Criminal Justice

This outline covers all four semesters of your at-home degree program. You will receive credit for previous college coursework if you meet Penn Foster standards. If you wish to receive credit for previous coursework, contact the college you attended and ask that your transcripts be forwarded to Penn Foster for evaluation. All previous college work must have been completed with a grade of "C" or better, and as much as 50% of the required credits may be transferred. We will also credit your tuition for all the courses that are acceptable.

System Requirements
You will need access to a Microsoft® Windows®-based computer to complete this program. Penn Foster recommends the following as minimum specifications: Pentium® III or better processor Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional, 128 MB RAM, 20GB hard drive. You will also need Internet access and an email account.

If English is not your primary language.
All applicants whose primary language is not English or who have not earned a degree or diploma from an accredited institution where English is the principle language of instruction, must receive a TOEFL score of 500 on the paper-based test (TOEFL) 61 on the IBT or its equivalent. For more information, please refer to www.toefl.org.

SEMESTER ONE

Basic Skills Assessment All degree applicants are required to complete two Basic Skills Assessments, one in reading and one in math, to determine the level of readiness for beginning their selected program. Additional studies may be required. CJS100 – Criminal Justice Orientation (1 credit) Strategies for the Independent Learner Criminal Justice in Society ENG103 – Information Literacy (1 credit) Finding and using information at libraries, at other information centers, and through electronic resources available in libraries and on the World Wide Web. Graded Project CJS101 – Introduction to Criminal Justice (3 credits) The Nature of Crime, Law, and Criminal Justice; The Police and Law Enforcement; Courts and Adjudication; Corrections; The History and Nature of the Juvenile Justice System. Textbook included ENG100 – English Composition (3 credits) The Basics: The Writing Process; Descriptive Writing; Narrative Writing; Reflective and Persuasive Writing. Textbooks and Learning Aid included CSC104 – Computer Applications (3 credits) Computer and Internet Basics; Computer Hardware and Software; Digital Electronics and File Management; Introduction to Windows ®; PC Applications in Word Processing, Spreadsheets, and Presentation Software. Textbook and Supplement included CJS123 – Courts (3 credits) Introduction to Law; The U.S. Court System, Parts 1 and 2 Graded Project SSC130 – Essentials of Psychology (3 credits) The Psychological Perspective; The Mind at Work; Language, Intelligence, and Motivation; The Human Life Course and the Nature of Personality; Psychology and Society. Textbook included Proctored Examination*

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SEMESTER TWO

CJS308 – Criminology (3 credits)
Begins with an overview of the law, public policy, research, and theories for the causes of crime; examines theories such as biological, psychological, and sociological in light of their components, causes and impacts on the administration of justice; each chapter ends with a up a situation related to the chapter topic.

SSC105 – Readings in World Civilization (3 credits)
Importance of the study of history; major events of the 16th through 20th centuries; causal relationships between events and trends.

CJS120 – Police Studies (3 credits)
Looks at the role of policing in America; discusses the existence of a police subculture, the role of management and the nature of patrolling; considers different strategies for investigating and solving problems; includes a discussion about ethics, civil liability, and possible directions for policing in the future.

CJS238 – Criminal Law (3 credits)
Reviews the history of criminal law, from its start in the common law (and the principles of applying case law) to its contemporary forms of statutory and regulatory law; looks at crimes and their underlying elements, thereby teaching what a prosecutor needs to show, beyond a reasonable doubt, to secure a conviction; considers the traditional form of criminal law as well as strict liability and victimless crimes; discusses range of criminal offenses, such as inchoate and property-based crimes, to crimes of violence and administrative crimes, and of the excuses, justifications, and defenses to prosecution of such activities.

CJS105 – Ethics in Criminal Justice (3 credits)
Begins the study of ethics from the larger issues of what constitutes morality and moral behavior; looks at how ethics develop; discusses the issues of ethics and specific aspects of criminal justice, including justice, law enforcement, courts, punishment and corrections and management; reviews the consideration of professionalism and of ethics for everyone in society.

Core Criminal Justice Elective (3 credits) (choose one):

CJS130 – Police: Police Management
Considers the development of the police subculture and how that has shaped different strategies for police management; proceeds to examine those basic organizational concepts unique to policing; looks at the different responsibilities and how to satisfy those responsibilities within the context of policing; studies the image that collective bargaining has on management of police.

CJS135 – Security: Introduction to Private Security
Examines the history and development of private security; reviews the state of private security today, including, but not limited to, liability and the relationship between public and private security; focuses on issues regarding prevention and loss control; looks at investigation and prosecution; discusses trends in security, including the contemporary development of security systems and approaches toward security in light of recent events.

Proctored Examination*

SEMESTER THREE

CJS203 – Criminal Procedures (3 credits)
Examines issues involved in the search and arrest of individuals as well as issues dealing with self-incrimination and access to counsel through the lens of the Bill of Rights protections that focus on prosecution; presents the rationale underlying decisions like the Miranda warning and the Terry stop and frisk.

