INSTRUCTOR:  Ronal W. Serpas, Ph.D. (serpas@loyno.edu)
Office:  Stallings 105
Office Phone:  843-3173 (twenty-four hours)
City College Phone:  865-3530

COURSE MEETING TIME:    Monday-Friday, May 21-25, 2001  1:00pm-5:00pm (Two Saturday courses to be announced)

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

 This course examines the application of information technologies in the criminal justice system and in particular its use in police administration.  Current technologies used to detect crime trends, perform crime analysis and how this data is used to create sound tactical and deployment decisions will be examined.  Specific applications, such as Geographical Information Systems (GIS), ArcView, Access, etc. will be reviewed.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

 At the conclusion of this course, students will have a thorough knowledge of current technological advances in the Criminal Justice field, and the potential impact that technological advances may have upon the Criminal Justice system.  A complete understanding of how new technologies have augmented traditional crime analysis and response strategies by using crime-mapping techniques.  A comprehensive knowledge of the use of management technologies and its impact on the administration of Criminal Justice System agencies will be realized.
 

COURSE TEXT: Required

Alleman, T.  (1996)  Computing in Criminal Justice.  Upper Saddle River, NJ:  Prentice Hall.

Harries, K.  (1999)  Mapping Crime: Principle and Practice.  Washington, DC:  U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice.  NCJ 178919.

Martin, E.W., et al.  (1999)  Managing Information Technology: What Managers Need to Know, 3rd edition.  Upper Saddle River, NJ:  Prentice Hall.

SUPPLEMENTAL (REQUIRED) READINGS (to be provided to students):

The Definitive Guide to Criminal Justice and Criminology on the World Wide Web. (1999)  The  Criminal Justice Distance Learning Consortium, Chapter 3 (29-51).  Upper Saddle River, NJ:  Prentice Hall.
 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

Grading will consist of:

(1) research paper;
(2) a midterm exam;
(3) a final exam; and,
(4) class participation.

GRADING SCALE

• A  : 95-UP
• B+: 90-94
• B : 85-89
• C+ : 80-84
• C  : 75-79
• D+: 70-74
• D  : 64-69
• F  : 63 - BELOW

PERCENTAGE OF COURSE REQUIREMENTS TO FINAL GRADE

• Research paper =   50 %
• Midterm= 20 %
• Final= 20%
• Class participation= 10%

CLASS PARTICIPATION

Each student will review, outline, and present to the class at least one of the assigned readings.  The written outline shall be presented to the instructor, with a copy for each student in the class.  The verbal and written presentations will be graded for content, grammar, insight, and presentation.

MIDTERM AND FINAL EXAM

Each student will critique at least six (6) academic journal articles relating to the subjects of this class.  Three of the critiques will be due and presented to the class on the evening of the Mid-Term examination, and three of the critiques will be due and presented to the class on the evening of the Final Examination.  Students will be required to provide a copy of their critiques to the other students and the instructor on the evening of the class.    These critiques, respectively, will serve as the Mid-Term and Final Examination grades.  The critiques should at a minimum be 4-5 pages, double spaced, and TYPED.  The critiques should follow the format of the attached sample critique found in the appendix of this syllabus.

RESEARCH PAPER

 
A research paper will be required for this class.  The ability of students to research an idea or position, and then produce a document to support their work is fundamental to collegiate and professional performance.  The paper should, ideally, allow the student the opportunity to research a particular aspect of the Criminal Justice System.  The paper should be typed and doubled spaced.  The paper must be a minimum of fifteen pages, not including cover sheet, endnotes and bibliography.

Students are to submit a written research topic (Title) for instructor approval before beginning any work on the paper.  The due date for topic submission is listed in the syllabus.

There should be at least ten sources cited in the paper (not merely in the bibliography section).  These sources should be academic articles or books, not popular publications such as Newsweek or Time Magazine.  While these sources of information may provide useful information for the paper, they will not count toward the ten cited sources necessary for the paper.  Students are reminded that the Loyola Library has excellent Criminal Justice resource material readily available, and an excellent staff to help in research techniques.

Students should use accepted forms of recognizing the sources of their research (foot note, end note, APA, MLA, etc.).  It is the student’s choice as to the exact writing style that will be used.  Students are encouraged to use the resources of the WAC lab, and the library for assistance.

Papers that are not an original typed or computer generated will not be accepted.  In particular, photocopied pages, different typeface style or paper, inserted pages, etc. will be cause for potential failure of this course requirement.  Students must write original papers to fulfill this course requirement.  The recycling of a previously submitted paper is NOT acceptable.

Please staple the research paper in the left upper corner, binding of any kind is not required and specifically should be avoided.

