Comparative Criminal Justice CRMJ 4280-01 Spring 2014 Course Syllabus Professor: Cary Heck, Ph.D. Office: A & S Bldg. 322B Phone: 766-2614 E-mail: check@uwyo.edu Office Hours: MWF 11:00 a.m. to Noon and by Appointment Class Time: MWF 1:10 to 2:00 pm Location: Classroom Building 113 Required Textbooks: Dammer and Albanese (2014) Comparative Criminal Justice Systems (5 th ), Belmont, CA. Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Description: This course is designed to give an overview of crime, criminal justice processes, corrections, and alternative sentencing/diversion in various countries around the world. Through studying these problems and systems students will gain an appreciation for the varied social, political, and economic forces that motivate crime and criminal justice policy in several countries. Generally we will spend one week on each of thirteen nations. Students will write a significant research paper to demonstrate their understanding of a particular culture. Objectives: At the end of this course, students should: - understand the social, political, cultural, and economic factors that relate to criminal justice policy and systems in these countries - understand the basic crime patterns in several countries or regions, - be familiar with public policy responses to those crime patterns, - understand basic typologies used to compare criminal justice systems, - understand the relationships between governments and their citizenry in relation to crime and criminal justice processing, - have written a significant research paper related to these topics. Requirements:
Students are responsible for all materials presented in class in any form as well as all signed readings. Should you have reason to miss class, it will be up to you to make arrangements to get notes and other materials. I will not be taking attendance but highly encourage you to attend class. Please read assigned materials prior to attending class. Readings: The following reading list reflects the required readings from the textbook. Additional readings will be assigned as the class progresses. Date Assignment Chapter Title Jan. 13 Syllabus Jan. 15 Chapter 1 Introduction Jan. 22 Chapter 2 Measuring and Comparing Crime Jan. 27 Chapter 3 Families of Law Feb. 3 Chapter 4 Six Model Nations Feb. 10 Chapter 5 Law Enforcement Feb. 17 Chapter 6 Criminal Procedure Feb. 24 Chapter 7 Courts and Legal Professionals Mar. 3 Chapter 8 After Conviction: Sentencing Mar. 10 Chapter 9 After Conviction: Prison Mar. 17 Spring Break Mar. 24 Chapter 10 Terrorism Mar. 31 Chapter 11 Transnational Organized Crime April 7 Chapter 12 Juvenile Justice Grading and Assignments: Your course grade will be based upon four written assignments. The first assignment involves selecting a particular nation to study and developing a reference list for your project. The list of references should include ten scholarly articles or books related to the particular nation of study. This paper will be due no later than 1:10 pm. on January 29, 2014. The second and third of these assignments will be portions of the final paper. Both of these assignments will be five to seven pages in length and will be due to me no later than 1:10 p.m. on February 17, 2014, and March 24, 2014 respectively. The second assignment will be an introduction to the topic with a description of the social, cultural, religious, political, and economic forces working in your country of choice. This paper will also require that you write a concise and understandable thesis statement. The third will be a description of the comparative framework for the paper and a literature review. This comparative framework will include a focus on the three major elements of the criminal justice system including law enforcement, courts, and corrections. This section of the
paper should include a complete description of these elements as they operate in the country of your choosing. At the due date students should turn in two copies of their paper. The first should have your name on it and the second should be without your name. I will be sharing your paper with one or more of your classmates for a peer review process. This process will be discussed in greater detail as the time approaches. The final paper will be the first two combined with a findings section and a conclusion added. This section should pull the paper together and focus the reader s attention back on the thesis statement. The final paper should be 17 to 25 pages long and have a bibliography. Late papers will NOT be accepted without a legitimate university excuse. I reserve the right to rule on the acceptability of an excuse however; those who miss a deadline should seek a written excuse from the Office of Student Life. This paper will be due by 1:10 pm on April 25 th, 2014. Since this is a WC class (see below), there are specific requirements that the paper must fulfill. Thus, I will be grading on grammar, punctuation, style, and format. All papers must be written in APA format. Each of your first three assignments will be considered a draft and will potentially be read by classmates and reviewed in class. Comments will be returned to students to be incorporated in the final paper. Grading will be based upon a total of 150 points. The first assignment is worth 10 points while the second two assignments will be worth 20 points apiece. The last assignment will be worth 100. All papers must be turned in hard copy. No papers will be accepted through e-mail or any other electronic format! Paper Due Dates: Paper 1 January 29, 2014 Paper 2 February 17, 2014 Paper 3 March 24, 2014 Final Paper April 25, 2014 Grading Scale: A = 90-100% B = 80-99% C = 70-79% D = 60 69% F = < 60% Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism: University regulations concerning academic dishonesty will be strictly enforced. UNIREG 802, Revision 2 (subsections 3e-3h) defines academic dishonesty to include: Using notes or prepared information in an examination unless authorized by the instructor.
