THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO Department of Sociology Administration of Criminal Justice Fall 2013

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1 THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO Department of Sociology Administration of Criminal Justice Fall 2013 Sociology 2253A Wed 12:30-2:30pm, Fri 10:30-11:30am, SSC 2032 Instructor: Prof. Georgios Fthenos Office hours: TBA Phone: TBA Course Description: A sociological analysis of the criminal justice system in Canada (public involvement, police, courts, and correctional programs). The organization, structure and functioning of the criminal justice system are examined. Course Objectives By the end of this course, students should be able to: describe the history, evolution and present structure of the Canadian criminal justice system demonstrate a practical and working knowledge of the steps in the criminal justice process understand the various components of the criminal justice system and how they relate and interact with one another describe the dichotomy between protecting individual rights of citizens and protection of the public Prerequisite(s): Sociology 1020 or 1021E. Unless you have either the requisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enroll in it, you may be removed from this course and it will be deleted from your record. This decision may not be appealed. You will receive no adjustment to your fees in the event that you are dropped from a course for failing to have the necessary prerequisites. Required Texts: Griffiths, Curt T Canadian Criminal Justice: A Primer (4th edition). Toronto: Thompson Nelson. Evaluation: Midterm Exam 50% Final Exam: 50% Midterm/Final Exam: The exams are non-cumulative. The tests and final exam will be made up of multiple choice, true/false and short/long answer questions. You will be tested on materials covered in the textbook, assigned readings, lecture slides and online class discussions. The midterm is 2 hours

2 in length. The final exam is 3 hours in length. Computer-marked multiple- choice tests and/or exams may be subject to submission for similarity review by software that will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating. Course Schedule: Date Topic Readings Sept 11/13 Introduction Sept 18/20 The Criminal Justice System: An Overview Challenges in Criminal Justice Chpt. 1 Sept 25/27 Crime Rates, Crime Trends and Perceptions of Crime in Canada Oct 2/4 Criminal Law and Criminal Justice in Canada Chpt. 2 Criminal Justice Policy Oct 9/11 Police Operations Chpt. 3, 4, 5 Issues in Canadian Policing Oct 16/18 MIDTERM EXAM Oct 30 The Criminal Courts Chpt. 6 Nov 6/8 The Prosecution of Criminal Cases/Criminal Procedure Chpt. 7 Nov 13/15 Sentencing and Punishment Chpt. 8 Nov 20/22 Alternatives to Confinement Chpt. 9 Nov 27/29 Correctional Institutions Chpt 10 Dec 4/6 Release and Re-Entry Chpt. 11 Dec 8-19 Exam Period Scheduled By Registrar Grade Guidelines: Department of Sociology guidelines require a particular course grade distribution. For 2200 level courses, the number of A s is not to exceed the number of B s, and class means are expected to fall in the range of 66-70%. Due to concerns surrounding grade inflation, final grades in this course will be centered on a mean of no higher than 70 (as per the Dept. guidelines). This means that your final grade depends on your ranking relative to other students and I reserve the right to take corrective measures to ensure against grade inflation. Missed Exams and Late Assignments: Academic accommodation will not be granted automatically on request. In the case of non-

3 medical absences from midterm exams, you must demonstrate compelling grounds that can be documented before academic accommodation will be considered. Students can view the Policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness at If documentation is required for either medical or noon-medical academic accommodation, such documentation must be submitted by the student directly to the appropriate Faculty Dean s Office and not to the instructor. The Dean s Office will determine if accommodation is warranted. Action must be taken at the earliest possible opportunity, preferably prior to the scheduled examination. Makeup exams are written on Fridays in the Sociology department. Failure to write a scheduled makeup exam will result in a zero. Compassionate Grounds: Serious Illness of a Family Member: Inform your instructor as soon as possible and submit a medical certificate from the family member's physician to your home faculty s Academic Counselling office. In Case of a Death: Inform your instructor as soon as possible and submit a copy of the newspaper notice, death certificate or other documentation to your home faculty s Academic Counselling office. Statement on Academic Offences: Scholastic offences are taken seriously and students are directed to read the appropriate policy, specifically, what constitutes a scholastic offence at Note: Plagiarism: Students must write their essays and assignments in their own words. Whenever students take an idea, or a passage, from another author they must acknowledge their debt both by quotation marks and in footnotes. Plagiarism is a major academic offence (see Scholastic Offence Policy in the Western Academic Calendar). ** Plagiarism Checking: The University of Western Ontario uses software for plagiarism checking. Students may be required to submit their written work in electronic form for plagiarism checking. *** The policy of the University is that, when a course instructor wishes to change the evaluation procedure, as outlined in his or her course outline at the beginning of the year, prior approval must be obtained from the dean of the faculty concerned. Check Department of Sociology website ( for class cancellations or changes.

