Crime, Criminal and Victims

Doctorate Degree in Criminal Justice

CJ 800

Breyer State University

Instructor: Jackie Sexson, J.D., MBA

SYLLABUS

COURSE OVERVIEW: Welcome to Crime, Criminals and Victims!  This course is a Post-Graduate Level course in the curriculum for the Doctoral Degree in Criminal Justice.  I am pleased to instruct and guide you in this specialty course, which will be applied towards y our requirements in the doctoral program.

This course will review the progress achieved in the past decade toward resolving criminal justice issues, dilemmas, and controversies while providing futuristic visions for the criminal justice field.  Critical Issues, trends, costs and legal remedies will be studied in this course.  There are a vast number of issues that plague the law enforcement, the legal system and the criminal justice system in general.  We will take a look at the major issues.

This course will be divided into three major parts.  The first part will give an introductory overview of criminal justice by examining crime in America and different types of crime and criminals.  The second part discusses critical issues in law enforcement, examining excessive force issues, community policing as well as domestic violence issues and homicide investigations.  The third part examines the critical issues in juvenile justice, the criminal court system and the correctional system and its alternatives.

TIME FRAME:This is a six (6) semester hour course.  This course is allotted 10 weeks of time.  You must complete all of the requirements for the course successfully by the end of the 10-week period.  The first day of week one will begin the day that you register for the course, or the day which you notify me that your textbooks have arrived and you are ready to begin your studies.  Please be cognizant of the time frame.  It is rare that extensions of time are permitted, unless you have good justification.  Upon successful completion of this course, you will be awarded six (6) semester hours of credit. 

TEXTBOOK: There is one (1) required textbook for this course:

Book 1: Critical Issues in Crime and Justice, 2nd edition.  Roberts, R. Sage Publications 2003: ISBN #0-7619-2686-0.

EXAMINATIONS: There are two examinations for this course, a mid-term exam (completed during the 5th week) and a final exam (completed during the 9th week).  The mid-term exam covers Chapters 1 - 13 and the final exam covers Chapters 14 – 27.  The examinations are “open” book and will be thought-provoking discussion type of questions.  A simple one or two sentence answer will not be sufficient to make a good grade on the exams.  I expect graduate level writing to be used in completing your examinations.

The mid-term examination must be taken by the end of the 5th week in the course.
The final examination must be taken by the end of the 9th week in the course.

Upon your request, I will e-mail the examinations to you and once you complete each (within one week from the time I send it to you), return it as an e-mail attachment back to me (sexson@aol.com). The paper is due by the tenth week of class (send to me also via e-mail attachment). Both the midterm and final examinations, and the final paper will be graded within one week of my receiving them.

GRADING: The grading scale for this course is as follows:

90-100%    = A
80-89%      = B
70-79%      = C
Below 70% = Fail

Midterm Exam = 100 points
Final Exam = 100 points
Final Paper = 100 points
Total points = 300 points

A = 270 – 300 points
B = 240 – 269 points
C = 210 – 239 points
F = Below 210 points

COMMUNICATION: You are encouraged to communicate with me.  I am available as an instructor, coach and mentor to assist you in meeting your goals for this course.  Primarily, communication is through email.  However, I am available by telephone during my stated office hours below.  Our classroom for this course has a “chat” room.  With prior notice, I am very willing to meet with you one-on-one in the chat room upon your request.  From time to time, depending how many students are enrolled in this course at a particular time, we will have some scheduled group chats.  You will receive more detailed information at the time such chat sessions are scheduled.  If at any time during this course, you change your email address, please be sure to notify me right away.

When communicating via email, ALWAYS put the course number (CJ 800) in the subject line of your email AND “sign” your email with your full name.  If you do not follow these instructions, your email may be deleted, believing that it is spam.

ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR:  In addition to teaching several courses in the criminal justice program for Breyer State University, I also teach at several other institutions online and enjoy the online experience tremendously.  I am a practicing attorney and am the managing partner and executive director of a legal and human resources consulting firm, The Sexson Group.  I have held management positions in Fortune 500 companies as well as management positions in state government.  Early in my legal career, I was a defense counsel, handling drug cases.  As for hobbies, I enjoy hiking and snow skiing as well as other outdoor activities.  My dogs and I enjoy long walks in parks. 

COURSE OBJECTIVES: After completing this course, you will be able to:

1). Understand the major issues involving crime and criminals.
2). Understand the critical issues in law enforcement. 
3). Understand the critical issues in juvenile justice.
4). Understand the major issues in the criminal court system
5). Understand the correctional systems and the use of alternatives.

INFORMATION: If you have any questions regarding this program, you may contact the instructor at adm@breyerstate.com.

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