CJUS 320 - History of Law Enforcement

Credit Hours: 3
Lecture Hours: 3
Laboratory Hours: 0

Prerequisite(s): CJUS 100 and GOVT 110

Restriction(s): None

Corequisite(s): None

The course focuses on the factors in history that led to the adoption and eventual acceptance of the current system components of law enforcement, courts and corrections. While not unique, the U.S. was one of the first to attempt to institute these social control mechanisms within the framework of a constitutional democracy guided by the “rule of law”. These institutions have changed over time as they respond to a number of factors relating to modernization, and bureaucratization. At the same time, legal authority expanded and became more democratized to include protection of the less powerful from government power.

Student Learning Outcomes of the Course: Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:

Understand the historical events that have influenced todays criminal justice system.
Understand how social, economic, and political factors influence crime and the criminal justice system.
Recognize attitudes towards criminals and how the criminal justice system responds to the changes over time, and analyze whether or not they are a reflection of the overall societal beliefs about human behavior.
Criticize contemporary criminal justice policies as a reflection of specific political viewpoints
Understand how media images and portrayals of police, courts and corrections influences our society.