Criminal Justice

Download as PDF

The criminal justice program provides students with an understanding of the adult and juvenile criminal justice processes, its agencies, personnel and historical foundations. The program emphasizes the key components of the criminal justice system, police, corrections, juvenile justice and judicial systems. Realistic, practical exercises, mock scenes and modern technical and scientific applications will be used to teach modern-day American police practices.

Degrees and Certificates

Program Learning Outcomes

Communicate effectively in writing in order to document the actions of criminals, investigators, corrections officers and probation officers and meet the requirements of the American court system.

Research the elements of criminal and procedural law in order to define criminal activity for adult offenders and juvenile delinquency.

Assess crime scenes and criminal activity for the purpose of investigating the dynamics of criminal motivation.

Think critically in the criminal justice setting and develop leadership qualities through examination and verbal communication of adversarial issues.

Understand and articulate the evolution of the criminal justice system in American through the study of history and efforts of governmental and private sources to shape society and achieve improvements in the justice system.

Recognize the dynamics of victims of criminal activity and identify the community’s social services and other resources to assist those victims.

Complete a job application, resume and prepare for civil service testing procedures in local, state and federal criminal justice professions.

Acquire training and education to seek employment or advance in current employment.

Develop a foundation to continue their studies in criminal justice or related fields.

Classes

CJ& 101: Introduction to Criminal Justice

Credits

Overview of the scope of a law enforcement officer, corrections officer, and probation officer's role. Jurisdiction of local, state and federal agencies, career opportunities and qualifications for recruitment are emphasized. Includes administration of justice concepts and history of the criminal justice system.

CJ& 105: Introduction to Corrections

Credits

An introduction and survey of the principles and practices of the corrections field in criminal justice settings. The objectives of probation and parole with an overview of rehabilitation methods and institutional settings are emphasized.

CJ& 106: Introduction to Juvenile Justice

Credits

Course covers the elements, functions and purpose of juvenile law. Arrest, detention, petition, records, interviewing, interrogation, overview of contributing factors to delinquency and the officer's role in prevention are emphasized.

CJ& 110: Criminal Law

Credits

Basic concepts of Titles 9 and 9A of the Revised Code of Washington are presented in this course. Elements, purposes and functions of criminal law are emphasized.

CJ& 240: Introduction to Forensics

Credits

All aspects of crime scene investigations. Areas of emphasis include fundamentals and techniques of investigations; crime scene search; field applications in the development, collection and preservation of physical evidence. Classification and rules of evidence, admissibility, weight and value of evidence, witnesses, and presentation of evidence in court also are included.

CJ 140: Criminal Justice Report Writing

Credits

Presents technical writing content specific to the criminal justice system including standard grammar/punctuation and basic composition skills. Content includes forms such as traffic citations, traffic accidents or evidence tags, and a variety of technical reports for which information may be obtained from investigations, interrogations or other written reports.

CJ 150: Laws of Arrest, Search and Seizure

Credits

Concepts of how to conduct a lawful arrest; search and seizure of suspects and evidence; and practicalities of conducting a search of persons, cars and houses are emphasized in this course.

CJ 196: Cooperative Work Experience

Credits

Intended to provide authentic experiences in the world of work by applying knowledge and skills learned in the classroom to a working environment. Variable credit class.

CJ 201: Criminal Investigations

Credits

Origins and development of criminal investigation. Emphasis on the scientific method, interrelationship of criminal investigations with criminalistics; recognition, documentation and collection of physical evidence; rules of evidence including admissibility, chain of custody and hearsay. Case studies will be used to illustrate the methodology of criminal investigation.

CJ 210: Police Organization & Administration

Credits

Introduces principles, concepts and theories relating to a police organization and administration within line and staff functions in the uniformed and investigative units.

CJ 230: Crisis Intervention

Credits

Theories of perception, emotion, motivation, personality and nonverbal communication used as tools by police officers in everyday contacts. Understanding and predicting human behavior in common police situations. Develop objective approaches to human relations problems and the ability to exercise skills in personal power and nonjudgmental communication.

CJ 245: Introduction to Traffic Investigations

Credits

Gain basic skills and knowledge in traffic accident investigation. Practical applications and techniques required to conduct a field investigation are emphasized. Basics of traffic control and traffic laws also are presented.

CJ 250: Criminal Justice Professional Development

Credits

Self-development activities are provided to assist students in gaining employment after graduation. Activities include civil service examinations, both written and oral, and exercises in professional conduct. Each student will go through initial physical assessments, physical training and final physical assessment in preparation for hiring standards and academy level testing standards.

CJ 260: Introduction to White Collar Crime

Credits

Examines concepts, extent and costs of white-collar and organized crime. 'Upperclass' offenders are described/contrasted to the common 'street' criminals. Individual/organizational forms of white-collar crime are reviewed and assessed. Special attention is paid to the use of criminal law in the control of what was once a civil arena.

CJ 261: Law Enforcement Research

Credits

Introduces concepts, approaches and methods for conducting and analyzing empirical research for criminal justice settings. Topics covered include: quantitative and qualitative research, surveying, sampling, data tabulation and assessing how to choose the appropriate method for specific law enforcement situations.

CJ 270: Medicolegal Death Investigation

Credits

Learn to conduct scientific, systematic and thorough death scene investigations for medical examiner and coroner offices. Course is appropriate training for police officers, physicians, nurses, emergency medical personnel, attorneys, forensic scientists and others who are involved with the investigation of violent, suspicious or unexpected deaths. Includes lab experiences.

CJ 271: Advanced Criminal Investigations

Credits

In depth studies of criminal and crime scene investigations; advanced development of investigative skills and forensic applications for crime scenes and evidence evaluation. Emphasizes crime scene reconstruction as a means to solve and prosecute violent crimes.

CJ 296: Cooperative Work Experience

Credits

Intended to provide authentic experiences in the world of work by applying knowledge and skills learned in the classroom to a working environment. Variable credit class.