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Department of Criminal Justice

 Public Policy and Practice in Criminal Justice

CRJU 405

California State University, Fullerton

Spring 2006

General Information:

Instructor:                    Raymond E. Foster, MPA

Day/Time:                  Monday 7PM to 9:45PM

Location:                     MH 464

Office Hours:                Monday, 4PM to 6PM

Office Location:          UH541

Office Telephone:       (909) 599-7530

Email:                          raymond@hitechcj.com

Main Website:              www.hitechcj.com

Course Objectives:

This course is designed to familiarize students with criminal justice policy by providing an overview of the formation, implementation, quantitative and qualitative evaluation, and ethical aspects of policy making in the criminal justice system.  The course will examine policy in the context of intentions, outcomes and consequences.  Moreover, the course will focus on contemporary and historical issues as a means for examining the various components, methodologies and outcomes.

Learning Goals:

Students will be able to

1.      analyze the context of criminal justice policy making by examining the function of various political, economic, legal, and social influences.

2.      identify points of permeability between the components of the criminal justice system.

3.      explain several current issues facing justice policy makers.

4.      model the flow of discretion, power, and clients in the criminal justice system.

5.      explain how the open nature of the criminal justice system affects policy decisions and outcomes.

6.      discuss the various policy evaluation methodologies.

Required Readings:

Hancock, B. & Sharp, P. (2004) Public policy, crime, and criminal justice. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 3/e

Course Requirements:

The following responsibilities apply to all students:

1.                  Attend class and take notes.

2.                  Read and be prepared to discuss the assigned readings by the dates identified in the course syllabus.

3.                  Complete four exams (at fourth week, ninth week (mid-term), Twelfth Week and Seventh Week (final).

4.                  Prepare two, 3-5 page, academically sound, papers on issues identified by the instructor.

5.                  Participate in class and online activities and discussions.

Method of Evaluation:

Grades:

Exam One                                10%
Exam Two (Mid-Term)            15%
Exam Three                              10%
Final                                         20%
Paper One                                15%
Paper Two                               15%
Participation                             15%
Semester Total                       100%

In accordance with University Policy Statement (UPS) 300.020 the +/- system of grading will be used in this course:

Additional Information:

Examinations Exam one, exam two (mid-term) and exam three will consist of multiple choice, true-false or short answer questions.  All of the material in the exam one, exam two (mid-term) and exam three will come from the readings, lectures, videos and class discussions and will be cumulative.  An in class review will be conducted prior to all examinations.

The final examination will consist of two essay questions and will be cumulative. Five potential final questions are posted on the course website. However, only two of them will be the final examination.  The student should be prepared to answer all five at the time of final because the two questions to be asked will be announced at the final.  Although this is not an open book test, students may use any notes they took during class or while studying during the final examination.  An in class review will be held prior to the final. They must be the students notes refer to the syllabus section on ethical conduct for further information.  The student MUST answer both questions.  Above average and superior responses to the final questions will include sourcing to the readings, lectures, videos and class discussions

Papers - Students are required to prepare a two (2) typed, 3-5 page, discussion and analysis of a course related issue. At a minimum, it is expected that the students will produce an academically sound and properly formatted work (APA format is strongly encouraged); with a minimum of three sources, not including the text book.  The instructor will provide more information concerning the papers during class.  The papers will be graded on content as well as exposition.   

Extra Credit No extra credit is available for this course.

Attendance - Within the university setting, students are expected to attend class on a regular basis and participate in topic discussion to enhance the overall learning experience. As participation is directly related to attendance, students missing four (2) class sessions will not receive any credit for attendance/participation.  Attendance will be recorded by a class roster that will be passed among the students during each class.  It is the students responsibility to sign the roster.

Participation  Participation is fifteen percent of the students final grade. Participation will be measured by the use of a student participation log and participation in an online discussion group on class activities. To count toward the final participation grade, the online postings in the threaded discussion must be within 72 hours of the issue discussed in class. The log is available for download at the course website. The students are expected to obtain the log and keep a record of their participation. The log must be handed in at the time of the final. Instructions for accessing the online discussion will be given in class.

Masters Students This course is available as an elective for Masters students.  Masters students are expected to produce higher quality and more quantity of work.  Therefore, the course requirements for undergraduate students only amount to 85% of a masters students work load for this course.  The additional 15% of the final grade will be a 5-7 page project paper as assigned by the instructor. 

Ethical Conduct - Students should be aware that there are severe consequences for violations of academic ethical conduct.  Primarily, we are concerned with cheating and plagiarism. Students who are determined to have cheated or committed plagiarism will face disciplinary action as identified within CSUF regulations.  For additional clarification of cheating and/or plagiarism, refer to the CSUF website, the instructor, or University Policy Statement (UPS) 300.21.

Website -  The course has two companion websites. At that website the students will find hyperlinks to the readings, important course downloads (such as the syllabus and class log) and hyperlinks to other course related multimedia presentations (such as PowerPoint presentations, short videos, etc). The second website will be used for the online threaded discussion that is part of the participation grade.

Additionally, the course will make use of Blackboard as provided by the university. At Blackboard, most website documents are available and grades will be posted shortly after review.