CRJ - Criminal Justice
This course assesses the interplay of law, morality, ethical reasoning and Western Legal tradition. The course exposes the tradition and foundations of the American legal system with special emphasis on its jurisprudential foundations. Questions of right, justice, equity, law as moral command and order, natural law reasoning and the dignity of the human person are central to the instruction. The course delivers a critical look at how our legal and justice institutions have come about and provides a method for dealing with, and delving into, perennial legal and moral problems that plague cultures. Overview of the major legal theories about the nature of law and its place in the political system. Among the issues considered is the origin of law, its relationship with divine law, obligations of obedience and disobedience, and the relationship between political sovereignty and law.
This course begins from the premise that any conception of justice necessarily has its foundation in a conception of morality and an understanding of what human begins are and what leads to their flourishing. Laws, then, are properly directed to promoting a conception of the human good. Students will examine a variety of foundational texts in Plato, Aristotle, and St. Thomas to develop a deep understanding of the interconnectivity of justice and morality and, when properly understood, their impact on an understanding of law and crime. The second part of the course will apply this classical understanding to modern approaches and dilemmas. Fundamentally, students will develop responses to the modern statement that “You cannot legislate morality” and examine whether this claim the very root of the social problems we see today. Students will be challenged to apply the classical approach to modern criminal justice issues.
This Course examines natural law theory as it relates to a just society, law and legislation and as a guide to systematic criminal and civil justice. Additionally, the course stresses its relevance to justice occupations by providing a measure for practice day to day whether police, lawyer and judge or other justice occupation. Just as importantly, students will assess the value and worth of natural law when compared with other schools of jurisprudence such as secular positivism, moral relativism and other modern approaches.
The course explores the role and importance of forensics in the investigation and prosecution of criminal events. Focus will be placed on the multitude of forensic science techniques utilized in criminal investigations, the significance of proper preservation and collection procedures, and the impact of failing to uphold quality practices. A concentration will be placed on the standard forensic guidelines for the scientific community, ethical and moral integrity and the importance of communication while remaining continually mindful of cognitive bias.
This course provides an in-depth study of the principles and techniques of criminal and civil investigations. Students will research the use of evidence in establishing proof, discuss moral/ethical considerations of the investigative process, and examine the various methodologies associated with standardized investigative techniques. Students will explore information-gathering strategies, forensic/digital evidence acquisition, and physical evidence collection as they relate to a variety of criminal/civil offenses, such as homicide, white-collar crime, and tort claims.
This course provides an overview of forensic accounting and fraud examination including the principles and techniques used by forensic accountants to investigate financial crimes. Students will learn about the role of forensic accountants and fraud examiners in detecting and preventing fraud, as well as the legal and ethical considerations involved in conducting a forensic accounting investigation. The course will cover topics such as types of fraud that forensic accountants investigate, the tools and methods used to detect and investigate fraud, and the role of forensic accounting in legal proceedings. Through case studies and hands-on exercises, students will gain practical understanding in applying forensic accounting principles to real-world scenarios. This course is suitable for students interested in pursuing a career in forensic accounting, fraud examination and/or risk management.
Course examines cybercrime, cybersecurity, and related implications in law, society, government, and business. Specific criminal conduct and infractions relating to the cyber world are fully covered. Cybersecurity is mostly about protecting from cybercrime, and now may be a legal duty for many organizations. This course introduces students to the technology, cybercrimes and illicit behavior in cyberspace, related laws (criminal, civil, regulatory, and international). How cyberspace is policed, how investigation and enforcement is conducted, and how offenders can be brought to justice are central to course delivery. Other topics include prevention, the future of cybersecurity and the ethical and moral implications relevant to cyberspace and cybercrime.
This course addresses the multidisciplinary team approach to the investigation of crimes committed against children through the collaborative efforts of police, child protection social workers, prosecutors, judges, child advocates, medical professionals, and child therapists. The use of child advocacy centers as a multidisciplinary approach is examined. This course focuses on the challenges involved in the investigation of crimes against children, including child physical abuse, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, and neglect. The range of crimes involves both intra-familial and extra-familial abuse. The course examines the human dynamics of these crimes against children, including offenders, child victims, family members, and people responsible for protecting children while in their care. This study of multidisciplinary approaches to child protection addresses the difficulties in the investigation process, including interviewing children and offenders, documenting the abuse, identifying the abuser, medical examinations, discovering forensic evidence, social services involvement, and prosecution.
This course addresses emerging innovative community-based strategies, tactics, programs, projects, and policy initiatives involving the collaborative efforts among police agencies, other governmental agencies, and a wide variety of non-governmental community partners, including non-profit organizations, community groups, and faith-based organizations to address community crime problems, disorder, fear of crime, and quality-of-life issues. This course focuses on recent pioneering efforts to address these community issues through the examination of recently published community policing demonstration projects supported through grants from federal, state, and non-governmental organizations. For an understanding of community-based collaboration for addressing community problems, the course will provide a foundational understanding of the principles of community policing, community partnerships, and problem-solving through multi-organization collaboration. In addition, the course addresses new evidence-based approaches to crime and disorder. The course culminates with students creating a proposal for a creative micro-grant community policing demonstration project involving community collaboration, with a faith-based component, to address a specific crime, disorder, fear of crime, or quality of life problem.
This course assesses the development, history and concept of “privatization” of once entrenched public services in the justice system including but not limited to courts, prisons and jails, and policing. After this introductory stress, the course evaluates the growing dynamic and overlap between the private sector security and public safety and law enforcement. Topics covered include security law and legal issues, risk management, physical security, human resources and personnel considerations, investigations, institutional and industry-specific security, crisis and emergency planning, computer, and information security. A running theme of this course will be highlighting—where appropriate—how security awareness, features, and applications have permeated all aspects of our modern lives.
This course affords graduate students allows individualized opportunity for scholarly research on a specific topic relevant to the justice system. The course is an independent inquiry because it offers students the chance to do interact and meet closely with a faculty mentor and instructor. A focused, esoteric examination of a specifically approved research topic is the course's chief purpose. Authorship of a scholarly research paper or applied project is required.
This course for advanced graduate students allows the opportunity for scholarly research in a specific topic relevant to the justice system. The course is a seminar because it offers students the chance to interact in small groups and meet closely with the instructor. A focused, esoteric examination of a specifically approved research topic is the course's chief purpose. Authorship of a large research paper shared with the class and instructor is required.
Authorship of a Thesis is optional towards the requirements of the graduate degree. The Thesis course is reserved for serious scholars in the last semester of the course of study. The Thesis course is encouraged for those seeking the terminal degree. The Thesis is an intense and sophisticated research work generally being larger than 100 pages in length and with copious citations. Permission to enroll must be reviewed by the Program Director.