Department of Criminal Justice

CRJ 500. Comparative Criminal Justice Systems. 3 Credits.

This course examines criminal justice systems worldwide, focusing primarily on the relationships between the police, courts, corrections and the society these subsystems serve. The primary focus will be on the four legal traditions: common law, civil law, socialist, and Islamic systems of law and social control. Descriptive material on selected countries will be analyzed and compared.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

CRJ 503. Criminal Behavior and the Law. 3 Credits.

This course is designed to help the student understand behavior by comparing criminal with normal behavior. A survey course, it reviews types of abnormal behavior and mental disorders, methods of diagnosis, and treatment and resolution of internal personal conflicts. Also included is an understanding of criminal behavior as it applies to abnormality.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

CRJ 504. Mental Health in the Criminal Justice System. 3 Credits.

The objective of this seminar-style course is to explore the various and complex ways mental health and the criminal justice system are intertwined. Students' exploration will include an inventory of the literature/research related to victims, offenders, and criminal justice officials. Through discussion facilitated by the instructor, students will engage in a critical analysis of the criminalization of mental illness, mental health care in the correctional system, and community mental health care as it connects with the criminal justice sector. Topical issues include: history and contemporary societal responses; increased awareness and understanding of mental disorders; impact on the community as well as criminal justice professionals; legal aspects of mental illness; policy as it pertains to diversion opportunities and the treatment and management of offenders with mental illness. Engagement and innovative research/policy solutions are required from students.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

CRJ 505. Criminological Theory. 3 Credits.

This course is a survey of the historical and contemporary attempts to explain the phenomena of crime and criminal behavior from the perspectives of sociology, psychology, economics, biology, and law. Emphasis will be placed on contemporary theories and the analysis of evidence supportive of various theoretical positions.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

CRJ 506. Leadership/Management Strategies for CRJ Professionals. 3 Credits.

This course offers graduate students insight and understanding into the strategies and skills necessary to become outstanding supervisors and leaders. The course content provides students with the opportunity to develop personally and professionally through exploration of theory, application of theory to practice and skill development related to leadership concepts. Students will have the opportunity to practice skill sets in a classroom setting and receive immediate feedback.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

CRJ 507. CRJ System: Contemporary Ethical Issues. 3 Credits.

This course is designed to identify and examine ethical issues among practitioners and students in the criminal justice field. Such issues include the discretionary power of arrest, the use of deadly force, the decision to prosecute, participation in plea bargaining, representation of the guilty, and the imposition of punishment.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

CRJ 508. Research Design & Data Analysis. 3 Credits.

This course is intended to introduce the graduate student to the process of conducting research in the social sciences. Topics to be covered include: scientific and ethical contexts of social research, research design, methods of data collection, and data processing, analysis, and interpretation.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

CRJ 509. Criminal Jurisprudence. 3 Credits.

This course examines the complex concepts and principles of criminal law and procedure. The foundations of these disciplines will be initially reviewed, followed by a more comprehensive and incisive analysis and investigation of the difficult issues which have evolved through decisions of the United States Supreme Court. Supreme Court jurisprudence is examined and contrasted with the jurisprudence of the Pennsylvania courts.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

CRJ 515. Crime Mapping and Analysis. 3 Credits.

This course is an examination of the process of electronically mapping the distribution of crime and other spatially defined data. The focus is on the distribution and analysis of crime and social services information over time relative to the relevant demographic and social environment. The goal is to teach law enforcement and related social service personnel how to create, map and analyze data within the spatial context of the relevant community.

CRJ 522. Corporate and Financial Crime. 3 Credits.

This course facilitates the study of complex and significant areas of economic crime, better known as "white collar crime". Examples of these types of crimes include: insider trading, fraud against the government, corruption of public funds be elected or appointed officials, bid rigging, and unethical industry practices such as "off-labeling" of pharmaceuticals. Basic statutory laws, including the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, will be reviewed.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

CRJ 524. Juvenile Law. 3 Credits.

This course will bring together the leading cases that have reached the Supreme Court, as well as other important federal and state court decisions relating to the juvenile justice process.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

CRJ 525. Restorative Justice. 3 Credits.

This course will examine the use of restorative justice in the criminal justice system. The impact of restorative justice approaches on victim and family of victim, offender and community will be examined at the adult and juvenile level. In addition, the history and philosophy of punishment will be explored. A critique and overview of contemporary models of restorative justice will also be undertaken.

CRJ 526. Contemporary Issues in Law Enforcement. 3 Credits.

