University of Nebraska at Kearney
College of Natural and Social Sciences

1994-96 UNK Undergraduate Catalog

Department of Criminal Justice

Courses (CJUS)

101. Introduction to Criminal Justice - 3 hours

This course is intended to provide a broad understanding of the functional components of the criminal justice system and their interrelationship. It will also provide a basic understanding of the American crime problem.

201. The Juvenile Justice System - 3 hours

Prerequisite: CJUS 101. This course is intended to introduce various components that comprise the juvenile justice system. Topics will include juvenile courts, role modeling, interaction between youth and the juvenile justice system, and the future of the juvenile justice system.

215. Correctional Services and Systems - 3 hours

Prerequisite: CJUS 101. This course covers the historical development of corrections leading to an analysis of our correctional process and systems in contemporary America.

230. The Police Service - 3 hours

Prerequisite: CJUS 101. This course is intended to introduce students to the major developments and problems in policing. Topics will include rights and responsibilities of the uniformed officer, patrol and manpower distribution theories, police unionism, ethics and corruption, community relations, and the police subculture as a distinct value system.

310. Community Based Corrections - 3 hours

Prerequisite: CJUS 101. This course is concerned with correctional theory and practice as they are applied in the community setting. Specific areas of concern are probation, parole, diversion, and nontraditional community correctional programs. The application of community resources and responsibilities with the needs of offenders in the criminal justice system is a primary focus of the course. Some contrasts and comparisons are made with the institutional correctional setting.

320. Police Supervision - 3 hours

Prerequisite: CJUS 101. A course intended to consider supervisory problems and concepts within police organizations, and the equating of sound principles of human relations and supervisory techniques to effective police performance.

325. Correctional Agency Administration - 3 hours

Prerequisite: CJUS 101. This course is concerned with management theory and practice as they are applied to the administration of correctional institutions, parole, probation and other correctional agencies. Specific areas of emphasis are the impact of the political system on budget, management concerns, organizational development, and the requirements for meeting individual, group and organizational goals in a correctional agency.

330. Laws of Arrest, Search and Seizure - 3 hours

An examination of state and federal American law concerning arrest, search and seizure. Emphasis on basic legal precedents developed by courts.

340. Criminal Evidence and Procedure - 3 hours

Prerequisite: CJUS 101. The emphasis of this course will be on the concept of evidence and the rules governing its admissibility. There will also be theoretical and pragmatic considerations of constitutional requirements affecting evidence and procedure.

345. Criminal Law - 3 hours

Prerequisite: CJUS 101. Examines the foundation and elements of criminal law. Special emphasis is placed upon the definition of crime, criminal liability, defenses to criminal liability and the sanctions for committing crime.

350. Organized Crime - 3 hours

Designed to examine the different organized criminal elements in American society. This examination will include their economic effect on society, law enforcement efforts to minimize that effect, the major criminal areas involved in their day-to-day operations, and the historical development of the criminal groups as they exist today.

353. Crime Prevention and Security - 3 hours

Suggested: CJUS 233. Concerned with the security and safety of communities, businesses, and individuals. It emphasizes the needs of citizen involvement, private industry and business participation, educational programs, and their cooperation with criminal justice agencies.

375. Comparative Criminal Justice Systems - 3 hours

Prerequisite: CJUS 101. An examination of selected non-American criminal justice systems. Specific areas of comparison will include but not be limited to, the police, judiciary, and criminal corrections, of selected foreign systems.

380. Minorities and Criminal Justice - 3 hours

Prerequisite: CJUS 101. This course provides a survey of minority relations and criminal justice adjudication in America (law enforcement, judicial processing and corrections). Particular attention is focused on majority/minority relations and how these sentiments are reflected within the criminal justice process. While many minority groups will be examined, three will be emphasized: (1) racial minorities; (2) female victims and offenders; and (3) unique white ethnic subcultures.

390. Criminal Investigation - 3 hours

Prerequisite: CJUS 101. Deals with the following fundamental procedures of criminal investigation: Crime scene search and recording; collection and preservation of physical evidence; scientific evaluation; modus operandi; sources of information; interviews and interrogations; and case preparation.

401. Issues in Criminal Justice - 1-6 hours

Prerequisite: CJUS 101. Concerned with current issues and developments in the criminal justice field. Each semester a topic will be chosen as the subject for inquiry. It is designed for students who wish to explore current issues and broaden their exposure to important and timely issues in criminal justice. This course may be repeated to a maximum of 6 hours with permission of the chairman.

411. Readings in Criminal Justice - 1-3 hours

Prerequisites: 9 hours of CJUS and permission of instructor. An independent study course intended to supplement students' understanding of the criminal justice system through selected readings in the field.

415. Correctional Casework - 3 hours

Prerequisites: CJUS 101 and CJUS 215. Designed to develop knowledge of specific treatment programs and to help students learn the role of correctional caseworkers as practiced in correctional agencies.

420. Police Organization and Management - 3 hours

Prerequisite: CJUS 101. The emphasis of this course is on organization and administration of municipal police functions. Concepts of organizational theory are presented in an effort to integrate proven concepts into the police service.

421. Criminal Justice Planning and Research - 3 hours

Prerequisite: CJUS 101. A course intended to give students some fundamentals in planning, research, and grant writing for criminal justice subsystems. (Program planning and evaluation).

425. Court Administration - 3 hours

Prerequisite: CJUS 101. A general overview of the management of American courts, and a specific examination of the Nebraska courts, including case flow management and other measures necessary for court efficiency.

451. Seminar in Criminal Justice - 3 hours

Prerequisite: CJUS 101. A course intended to promote dialogue between students and practitioners in the different areas of the criminal justice system in an effort to begin facilitating the concept of "a working system." Topics include, but are not limited to: Interaction among criminal justice agencies, the individual agency's role in presentation, and system alternatives.

471. Monograph - 3 hours

Prerequisites: Senior standing and permission of instructor and department chair. Each student submits a thesis-type research monograph on some significant phase of criminal justice; student is assisted in selection of monograph topic by faculty who will supervise techniques and methods of research and the writing of the monograph.

475. Internship - 6 or 9 hours

Prerequisites: 9 hours of CJUS and permission of instructor and department chair. Designed to give students on-the-job exposure to their areas of interest within the criminal justice system. Students must have a cumulative grade point average of 2.3. Offered only as credit/no credit.

491. Expanded Campus Workshop - 1-3 hours

Refer to Academic Information section for description.

499. Independent Study - 3-6 hours

Prerequisites: 9 hours of CJUS and permission of instructor and department chair. An examination in depth of specific areas of the criminal justice system, with emphasis on the special roles of related agencies and disciplines. This course may be repeated to a maximum of six hours with permission of the chairman.