80 = B-
79 = C+
70 = C-
69 = D+
60 = D-
59 = F