Fundamentals of criminal justice : a sociological view

pt. 1. Understanding criminal justice

1. Crime and justice in America

The problem of crime

Problem in understanding crime

Media coverage and myths about crime

The get-tough approach

The Criminal Justice System

Can we afford our prison policy?

Size and cost of criminal justice

Goals of criminal justice

Models of criminal justice

International focus : the Islamic concept of crime. pt. 2. Crime and victimization

2. Counting and explaining crime

Uniform crime reports

National Crime Victimization Survey

Self-report surveys

Field research

Explaining crime

Rational choice, deterrence, and routine activities theories

Crime and the economy

Biological and psychological explanations

Sociological explanations

Theory and policy : reducing crime

International focus : myth and reality of crime in the British countryside

Under investigation : who commits crime?

Gender

Age

Social class

Race and ethnicity

The geography and climatology of crime

3. Crime in the United States

Crimes of violence

Homicide

Serial killers

Mass murder

Robbery

Rape and sexual assault

Serial rapists

Rape myths

Marital rape

Acquaintance rape

Self-defense

Aggravated assault

Domestic violence

Property crimes

Burglary

Larceny-theft

Motor vehicle theft

Arson

Hate crimes

Prostitution

Streetwalkers

Pimps

Clients

Illegal drugs

Drugs and crime

The cocaine distribution system

Methamphetamine and the making of an epidemic

A real drug war south of the Border

Is decriminalization the answer?

Organized crime

Corporate crime

International focus : organized crime in a changing Russian Society

Street gangs and motorcycle gangs

Asian gangs

Black gangs

Hispanic gangs

How many gangs?

Gangs and drugs

Gangs and technology

Females and gangs

Combating gangs

4. Criminal law

History of criminal law

Ancient societies

English common Law

American Colonial Law

types of law and crime

Classifications of law

Serious crimes versus minor crimes

The counterfeit counting of campus crime

Elements of a crime

Criminal responsibility and legal defenses

Accident, mistake, and ignorance

Duress

Self-defense

Necessity

Entrapment

Age, developmental disabilities, and the insanity defense

Constitutional and procedural rights

The Bill of Rights and legal protections

The expansion of Due Process

The Supreme Court and the police

Have Supreme Court decisions helped or hurt the police?

International focus : International Law

5. Victims and victimization

Defining crime victims

Victim characteristics

Age

Gender

Race and ethnicity

Immigrants

Income

Marital status

Time and place of occurrence

Cost and consequences of victimization

Economic and medical costs

Psychological consequences

What is an advocate?

Typology of victims

Victims and offenders

The geography of crime

Victim precipitation

Choosing a victim and repeat victimization

Victims as offenders and offenders as victims

Crime displacement and victimization

The Victims Movement

Victims and offenders : restitution and restoration

The Victims Crime Act

Victims and sentencing

International focus : crime victims in a wealthy society : Norway

The Crime Victims Rights Act of 2004

Victim information and notification everyday

Terrorists and victims : a world at risk

A terrorist typology

Vigilante terrorism

Insurgent terrorism

Transnational terrorism

State terrorism

Narco-terrorism

Explaining terrorism

Countering terrorism

Terrorism, criminal justice and the future. pt. 3. Law enforcement

6. The police : history, organization, and composition

Origins and development of the police

European roots

Police in Colonial America

The emergence of professional police forces

August Vollmer and O.W. Wilson

Police unions

The organization of law enforcement

Municipal police and sheriff's departments

State police

Federal agencies

The ICE man (and woman) cometh

Special police forces

Composition of police departments

African American police officers

Hispanic and Asian American police officers

Female police officers

International focus : the French police : two forces are better than one

Gay and lesbian police officers

The police and Affirmative Action

Community policing and militarizing the police

7. Becoming a copy and doing police work

Requirements and selection

From the Academy to the street

Doing police work

The police and crime

On patrol

Criminal investigation

Traffic enforcement

Undercover work : difficult and dangerous

Police discretion

The impact of technology

COMPSTAT

The police and profiling

The police subculture

Police cynicism

Police officers and family violence

Officer killed in the linen of duty

International focus : police in the Land of the Rising Sun : Japan

Police suicides

8. Police misconduct

Typology of police deviance

Nonsexual conduct

Sexual harassment

Sexual shakedowns

Corruption

The impact of corruption

Becoming a crooked cop

Corrupt police departments

The Chicago Police Department : brutality and corruption in the Windy City

Police and the use of force

Police brutality : definition and frequency of occurrence

Police violence : why does it occur?