4 POLICY ON ACCOMMODATION FOR MEDICAL ILLNESS: UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS The University recognizes that a student s ability to meet his/her academic responsibilities may, on occasion, be impaired by medical illness. Illness may be acute (short term), or it may be chronic (long term), or chronic with acute episodes. The University further recognizes that medical situations are deeply personal and respects the need for privacy and confidentiality in these matters. However, in order to ensure fairness and consistency for all students, academic accommodation for work representing 10% or more of the student s overall grade in the course shall be granted only in those cases where there is documentation indicating that the student was seriously affected by illness and could not reasonably be expected to meet his/her academic responsibilities. Documentation shall be submitted, as soon as possible, to the appropriate Dean s office (the Office of the Dean of the student s Faculty of registration/home Faculty) together with a request for relief specifying the nature of the accommodation being requested. These documents will be retained in the student s file, and will be held in confidence in accordance with the University s Official Student Record Information Privacy Policy*. Once the petition and supporting documents have been received and assessed, appropriate academic accommodation shall be determined by the Dean s Office in consultation with the student s instructor(s). Academic accommodation may include extension of deadlines, waiver of attendance requirements for classes/labs/tutorials, arranging Special Exams or Incompletes, re-weighting course requirements, or granting late withdrawals without academic penalty. Academic accommodation shall be granted only where the documentation indicates that the onset, duration and severity of the illness are such that the student could not reasonably be expected to complete his/her academic responsibilities. (Note it will not be sufficient to provide documentation indicating simply that the student was seen for a medical reason or was ill. ) Whenever possible, students who require academic accommodation should provide notification and documentation in advance of due dates, examinations, etc. Students must follow up with their professors and their Academic Counselling office in a timely manner. Documentation from Family Physicians and Walk-In Clinics A UWO Student Medical Certificate (SMC)* is required where a student is seeking academic accommodation. This documentation should be obtained at the time of the initial consultation with the physician or walk-in clinic. An SMC can be downloaded under the Medical Documentation heading of the following website: Hard copies are available from Academic Counselling in the Faculties. Documentation from Student Health Services Students obtaining documentation from Student Health Services should sign a release of information. This form authorizes Student Health Services to provide information to the student s home Faculty. Release of information forms are available from, and can be arranged through, the student s home Faculty Academic Counselling service.

5 Documentation from Hospital Urgent Care Centres or Emergency Departments Students should request that an SMC be filled out. Students may bring this form with them, or request alternative Emergency Department documentation. Documentation should be secured at the time of the initial visit to the Emergency Department. Where it is not possible for a student to have an SMC completed by the attending physician, the student must request documentation sufficient to demonstrate that his/her ability to meet his/her academic responsibilities was seriously affected. Accommodation by Instructor for work worth less than 10% of the overall grade in a course Instructors are encouraged, in the first instance, to arrange participation requirements and multiple small assignments in such a way as to allow students some flexibility. A student seeking academic accommodation for any work worth less than 10% must contact the instructor or follow the appropriate Department or course specific instructions provided on the course outline. In arranging accommodation, instructors will use good judgment and ensure fair treatment for all students. Instructors must indicate on the course outline how they will be dealing with work worth less than 10% of the total course grade. In particular, instructors must indicate whether medical documentation will be required for absences, late assignments or essays, missed tests, laboratory experiments or tutorials, etc. Where medical documentation is required, such documentation must be submitted by the student directly to the appropriate Faculty Dean s office, and it will be the Dean s office that will make the determination whether accommodation is warranted. Given the University s Official Student Record Information Privacy Policy, instructors may not collect medical documentation. In all cases where accommodation is being sought for work totalling 10% or more of the final grade in a course, students will be directed to the appropriate Faculty Dean s office. Students who have been denied accommodation by an instructor may appeal this decision to the appropriate Faculty Dean s office but will be required to present appropriate documentation. Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you. You may also wish to contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at x for any specific question regarding an accommodation.