Special Project/Symposium

Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice

CJS 495

Breyer State University

Instructor: James P. Conroy, MS

SYLLABUS

COURSE OVERVIEW: Welcome to CJS 495, Special Project/Symposium, the final seminar in the Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice's Crime Scene Investigations track. I am pleased to be your Instructor for this course, which will center on several interesting aspects of Forensic Science and how this discipline enables the police and the Courts resolve criminal and civil cases.

This is an extremely interesting and important course as it summarizes your knowledge you have gained as a result of your studies in the criminal justice and crime scene investigations areas. This course will allow you to review specific case studies that have been adjudicated throughout the criminal justice arena and focus on important forensic techniques that assist investigators in their jobs. Specifically, we will concentrate on such areas as crime scene investigation, DNA, firearms, arson, bombings/explosions, voice/document analysis and other areas, to name a few.

FIRST SUBMISSION: Please submit to me, via e-mail, the following information:

Name:
E-mail Address:
Telephone Number:
Major:
Year in School:
Work Experience:

TIME FRAME: This is a twenty (20) semester hour course. The course, examination and writing assignment must be completed within ten (10) weeks. The first day of week one will begin the day that you register for this course or the day that you advise me, via e-mail, that you have received your books. Please monitor the time frame as extensions are rare, except under special, previously arranged, circumstances. At the successful completion of this course, you will be awarded twenty (20) semester hours of credit. You may accelerate and finish the course prior to the ten week mark, but you may not complete same in less than four (4) weeks. There is no mandate to accelerate; however, it is an option that is available to you.

TEXTBOOK: There is one required textbook for this course,

Book 1: Criminalistics: An Introduction to Forensic Science. Richard E. Saferstein, 8th Edition, Prentice Hall. 2004: ISBN # 132216558.

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EXAMINATION: There will be one final examination that is required. It will consist of twenty five (25) fill in and true/false types of questions, and are based on the readings and your understanding of the assigned chapters of the text. There is also an essay, worth 25% of your grade, on the final exam. The Examination must be completed by the tenth (10) week of class. Upon providing you access to the examination, you will send me the examination upon completion and I will grade and return to you within three days. The examination is worth 50% of your grade, and is based on 100%.

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

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

COMMUNICATION: I encourage you to contact me through the internal e-mail system, group chat in BSU's virtual chat room or by telephone, if necessary. Depending on how many students are enrolled in the course, we may have group chats or you can privately schedule, at a mutually convenient time, a chat in the chat room. If your e-mail address changes, please notify me immediately.

ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR: Hello, students, my name is Jim Conroy and I hold a Master of Science (MS) in Criminal Justice from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, and a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Criminal Justice from St. John's University. I am currently completing a second master's degree in Public Administration from Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY. On a professional level, I am a Special Agent/Criminal Investigator assigned to working traditional organized crime and official corruption investigations with a state law enforcement agency in Trenton, NJ. Prior to this, I was a Senior Criminal Investigator with the Office of the New York State Inspector General, NY, NY. In that capacity, I investigated allegations of theft, abuse, and corruption committed by state employees and officials. Before this position, I investigated members of the New York City Police Department for abuse of power, excessive force and other allegations of misconduct. I have a great variety of investigations in my background, most concentrating in the area of white collar and criminal investigation. I am also experienced in conducting crime scene collection, recording and evidence processing. I currently teach Forensic Science at the undergraduate level for Essex County College in Newark , NJ . I hold a certification in fraud examination, and am looking forward to discussing any and all criminal justice issues with you, including, but not limited to this course.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: Upon completing this course, you should be able to:

1). Identify the major perspectives that define and comprise the field of forensic science and the general theories that accompany these perspectives.
2). Identify basic terminology associated with studying forensic science.
3). Apply the terms, principles and theoretical concepts to understand the field of forensic science.
4). Grasp a basic understanding of the field of forensic science and how this enables the criminal justice system to help resolve its civil and criminal law cases.
5). Evaluate and summarize a case study

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