Great Basin College
Course Syllabus
CRJ 106: Introduction to Corrections 3 Semester Credits
No Prerequisites Section ER1 Spring 2008
Meeting Time: Thursday Evenings – 7:00 pm to 9:45 pm
Meeting Location: HTC 121 (Interactive Class with Elko and surrounding areas)
Instructor: Michael T. Pedersen, M.A.O.M. 753-4603 or
Office Hours: By Appointment Only
Catalog Description: Introduction to Corrections. History and development of corrections. Current practices and problems of the correctional system
Course Description: Students will take a look at the American corrections system from the perspective of the corrections worker and the offender in this course. Comprehensive yet not overwhelming, this course covers both institutional and community sanctions in a balanced way. High-profile corrections cases taken from recent headlines dramatize real-life situations. Students will explore topics such as assisting felons during the re-entry process, reducing recidivism, the death penalty, surveillance, and careers in corrections. We will also be examining a number of current correctional issues and events. At the beginning of each week, the following will be provided:
1. Key chapter terms and concepts.
2. Learning objectives for the week
3. Summary outlines of the reading chapter
4. Useful online links and resources to compliment the textbook. These links will also help you with the bulletin board discussions that count for a significant part of your grade as class participation.
These four parts will be provided to you on the Webcampus Homepage and references by week according to the syllabus and course outline.
Required Textbook: Clear, Todd R., Cole, George F., Reisig, Michael D. (2006). American Corrections, 7th Edition, Wadsworth: Belmont, CA.
Attendance Policy: One half (changed to 1/3 – 30 % 150 points) of your grade will be determined by weekly chapter quizzes. (Changed to weekly attendance – 10 points per night)
Grading Policy: Grading is based on the following system:
Three Exams + Final 40% or 200 points (each exam is worth 50 points)
Student Project 30% or 150 points (explained on 1st night of classes)
Attendance 30% or 150 points (10 points per night)
Course Requirements: Students are responsible for reading assigned chapters prior to the scheduled class meeting. Additionally, students should be prepared to discuss text material during class, as well as relevant newsworthy information when called upon. All students are encouraged to participate in class discussions and group activities. Contributions to the class are directly proportional to the quality of knowledge gained. All class participation will be evaluated and incorporated into the final grade. Participation credit can help a student if he/she is within a point or two of the next highest grade by pushing the student’s points to that higher grade. Ways students can earn participation credit is by contributing in class discussion, share relevant experiences demonstrate familiarity with the assigned reading, bring news articles to use in class discussions, and actively participate in class activities.
Course Assessment:
Student Outcomes / MeasurementDefine the purpose of corrections.
Define the meaning and usefulness of a system framework.
Identify some of the key issues in corrections.
Explain the importance of “The Great Law”
Identify the components of the early penitentiary system (Pennsylvania and New York).
Identify the different correctional models.
Identify the goals of punishment.
Identify the sanctions and sentences judges can impose.
Identify and explain the constitution and its role in the correctional system.
Identify factors that influence the offender selection system.
Explain the purpose of offender classification.
Identify the different types of offenders and explain how an individual becomes a career criminal. / Class discussions on chapters 1-5
Exam #1
Class discussions on chapters 6-10
Exam #2
List and explain the issues that face jail management.
Explain the nature of jails verses prisons.
Identify the elements of the probation system.
Identify the elements and the future of intermediate sanctions.
Identify the major factors that influence the design and classification of prisons.
Explain all aspects of prison violence.
Describe the history of incarceration for women.
Explain how prisons are organized and governed.
Explain the importance of inmate time management.
Identify the elements of the parole system.
Identify the elements of the juvenile correctional system. / Class discussions on chapters 11-16
Exam #3
Identify the causes attributed to the rise in the incarceration rate.
Explain the impact of prison crowding and the cost to society for incarcerating criminals vs. non traditional incarceration.
Define race and ethnicity and its role in the prison system.
Identify the contrasting issues over capital punishment.
Identify the elements and the benefits/draw backs of surveillance.
Describe community justice and how if differs from criminal justice.
Identify the pros and cons of community justice. / Class discussions on chapters 17-22
Final Exam (Comprehensive)
Exams: The first three exams may contain multiple choice, matching, or fill-in-the-blank type questions. Exams questions will be based on the material presented since the preceding exam. The final exam will consist of all material covered during the course and the format is fill-in-the-blank questions. The final exam will cover the remaining chapters (17-22) but will have a few questions from previous exams. Generally, there will be no make-up exams. However, if you miss an exam, you must make arrangements with the instructor before the other students’ exam is graded and returned. No exceptions. There are no make-ups for the final exam or weekly quizzes except under extreme emergency situations and approval must be made ahead of time.
Course Assignments, Content, & Schedule: There are three examinations that cover the textbook material and one final exam (40%), fifteen (15) weekly attendance points (30%) that assess the student’s dedication to the course, and one student project (30%) that will be announced on the first night of classes.
Course and Reading Schedule:
January 24 – February 14 The Correctional Context
· Introduction, course Overview
· Chapter 1 – The Corrections System
· Chapter 2 – The Early History of Correctional Thought & Practices
· Chapter 3 – The History of Corrections in America
· Chapter 4 – The Punishment of Offenders
· Chapter 5 – The Law of Corrections
February 21 – March 6 Correctional Practices – Part 1
· Chapter 6 - The Correctional Client
· Chapter 7 – Jails: Detention and Short Term Incarceration
· Chapter 8 – Probation
· Chapter 9 – Intermediate Sanctions and Community Corrections
· Chapter 10 – Incarceration
March 13 – April 3 Correctional Practices – Part 2
· Chapter 11 – The Prison Experience
· Chapter 12 – Incarceration of Women
· Chapter 13 – Institutional Management
· Chapter 14 – Institutional Programs
· Chapter 15 – Release from Incarceration
· Chapter 16 – Making it: Supervision in the Community
April 10 – May 1 Correctional Issues and Perspectives
· Chapter 17 - Corrections for Juveniles
· Chapter 18 – Incarceration Trends
· Chapter 19 – Race, Ethnicity, and Corrections
· Chapter 20 – The Death Penalty
· Chapter 21 – Surveillance and Control in the Community
· Chapter 22 – Community Justice
Exam Schedule:
· February 21, 2008 Exam #1 - covering Chapters 1-5
· March 13, 2008 Exam #2 - covering Chapters 6-10
· April 10, 2008 Exam #3 – covering Chapters 11-16
· May 8, 2008 Final Exam Review (all chapters)
· May 12-16, 2007 Final Exam – covering Chapters 17-22
And bits and pieces of previous exams
Great Basin College
General Policies
The Americans with Disabilities Act
The instructor is willing to make reasonable accommodations for limitations due to any disability, including learning disabilities. Please see me before or after class to discuss any special needs you may have. Please see information posted on page 33 of the GBC catalog. Students may also contact the ADA Officer inElkoat 775-753-2271 at their earliest convenience to request timely and appropriate accommodations.
Sexual Harassment Policy
The policy of GBC is to provide an educational, employment, and business environment free of unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal and/or physical conduct or communications constituting sexual harassment, as defined and otherwise prohibited by State and Federal law. Sexual harassment by and between: employees, students, employees and students, and campus visitors and students or employees, is prohibited by this policy. Please review the information provided by the GBC catalog on page 31.
Academic Honesty
All students assume, as part of their obligation to the college, the responsibility to exhibit in their academic performance, qualities of honesty and integrity. All forms of student dishonesty are subject to disciplinary action. Students are strongly encouraged to do their own work and give full credit to the work of those they incorporate into any submitted assignments. To do otherwise is plagiarism.
Educational Environment Conduct
Consistent with a collegiate environment of educational study, students are expected to conduct themselves in a manner appropriate for an institution of higher learning. The disruption or obstruction of teaching will not be tolerated. Students are expected to be respectful and tolerant of diverse opinions/ideas even if they do not agree with them.
