Syllabus- CJ 58
Crime and Delinquency

 

Instructor:  Mrs. Sarah Nordin     

Three (3) Credit Hours

Office: (707) 864-7276                              

Home: (707) 552-8355

E-mail nordin98@pacbell.net, sarah.nordin@solano.edu

 

 

Office Hours

 Tues, Thursday- 11:00-12:00 Room 904

Email- sarah.nordin@solano.edu. nordin98@pacbell.net or phone 707 552-8355 or inbox- Canvas

 

Textbook

I

A Brief Introduction to Corrections

Robert D. Hanser - University of Louisiana at Monroe

 

 You may want to check out the Online Student Resources that accompany your text  

An introduction to the major types of criminal behavior patterns of career offenders, and causal factors of crime and delinquency.  The course will survey historical development, current concepts and practices, explanations of criminal justice system.  It will also address the concerns with institutional corrections, probation and parole, and how processes in these institutions modify the offender’s behavior.

 

 

 

 

Student Learning Outcomes

1. List and analyze types of human behavior which constitutes violations of human behavior of legal codes and conduct of conduct within organized society
2. Identify and discuss individual cause theories, social structure theories, social process and social reaction theories in relation to criminal and delinquent behavior.
3. Identify several ethical issues involved with dealing with public offenders within the criminal justice system. 

 

 

 

Course Description:

The way a society treats, manages, and controls people who break its laws is a fascinating window into its values. The study of Corrections systems is a vital and critical component of the criminal justice system, yet the world of Corrections is often poorly understood by the public. Despite historically low crime rates the energy and cost of corrections in the United States has continued to grow over the last several decades without a significant decline in sight. In this course we will examine a variety of issues including:

• The history of corrections
• How are offenders supervised both in secure facilities and in the community?
• How the corrections system fits into the larger criminal justice system.
• The range of sanctions in use today
• The actual experiences of men and women in the correctional setting.
• Special correctional populations (including issues of drug addiction and mental health)
• The Death Penalty
• Juvenile offenders.

We’ll also look at what the future holds in Corrections and how the system may change in the future. Whether or not you have an interest in or goals that include a career in Corrections - I hope that you’ll leave this course with significant information on Corrections practices, concepts, and ways that as a society we can work to keep improving the system.

 

Learning Objectives: By the end of this course you will be able to:

1. Define and use important criminological concepts and explain their significance in relation to the Corrections system in America.
2. Identify and explain how correctional practices, policies, and programs work to address the needs of the offender, victim, community, and society.
3. Compare and contrast different types of correctional facilities, programs, and policies.
4. Explain how the correctional system adjusts to respond to different populations (males, females and juvenile) and how it interacts with special populations including those struggling with drug addiction and mental illness.
5. Explain ways in which the correctional system responds to continuing internal challenges including over-crowding, drug use and violence.
6. Critique correctional facilities, practices, policies, and programs by evaluating their mission, the manner in which they are instituted, and the data available regarding their success.
7. Possess a deeper understanding of the causes of crime and the characteristics of Offenders.
8. Develop ideas and strategies to assess and combat current problems within the Corrections system.
9. Conduct research on Corrections issues.
10. Examine and analyze a series of real-life cases within a theoretical framework
11. Assess the validity of information about the Corrections system and determine the difference between unreliable and/or biased sources and scholarly and academic research.

 

Criminal Justice Class Ground Rules:

 

• No verbal attacks or personal slurs
• No name-calling · No abusive language
• Be prepared to back up your opinion with a fact or two (How do you “know” that person is guilty?)
• Be patient with people you disagree with
• Be open to new ideas and viewpoints
• Don't discount the opinions of fellow students because they are "too young to know anything" or "too old to understand"

 "What happens in CJ stays in CJ".

Sometimes in discussions people will reveal very deeply personal things about themselves, their families or their private lives, and it’s important for all of us that people feel "safe" to do that in my online classes. Do your best to respect the privacy and dignity of other students. Don't gossip to others about your fellow students, their backgrounds, lifestyles or beliefs.

 

Allow yourself plenty of time to get assignments completed.

. · Use your campus resources! (You'd be surprised how many don't)

• Let me know if you are having any questions, concerns, problems or are struggling. If I know about your situation in advance, often I can help you, or I can help you find someone who can.
• Don’t leave things to pile up until they become a crisis.

 

 

What you can expect from me:

• As your instructor you can expect to find me approachable and clear with my expectations.
• I believe in supporting my students on their academic journey.
• I genuinely want to hear your opinions, find out about you and help you be the best Criminal Justice student you can be.
• I enjoy getting your feedback.
• I love it when my students teach me something - just as much as I enjoy teaching.
• I'll probably ask you way more times than you want to hear "Got any data to support that theory?"

 A few things to know about me:

 

I am a full-time instructor here at Solano College and have been for 27 years. I was a Juvenile Probation Officer in San Diego for a year and an Adult Probation Officer in Houston for 16 years. I received a master’s degree in Criminal Justice Management at Sam Houston University in Texas while working full time at the Probation Department. I retired from the probation department to pursue a Doctorate in Criminology and completed the requisite coursework towards that degree in Texas prior to relocating to California.  Five years after becoming a full-time instructor at Solano I started the online program along with two business instructors. The online program started in 2000 and I have been teaching online every semester we have classes since that year.  I also was the first online coordinator and held that position for five years earning a national award for one of best run online programs in the United States. My husband is a second-grade teacher in Fairfield and together we love to travel and spend time with our three grandchildren.

 

What I expect from you:

1. I expect you to be committed to your education. That means sometimes you’ll have to put yourself first and stay home and study rather than doing something more fun.
2. I expect you to take this class seriously and be ready to work.
3. I expect you to be responsible and proactive about your education: Tell me ahead of time if you aren't prepared for a test, quiz or exam; Let me know right away if you are struggling or don't understand something; Tell me if you need to be away from your computer and/or class for any length of time. Tell me ahead of time if you know you cannot complete an assignment on time or will miss an exam or other deadline. We may be able to work things out - but if it's the night before final grades are due before you speak up - it's hard for me to do anything about it.
4. I expect you to do your best to be open-minded. We will be covering a lot of things that fire people up- High-profile cases; Religion, Gender, Sexual Orientation, Racism... all topics that some people may have quite different ideas about than you. Some of the things we cover may even make you a bit uncomfortable. I don't expect you to change all your opinions or beliefs, but I expect you to be willing to be challenged on a few of your ideas and to be willing to challenge yourself to think about things in a new way. Law is not like other discipline. There is often a legal reason for something that may not sit easily with our personal or moral codes – but that's what makes it so interesting.
5. I expect you to treat your fellow students with respect. Their examples and experiences are just as valuable as yours or mine are. As journalist Chris Green of the Kansas Leadership Center wrote "Sometimes we learn the most from those we like the least".
6. I expect more from you than just bland comments like "That was nice"; "I liked it"; "It was a good film". Tell me what was valuable to you about it. Be prepared to back your ideas or opinions up with data if you can.
7. I expect you to think critically about everything. I expect you to think about the material we use, react to it, analyze it and find ways to apply the things you've learned to your own life experience.
8. I expect you be fully engaged in our online discussions. We all benefit from interacting with others and comparing ideas and experiences.
9. I expect you to come to me with any suggestions, complaints or concerns you have about the class or my teaching so that I can improve, and I expect you to take constructive criticism from me

 

 

 

Academic Honesty

 

Solano College's community functions best when its members treat one another with honesty, fairness, respect and trust. Therefore, an individual should realize that deception for the purpose of individual gain is an offense against the members of the College community. Such instances of dishonesty include:

 

Plagiarism

 

Although difficult to define, plagiarism consists in taking the words or specific substance of another and either copying or paraphrasing the work without giving credit to the source. The following examples are only some of the many forms plagiarism may take:

 

1. Submitting a term paper, examination or other work written by someone else. This is a flagrant instance of plagiarism
2. Failure to give credit in a footnote for ideas, statements of facts or conclusions derived by another
3. Failure to use quotation marks when quoting directly from another, whether it is a paragraph, a sentence or even a part thereof
4. Close and extended paraphrasing of another.