Police violence and race

Fear and fun

The war on crime

"Contempt of cop"

Department of philosophy and accountability

Devil cops in the City of Angels

Policing the police

Internal control

Government control

Community control

International focus : police deviance in a developing nation : Mexico. pt. 4. Courts and sentencing

9. Criminal courts : history, organization, and pretrial procedures

History of the U.S. Courts System

State courts

Federal courts

Judges

Prosecutors

Defense attorneys

Pretrial procedures

Arrest

Initial appearance

Charging

Preliminary hearing

Grand Jury

Arraignment

Bail and pretrial detention

Bail bondsmen

Discovery and pretrial motions

International focus : Islam and criminal justice

10. Plea bargaining and jury trials

Prosecutors and plea bargaining

Judges and plea bargaining

Victims and plea bargaining

The trial

Modern trials

Jury selection, jury composition, and Voir Dire

Opening statements

Presenting the evidence

Closing arguments

Jury instructions and jury deliberations

The verdict

Appeals

Jury nullification

Convicting the innocent

Eyewitness errors

Prosecutorial and police misconduct and errors

False confessions

Plea bargaining

Community pressure for convicting

Inadequacy of counsel

Accusations against the innocent by the guilty

Testimony of in-custody informants

Criminal records

Race as a factor

DNA testing

Fingerprints : proof positive?

Allen Coco : legally guilty, factually innocent

The CSI effect

International focus : criminal justice in China : verdict first, trial second

11. Sentencing

Judicial discretion and sentencing policy

Goals of sentencing

Rehabilitation

Retribution and just deserts

Incapacitation

Deterrence

Types of sentences

Probation

Intermediate sanctions

Incarceration

Sentencing reforms and incarceration

Presentence reports and sentencing hearings

Sentencing guidelines

Victim-impact statements

Prior record and seriousness of offense

Controversial new sentencing for crack offenders

Sentencing disparity

International focus : mandatory sentencing "Down Under" : Australia. pt. 5. Punishment and corrections

12. Prisons and punishment : yesterday and today

Punishment in historical perspective

the U.S. Colonial experience

Prisons in the Nineteenth Century

Twentieth-Century developments

Women's prisons

Prisons and jails today

Size and cost of corrections

Privatization and private prisons

The death penalty

History of executions

The death penalty in the United States today

The death penalty debate

Is the death penalty disappearing?

International focus : prisons and punishment in Scandinavia and the Netherlands

The incarceration boom

Impact on the crime rate

Collateral consequences

Disparate impact on African Americans

13. Life behind bars

Profile of prison and jail inmates

Inmate characteristics and prison life

Living in captivity

The prison as a total institution

Pains of imprisonment

Adapting to prison life : inmate subcultures

Conditions behind bars

Living on Death Row

Has California poisoned its prisoners?

Life in the Supermax

Correctional treatment

Effectiveness

Adequacy in prisons

Prison violence

Interpersonal violence

Prison gangs

Sexual violence

Prison riots

Women in prison

Inmate subcultures

Sexual victimization

Medical needs and services

Women prisoners as mothers

Treatment and vocational programs

Litigation and prisoners' rights

Leaving prison

Guarding inmates

Prisonizatioon of correctional officers

Alienation and stress

Women as correctional officers

International focus : hell on earth in a prison cell : Brazil

Health and health care in prisons

Special health problems in prison : HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis

Health care for older prisoners

14. Community corrections and juvenile justice

Community corrections

Probation

Intermediate sanctions

Parole

Unintended consequences of sex offender laws

Juvenile justice

Understanding juvenile delinquency

Trends in juvenile crime

History of juvenile justice

The juvenile justice process

Dealing with delinquency

International focus : juvenile justice in transition : Canada