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Criminal Justice CJ 1301 Course Guide

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This course guide has been customized to assist you with CRIJ1301. Thanks for stopping by!

Use the navigational tabs to find information for various resources that can help with your course assignments.

The information on this page is meant to orientate you with the requirements of the course. 

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The South Texas College Library has self-paced, interactive tutorials that help students and faculty successfully utilize library resources. Learn more about the library, how to search for information, and how to avoid plagiarism by following writing and citing best practices. 

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For curated content for all things Criminal Justice, see our Criminal Justice Research Guide (Will open in a new tab). 

Discovery Search is available from that page, so there's no need to go back to the Library's website.

Find a list of databases best suited for Criminal Justice research and some useful websites. 

Not sure what citation style to use, or even how to cite books, artwork, and videos in MLA, APA. and Chicago? Check out the Writing & Citing Guide (Will open in a new tab) for assistance with these areas. 

There are also several how-tos from the Purdue Online Writing Lab, and several tools for generating proper citation/bibliographies. 

Course Description

Course Description

This course provides a historical and philosophical overview of the American criminal justice system, including the nature, extent, and impact of crime; criminal law; and justice agencies and processes. Prerequisite: TSI complete in Reading and Writing, or equivalent, or co-enrolled in INRW 0304. 

Course Keypoints

Criminal Justice 1301

Brief Contents:

The Criminal Justice System

The Police

Criminal Courts

Corrections

 

Tentative Schedule

The dates of chapter lectures are subject to change at the discretion of the instructor based on the dynamics of the schedule.

Introduction and Overview of the Course

Chapter 1 – Crime Justice Today

Chapter 2 – Causes of Crime

Chapter 3 – The Crime Picture: Offenders and Victims

Chapter 4 – Inside Criminal Law

Exam #1

Chapter 5 – Law Enforcement Today

Chapter 6 – Problems and Solutions in Modern Policing

Chapter 7 – Police and the Constitution: The Rules of Law Enforcement

Chapter 8 – Courts and the Quest for Justice

Exam #2

Chapter 10 – The Criminal Trial

Chapter 11 – Punishment and Sentencing

Chapter 12 – Probation, Parole and Intermediate Sanctions

Chapter 13 – Prisons and Jails

Final Exam