The discussion of criminal justice issues often requires a “real world” look at topics and pertinent issues. Students should be aware that this course might generate discussions, use videos, and have guest speakers, etc., which portray a graphic and honest look at deviant behavior and crime. If you are easily offended, please let the instructor know so that you may be excused from participation in such issues.
Plagiarism – AVOID IT!
(With thanks to the Dr. Robert Griswold, University of Oklahoma)
Each student at Great Basin College is supposed to know what plagiarism is and to be aware that to plagiarize the work of another person is a serious academic offense. This handout will give you some formal definitions of plagiarism but more important, it provides you with some concrete examples of writing which meet the definition of plagiarism so you can avoid plagiarism.
What is Plagiarism[? 1 ]
"Plagiarism: the representation of the words or ideas of another as one's own, including:"
1. Directly quoting from another work without letting the reader know that the words are not your own. In this case, the writer generally fails both to use quotation marks around the quoted passages and to mention the name of the original author of the words.
2. Paraphrasing without attribution is another common form of plagiarism. In this case, the student paraphrases the original passage, but the student does not give credit to the original author from whose work the paraphrase derived.
3. Plagiarism can also be committed when a student paraphrases with or without attribution and in so doing uses much of the original wording, thereby passing off the original prose as the student's own.
4. A more tricky case of plagiarism involves students who use entirely their own words but borrow the ideas, arguments, facts, or reasoning of another without giving attribution. Such cases do not involve general knowledge--The Civil War started in 1861--but rather material that is not part of general knowledge but rather comes from the special efforts of the original author.
5. Another form of plagiarism, which is simply fraud, is the submission of work under your name which is not yours. Such work could be by another student, friend, or family member or by a company that writes papers for hire. A number of companies on the Internet sell papers to students, and buying such a paper and submitting it as your own is a serious breach of academic honesty and a vile form of plagiarism.
In short, plagiarism consists of failure to give proper credit for ideas and writings that come from others, but some concrete examples will help clarify its meaning.
In order to avoid even unintentional plagiarism, here are two good rules to follow:
1. Place anything you copy verbatim from another writer--whole sentences, phrases, a single distinctive word--within quotation marks and identify the source of the quotation, normally in a footnote or an endnote.
2. Always give credit for ideas that are not your own. If you are summarizing the basic idea of an article you have read, give credit to the author for those ideas in a footnote or endnote. You should do this even if you do not use any of the author's original words in writing your summary. If you are uncertain whether or not to cite an author, the safest course to follow is to offer a citation.
As a rule, avoid an extensive use of quotations. Papers should never be long quotations strung together with a few words of your own. Use quotations only for the telling phrase, the unbeatable metaphor, the perfect description, or the controversial point of view that deserves expression in the original. Most of what you take from other sources should be paraphrased, and it is at this point that many students get into trouble. When paraphrasing, you must be certain that you express the ideas from your source in your own words. You cannot change a few conjunctions or articles, throw in or cut out a few words here and there, alter the syntax a bit and pretend that it is your writing. It is not. The structure and most of the phraseology remains that of the author, and your paraphrase is a kind of plagiarism. One basic rule might help: never take five consecutive words from a source without placing them within quotation marks. Even fewer words, of course, should be placed in quotation marks if these words are distinctively the authors.
The following example will help you better understand plagiarism and thus avoid it: below you will find a quotation, followed by an improper and a proper example of paraphrasing.
The quotation: "Most of the time a child who knew no English would be placed in a "sink-or-swim," total-immersion class when first entering school. After six months a student who did not "sink" would graduate to a class appropriate to his or her ability to cope with English. Bilingualism was not an option, and as a result many of the children schooled under this policy recall that their initial experiences were intensely traumatic." (1)
1. Selma Berrol, "Immigrant Children at School," in John Cary, et al., eds., The Social Fabric: American Life from the Civil War to the Present, 8th ed., vol.2 (New York: Longman, 1999): 111.