The research paper due date is listed in the syllabus.  Papers not turned in at the beginning of class on the due date will be reduced by at least one full letter grade.  All papers not received by the beginning of the following class will receive the grade of F.  No papers will be accepted after the final class of the term.  Even if the tardiness of the paper may cause an F grade for this course requirement, students must still write and acceptable paper to avoid failing the entire course.

The following list gives examples of journals that contain articles useful for many topics.  There are other criminal justice, history, law, psychology, and sociology journals that also contain relevant articles. Your references must come from journals of this type, or appropriate (subject) text, to receive credit.  Note: publications such as: Police Chief, FBI Bulletin, Time Magazine, etc., are not academic journals; use of an article from a Journal other than listed below must be pre-approved by the instructor.

American Bar Foundation Research Journal
American Sociological Review
Crime and Delinquency
 
Criminal Justice Policy Review
Criminal Justice Review
Criminal Law Bulletin
Criminology
International Journal of Criminology and Penology
Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice
Journal of Crime and Justice
Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology
Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency
Judicature
Justice Quarterly
Justice System Journal
Law and Contemporary Problems
Law and Human Behavior
Law and Social Inquiry
Law and Policy Quarterly
Law and Society Review
Social Problems
Sociological Quarterly

CLASSROOM CONDUCT

Class attendance is required; the roster will be read at the beginning of each class.  Excessive absence will result in grade loss.  Class begins promptly at the scheduled start time.
Students will not be allowed to audiotape the lectures

DUE DATES
 
 

Topics for Research Paper	May 25, 2001
Mid Term Exam	July 20 2001
Research Paper Due	July 27, 2001
Final Exam	July 20 2001

COURSE OUTLINE:

Students should read the corresponding chapter to each assignment and be prepared to respond to the below listed learning objectives BEFORE class.
 

1.    Introduction and overview of the course
2.    Martin, Chapter 1:  The Enabling Role of Technology
3.    Martin, Chapter 6:  Managerial Support Systems
4.    Martin, Chapter 8:  Social, Ethical, and Political
5.    Martin, Chapter 9:  Basic Information System Concepts
6.    Martin, Chapter13:  Setting the Direction for Information Resources
7.    Alleman, Chapter 4: Introduction to Police Information System
8.    Alleman, Chapter 5:  The Computerized Prison
9.    Mid Term Exam (Three critiques due for class presentation)
10.  Alleman, Chapter 6:  Current and Future State of Criminal Justice Computing
11.  Harries, Chapter 1:  Context and Concepts
12.  Harries, Chapter 2:  What Crime Maps Do and How They Do It
13.  Harries, Chapter 3:  Maps that Speak to the Issues
14.  Harries, Chapter 4:  Mapping Crime and Geographic Information Systems
15.  Harries, Chapter 5:  Synthesis and Applications
16.  Harries, Chapter 6:  Crime Mapping Futures
17.  Final Exam (Three critiques due for class presentation)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Blij, H. J.  (1996).  Human Geography:  Culture, Society, and Space.  New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons.  Fifth edition.

Block, C.R., M. Dabdoub, and S. Fregly, eds.  (1995).  Crime Analysis Through Computer Mapping.  Washington, DC:  Police Executive Research Forum.

Boggs. S.L.  (1996).  “Urban Crime Patterns”  American Sociological Review, 30:899-908.

Brantingham, P.J., and Brantingham, P.L.  (1984).  Patterns in Crime. New York, NY: Macmillan.

Bursik, R.J., Jr., and H.G. Grasmick  (1993).  Neighborhoods and Crime.  New York, NY:  Lexington Books.

Byrne, J.M., and R. J. Sampson  (1986).  The Social Ecology of Crime.  New York, NY:  Springer-Verlag.

Capone, D., and W. Nichols, Jr.  (1976).  “Urban Structure and Criminal Mobility.”  American Behavioral Scientist, 20:119-213.

Clarke, R.V., ed.  (1992).  Situational Crime Prevention: Successful Case Studies.  New York, NY: Harrow and Heston.

Cohen, L.E., and M. Felson.  (1979).  ”Social Change and Crime Rate Trends:  A Routine Activities Approach.”  American Sociological Review, 44:588-605.

ESRI, Inc.  (1997).  Getting to Know ArcView GIS.  Redlands, CA: ESRI, Inc.

Hyatt, R.A., and H.R. Holzman  (1999).  Guidebook for Measuring Crime in Public Housing with Geographic Information Systems.  Washington, DC:  U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Rengert, G. F.  (1998).   The Geography of Illegal Drugs.  Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Rich, T.F.  (1995).  The Use of Computerized Mapping in Crime Control and Prevention Programs.  Washington, DC:  U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice.
NCJ 155182.

Weisburd, D., and J.T. McEwen, eds.  (1997).   Crime Mapping and Crime Prevention.  Monsey, NY:  Criminal Justice Press.

 CITY COLLEGE STATEMENT ON  INTELLECTUAL HONESTY

Intellectual honesty is simply acknowledging, through documentation, all those sources that the writer has used in preparing any written work. Plagiarism, the obverse of intellectual honesty, is the use of any form of material, whether written or verbal, without formal indebtedness through documentation. The paraphrasing of any work, either written by other students or found in print or in electronic form, without acknowledgment, is plagiarism. Not properly identifying the source of a quotation, even though the quotation is enclosed in quotation marks, is also plagiarism. Not only the exact language of a sentence or phrase, but any material falsely presented as one's own?an idea, a concept, data, graphs, or a line of argument??constitutes plagiarism. Any material that neither originates with the student nor is common knowledge among educated persons must be formally acknowledged.

It must be remembered that written work stands on its own, not on the intention of the writer. The burden of academic honesty rests on the student, not on the instructor. If students have any doubts about what constitutes plagiarism or what is required, they should inquire before the work is submitted. Otherwise, they open themselves to charges of plagiarism.

The penalties for plagiarism are severe: a student who is found to have plagiarized or to have assisted another student in plagiarizing may be given a failing grade for the course on the first violation; a second offense may result in exclusion or dismissal from the university.

(Adapted from Standards of Writing Pamphlet of City College, 1971. For the complete details on standards, penalties, and appeals procedure, see "Integrity of Scholarship and Grades," in the Undergraduate Bulletin.)

 CITY COLLEGE ATTENDANCE POLICY

City College faculty consider interaction with students crucial to the teaching and learning process. To better ensure a quality educational experience, the following policies govern class attendance:

1. If a student misses 20% or more of class meeting time, a one full letter grade reduction will normally be applied to the final course grade. Twenty percent of classes amounts to three (3) ?week, one?night?a?week format; six (6) classes in a semester?long, two nights classes in a semester?long, one?night?a week format; one and one?half (1 2) classes in an eight?a?week format; or two (2) partial sessions in an intensive weekend format (Friday evening and/or Saturday morning and/or Saturday afternoon).

2. If a student misses the first weekend of an Intensive Weekend class, the student must drop the class. The appropriate drop form, which must be completed by Tuesday following the first class meeting, is available in the City College office.

 POLICY ON  INCOMPLETE GRADES

Grades of I (incomplete) change to F automatically if the course is not completed and the grade changed by the sixth week of the subsequent semester, excluding summer terms. The resulting F grade remains as the permanent grade for the course.

 Note: the grade of Incomplete will not be registered merely because a student did not complete all of the course requirements.  If a grade of Incomplete is to be recorded, the student and instructor must have previously agreed to the circumstances of this grade, otherwise the delinquent assignments will be counted as a zero and impact the final grade accordingly.

SAMPLE OUTLINE FOR JOURNAL ARTICLE CRITIQUE

Start with the bibliography data of the journal article at the top of your paper.  Please staple the article to your paper.  Please use the section headings as listed below (I-V) to separate your responses.  The critique must be typed and double spaced.

Student’s Name
Date
Erwin, B.S., and Bennett, L.A. (1987). New Dimensions in Probation: Georgia’s Experience with Intensive Probation Supervision, National Institute of Justice, Research in Brief.  Washington, D.C.

I Thesis

This will be a short paragraph outlining what the thesis statement, or research question of the article is.

II Literature Review

This will be your review of the Literature the journal offers to establish the theory used by the author to frame the thesis, or research question.  Example: If the thesis statement (or research question) is a question related to crime prevention, and the author relies on Routine Activities Theory to frame the thesis or research question, and then discuss briefly the theoretical constructs of Routine Activities Theory as found in the Literature Review of the article.

III Data/Analysis/Methods

This section should outline what data (types, how it was collected, etc.) was used, how it was analyzed, or what methods were used to examine the data collected.  Example: a brief discussion of Independent and Dependent variables, as appropriate to the theories used would also be covered in this section.

IV Conclusion/Discussion

This section briefly reviews the author's conclusion.

V Student’s Critique/Impression
 
This section is very important.   The student should make recommendations, or alternative explanations, that may, or may not, disagree with the findings of the journal.  However, students must explore the thesis question and ask themselves, Ais there something that is missing from this article, or is there something that could have been used to make a better test?  To report simply what the journal says will not satisfy the requirements for this assignment.  Students must critically analyze the article.