Copying from, or assisting, another student during an examination. Stealing, or otherwise improperly obtaining, copies of an examination before or after its administration. All quotes and ideas from other sources should be properly attributed. The penalty for committing academic dishonesty and/or plagiarism on any written assignments in this class is a grade of F for the entire course. In addition, a letter will be placed in your University citizenship file. The University Regulation that outlines academic dishonesty can be found here: http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/legal/uniregs/ur802.htm. You should read this statement before class begins. If you have questions about academic dishonesty, please do not hesitate to contact me. Writing 3 (WC) University Studies Program writing courses will assist students to achieve knowledge of writing conventions, to develop reading, writing, and critical thinking skills, and to gain competence in rhetorical knowledge. For WC, students will demonstrate the ability to: 1. Use the discourse of a discipline and/or interdisciplinary field and communicate that field s subject matter to academic and/or professional audiences. This will be accomplished through the writing of the final paper. This paper will meet the requirements of journal submission in the field of criminal justice. The paper will focus on an entire criminal justice system of a nation of the student s choosing. Elements of culture, economics, politics, and demographics will be discussed in the introductory section of the paper. 2. Make effective use of multiple drafts, of revision and editing, of computer technology, of peer and instructor comments, and of collaboration in the achievement of writing that shows understanding of written standards in a discipline and/or interdisciplinary field. Students will be required to write a comprehensive research paper. The paper is broken into three preliminary sections. Each of these sections will be graded for content as well as style. Feedback will be given to students after the writing of each section. Additionally, the third section will be submitted twice. The first copy will have the student s name attached and the second without. This second copy will be distributed to another student in the class for a peer review session done in class. A full hour lecture and discussion will precede this review that focuses on writing style, form, content and flow. Students will provide comments on the papers that they review and return them to the instructor to be given back to the author with the graded copy.
3. Address issues in a discipline and/or interdisciplinary field by completing a substantial writing project that requires appropriate research skills. As mentioned above, this class is focused on the writing of a comprehensive research paper that covers a broad variety of social topics related to crime and justice in a nation other than the United States. The goal of the project is to have a complete, well-written research document that has multiple opportunities for editing and revising. 4. Recognize and understand more advanced aspects or writing that respond to the purposes and needs of audiences in a discipline, interdisciplinary field, and/or professional setting. One of the major foci of this class is the development of a useful and thought provoking thesis statement. Indeed, a whole lecture is devoted to this end. Students will then be graded on their ability to defend their thesis in a manner that is well organized and well supported with outside research. 5. Observe the conventions of spelling, grammar, structure, punctuation, and documentation expected in disciplinary, interdisciplinary, and/or professional contexts. The research paper in this class must follow the conventions of the American Psychological Association s Publication Manual, 5 th Edition. Students will be graded on their ability to write, cite, and reference in this style. Global Awareness (G) By taking global awareness courses, students should acquire knowledge of the global organization and interdependence of human societies. Such knowledge will foster students ability to identify and discuss contemporary global issues and to connect world events to personal experience. An awareness of the conditions, beliefs, behaviors, and practices of a variety of cultures will help students to function productively in an increasingly globalized world. Global awareness courses should point to one or more of the following: 1. The ability to compare and contrast the unique characteristics of world cultures and the universality of human experience through examination of traditions, social organization, and ways of life. This class will focus on the criminal justice systems, and the contexts for these systems, of a variety of interesting nations. Issues of culture, traditions, social organizations, and ways of life will be discussed as they relate to each nation. 2. The ability to analyze and understand the interconnectedness of global and local concerns. The criminal justice systems of the studied nations will be compared and contrasted using a matrix that considers political, social, economic, cultural and traditional values within each nation. At the end of the class students will be able to categorize the systems of the different nations, compare them, and develop ideas about their interconnectedness. 3. The ability to recognize and interpret the aesthetic traditions and artistic representations that emanate from a culture located primarily outside the United States.
While aesthetic traditions are not a primary concern of this class, culture certainly plays an important role in any discussion of class conflict, crime, and justice (or injustice). Religion plays an important role in this discussion and is a focus of the comparative matrix. Courses in this category should serve to broaden the student s perspective and increase an understanding of the way diverse groups of people make sense of the world in which they live. G courses should help students to understand the relationship between contemporary and historical experience. While not limited to studies of culture, courses in this category must focus on human activity and institutions. Subject matter that is based on the physical world and natural phenomena must focus on human interaction with and response to these phenomena. IMPORTANT: Disabilities: If you have a physical, learning or psychological disability and require accommodations, please let me know as soon as possible. You will need to register with, and provide documentation of your disability to University Disability Support Services (UDSS) in SEO, room 330, Knight Hall. Also: Please act respectfully in this class, both to other students and to me. It is my goal to foster a learning environment that is professional and encourages open dialogue and discussion. Any kind of disrespectful behavior will result in me asking you to desist or depart. All students are on equal footing in this class and I appreciate the expression of a wide variety of opinions. I believe that we have something to learn from everyone. Thus, any of the isms (i.e. racism or sexism) will not be tolerated.