This course is designed to examine current policing strategies and political issues that have developed as a result of those strategies. It also will explore the future of policing in America and will present several interdisciplinary approaches to new theoretical perspectives.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

CRJ 528. Advances in Law Enforcement Technology. 3 Credits.

This course will present, identify and discuss major trends and cutting edge initiatives in law enforcement technology. The course will address the latest technology in two aspects: in the lab and in the field. Potential problems with new technologies will be examined, including constitutional issues, public policy implications, and difficulties of implementation.

CRJ 545. Criminal Profiling. 3 Credits.

This course describes and explains the art and science of criminal profiling used as an investigative technique to identify the demographic, personality and behavioral characteristics of offenders. The course defines the differences between clinical profiling by mental health professionals and profiling as an analytical investigative tool.

CRJ 546. Addiction. 3 Credits.

This course is designed to explore the history and extent of alcohol and other drugs of abuse and the relationship to crime. The current criminal justice response will be analyzed as will past efforts at crime control. This course will provide students with the factual, theoretical and philosophical information necessary to understand the multifaceted dimensions of drug abuse and addiction and a rational approach to address the problem.

CRJ 555. Topical Seminar in Criminal Justice. 3 Credits.

This course will provide an intensive examination of a selected area of study in the field of criminal justice. Topics will be announced at the time of offering. This course may be taken more than once when different topics are presented.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.
Repeatable for Credit.

CRJ 560. Applied Legal Studies. 3 Credits.

The course will examine selected factual accounts of criminal law and process. Through critical examination and analysis of these cases, the student will be able to understand the practical realities of the criminal justice system, and to compare theory and philosophy with practice.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall.

CRJ 565. Victimology: Theory, Research and Practice. 3 Credits.

This course is designed to analyze historical and contemporary issues in the areas of victimology and victim services. The course will cover the historical and modern-day roles of victims in criminal justice, victimization trends and patterns, theories of victimization, current research findings related to crime victims, legal rights of victims, and available victim services.
Distance education offering may be available.

CRJ 566. Contemporary Issues In Corrections. 3 Credits.

This course is designed to analyze contemporary issues in the area of corrections. Such issues will include the privatization of corrections, diversion, restorative justice, treatment of the mentally ill, sentencing disparity, the politics of corrections, the incarceration of youth, the death penalty, prison overcrowding, inmate rights, the media and corrections, and the use of technology in corrections.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

CRJ 570. Gender, Crime and Justice. 3 Credits.

This course will examine the impact gender has on various aspects of the criminal justice system. The course will offer an exploration of the victimization of women, and the culture that supports it. It will also address the unique issues of women as criminals, women as prisoners, and women as workers in the criminal justice system.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

CRJ 575. Bioterrorism, Bio-Crises & Public Health. 3 Credits.

This course addresses the protection of the public's health and that of workers such as first responders from biological agents that cause disease and/or death. Students will learn scientific concepts, issues and techniques currently used in disaster mitigation and response for vio-crises such as disease outbreaks, epidemics and pandemics as well as bioterrorism emergencies. Students will manage scenarios to enhance leadership skills. As available, a service learning research project will be incorporated.

CRJ 580. Cyber Crime. 3 Credits.

This course addresses the evolution of criminal activity conducted using internet technology. Areas of study will include cyber terrorism, cyber stalking, espionage, information warfare, electronic fraud, "phishing", systems interference and other virtual crimes.

CRJ 582. Controversial Criminal Jurisprudence. 3 Credits.

This course presumes a sophisticated working knowledge of criminal law and procedure (successful completion of CRJ 509). It provides an in-depth analysis of the Supreme Court's historical and contemporary approach to the most controversial issues of criminal law and procedure. The perspectives and arguments will be examined through the study and analysis of U.S. Supreme Court cases.
Pre / Co requisites: CRJ 582 requires a prerequisite of CRJ 509.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

CRJ 599. Independent Studies in Criminal Justice. 1-3 Credits.

This course will entail research projects, reports, and readings in criminal justice.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.
Repeatable for Credit.

CRJ 600. Proseminar. 3 Credits.

This capstone course requires the successful completion of a significant empirical research study. It builds on the knowledge and skills acquired in CRJ 508, as well as the general concepts learned in other graduate CRJ courses. The student is required to present the study's findings in a scholarly paper and an oral presentation.
Pre / Co requisites: CRJ 600 requires a prerequisite of a B or better in CRJ 508.

CRJ 610. Thesis. 3 Credits.

Bound and shelved in the library, the thesis represents the student's ability to plan, organize, and direct a research effort designed to discover, develop, or verify knowledge. Only for those students taking the thesis track.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.