 

 

 

Cheating

 

Using unauthorized notes, study aids, or information from another student or student's paper on an in-class examination; altering a graded work after it has been returned, then submitting the work for re-grading; and allowing another person to do one's work and to submit the work under one's own name.

 

 

Fabrication

 

Presenting data in a piece of work which were not gathered in accordance with guidelines defining the appropriate methods for collecting or generating data and failing to include a substantially accurate account of the method by which the data were generated or collected.

 

Aiding and Abetting Dishonesty

 

Providing material or information to another person with knowledge that these materials or information will be used improperly.

 

Forgery

 

Altering documents affecting academic records; forging a signature of authorization or falsifying information on an official academic document, election form, grade report, letter of permission, petition, or any document designed to meet or exempt a student from an established College academic  regulation          

 

 

           

 

 

 

Exams:  Mid-Term and Final:

 

Midterm: .  This test is worth 100 points towards your grade. You may use your book or notes for this test and you have two chances to take it, keeping the highest score. However, it is timed- so study before you take the test.

 

Final:    This test will be worth 100 points towards your final grade. You may use your book or notes for this test . Failure to take the final will result in an F for the course!  NO EXCEPTIONS!   There will be NO makeup exams given unless discussed with the instructor.     

 

Grading

 

Homework:

           

You will be given 4 homework assignments during the semester.  The assignments will be worth 50 points. A five-point penalty will be assessed for each class session that the assignment is tardy, unless otherwise excused by the instructor.  The assignments will be typed or legibly hand written.  There is no minimum or maximum length requirement.  The assignments will usually be in essay style question or a series of questions. These assignments must be typed.

 All assignments will be submitted into Canvas.

    

 

 

Exams: Mid term and Final:

 

Midterm:  The midterm will be taken in CANVAS  This test is worth 100 points towards your grade.

 

Final:  A final will consist of approximately 100 questions.  This test will be worth 100 points towards your final grade.  Failure to take the final will result in an F for the course!  NO EXCEPTIONS!   There will be NO makeup exams given! The final will be given in person in the classroom on the specific assigned day. 

Attendance: 

           

   School regulations provide that a student may be dropped after missing the number of class hours that class is offered each week; in this case, three (3) hours.  In my classes, the first three missed classes are free misses. Beginning with the fourth, ten points will be deducted for each class missed.  It is solely the student's responsibility to ensure that he/she properly enrolls in and/or withdraws from this course in accordance with school rules. Failure to attend class will result in a F for the course!!

   A student who gets to class after roll has been taken will be considered absent for that hour.  A student who leaves class before the instructor has dismissed the class will be considered absent for that hour.

 

 

III. Participation: 100 points

 

   Students are expected to have read the assigned material and participate in class discussions. Lack of participation will result in a lower score at the end of the semester. The quality of a student's participation is also taken into consideration when determining the point value in this area.\

 

 

The instructor reserves the right to revise this syllabus to accommodate any guest speakers, special events and /or presentations.     

 

Grading will be on a cumulative system as follows:

                        Homework…..200 points        

                                                                            

                        Midterm……..100 points          

                                                                       

                        Final………….100 points                                 

                        Participation….100 points      

                        Extra credit- 30 points- to be discussed later in class. 

  

                     

    

                         425-500 = A        

                         349-424 = B

                         274-348 = C

                         200-273 = D                           

                         0-199   =   F

 

 

  

 

The instructor reserves the right to revise this syllabus to accommodate any guest speakers, special events and /or presentations.