Free Criminal Justice Elective (choose one)
(Students will choose from the Free Criminal Justice Electives listed at the end.)

Core Criminal Justice Elective (3 credits) (choose one):

CJS220 – Police: Organized Crime (3 credits)
Course opens with a consideration of how organized crime has developed and the structure of organized crime; looks at the different types of criminal activity typical to organized crime; reviews international organized crime, as the principles underlying organized crime would naturally lead to expansion; course closes with a consideration of the tools and means available to law enforcement to battle organized crime; each chapter includes Internet connections, which are URLs where students can go to find more information on the subject matter covered in the chapter.

CJS225 – Security: White-Collar Crime (3 credits)
Presents the distinctions between crimes of violence and property-based crimes; specifies what constitutes white-collar crime, explores how criminal activity often causes more damage to society than do crimes of violence; looks at the laws involved in prosecuting such crimes as well as considers how to detect and to gather evidence of such crimes; also looks at corporate crime and political crime.

CJS230 – Criminalistics (3 credits)
Focuses on forensic science and its application during investigations; looks at the range of types of evidence present and considers the methods for analyzing that evidence; covers the gamut of physical evidence as well as nonphysical evidence, such as evidence on the Internet.

General Education Elective (3 credits) (choose one):

HUM102 – Art Appreciation
Artistic media; historical periods and artistic movements; roles of the artist and the viewer; art criticism.

HUM104 – Music Appreciation
Appreciating music; roles of composer and listener; principles of music theory and instrumentation; historical periods; varying styles of music.

MAT102 – Mathematical Applications (3 credits)
This course provides a foundation in basic mathematical operations. Subjects covered include percentages, is counts, interest, pricing, depreciation, insurance, symbols and their applications, equations and formulas, and the importance of statistics.

Proctored Examination*

SEMESTER FOUR

CJS235 – Multicultural Law Enforcement (3 credits)
Provides a comprehensive review of the impact that race, gender, and ethnicity have on criminal justice; includes research on police practices, sentencing, and corrections, with attention paid to racial profiling and how certain ethnic groups receive disparate treatment; discusses how discrimination affects criminal justice.

Core Criminal Justice Electives (3 credits) (choose one):

CJS210 – Police: Crime Scene Investigation Basics
This course uses traditional educational methods and computer simulation to provide an understanding of the scientific theory as well as the actual practices and techniques used to process a crime scene. The student will learn how crime scene professionals protect themselves and the evidence at a crime scene and the different roles law enforcement professionals execute at the scene of a crime. The course also describes the many types of evidence and how evidence is collected and secured before it is processed by a crime lab.

CJS245 – Security: Security and Loss Prevention
Begins with a review of issues involving private security systems and then looks at zones of protection, that theoretical area between private and public security issues; discusses issues involving risk management and loss control, considers principles of crime prevention involving a threat environment; considers issues relating to legal aspects of private security.

Free Criminal Justice Elective (3 credits) (choose one)
(Students will choose from the Free Criminal Justice Electives listed at the end.)

Core Criminal Justice Elective (3 credits) (choose one)

CJS350 – Police: Community Corrections
Looks at the role that community corrections plays in the criminal justice process; deals largely with corrections outside of prison and includes issues involving diversion and pretrial release; teaches the evolution of the field, the range and type of different community correction options, and future trends for the field.

CJS255 – Security: Computer-Based Crime
Begins with a review of issues involving information, security, and the privacy of information; and proceeds to examine a broadening range of additional criminal threats, based upon actual cases; includes a consideration of cybercrime, systems abuse, and the hacker culture; looks to issues of prevention and information security, with an emphasis on the need to take immediate steps against this likely criminal activity.

Free Criminal Justice Electives (choose one)
(Students will choose from the Free Criminal Justice Electives listed at the end.)

Core Criminal Justice Elective (3 credits) (choose one)

CJS260 – Crisis Intervention
Presents the latest research, theories, and techniques of what to do in a crisis, along with case material based on real crisis situations; presents the skills and strategies needed to take crisis intervention theory and technique out of the classroom and onto the street; details a six-step model to give practitioners a systematic way of dealing with people in crisis (Defining the Problem, Ensuring Client Safety, Providing Support, Examining Alternatives, Making Plans, and Obtaining Commitment); throughout the textbook, the model is applied to many different crisis situations, such as suicide, domestic violence, sexual assault, addiction, post-traumatic stress disorder, and school violence.

CJS265 – Security Management
Examines the range of issues involved in security management, across disciplines and around the world; includes a consideration of industrial security in light of business concerns; examines the context for security and legal aspects of security management and prevention; presents specific security applications and the investigational intelligence gathering used to assess security systems.

Proctored Examination*

Free Criminal Justice Electives:

CJS205 – Juveniles and the Legal Process
CJS307 – Victimology
CJS209 – Substance Abuse and Treatment in Criminal Justice
CJS211 – Correctional Institutions
CJS213 – Women and Criminal Justice
CJS215 – Terrorism
CJS217 – International Relations
PLS220 – