| SOC 326 The Criminal Justice System Dr. Ernie Thomson [email protected] Hoover 109 COURSE DESCRIPTION: In this course, we will explore the role of, and effectiveness of the legal system as an agent of social control. The practical focus will be on the actual operation of the criminal justice system as it responds to "street crime." Using Samuel Walker's popular book Sense and Nonsense About Crime and Drugs, we will examine how political viewpoints shape (and often distort) ideas about crime and how to deal with crime, why both "conservative" and "liberal" approaches to the crime problem are fundamentally unworkable, and why the CJS is not able to do much about the problems of crime and violence in our society. ** Use of Internet material is a required part of the course. ** Information from assigned Internet sites will be covered on exams. COURSE MATERIAL Sense and Nonsense About Crime & Drugs (Samuel Walker, 6th edition) -- ULV Bookstore & online Internet assignments - links available at: http://erniethomson.com ATTENDANCE POLICY Regular attendance is crucial to your getting the most benefit from the class and to your course grade. You should plan to attend all class meetings, arrive on time, and stay for the whole meeting. Excessive absences result in lower test scores and lower course grades. EXAMS AND GRADING INFORMATION: There will be three one-hour exams during the semester. Each exam will count 1/4 of the course grade. Each exam covers only material assigned/discussed since the previous exam (exams are not comprehensive). Exams usually include a combination of multiple choice, true/false, matching, and short answer items. The term paper and attendance/participation will count for 1/4 of the course grade. ** There are no �extra credit� projects for this class. OFFICE HOURS Office hours will be updated on my homepage and on my office door each semester. Appointments can be made for other times - email is the best way to make appointments. My email and office number are at the top of this page, on my homepage, and on my office door. If you need to contact me for any reason, please email me. I will get back to you as soon as possible (usually within 24 hours. Please do not hesitate to contact me for any reason and as often as needed. |
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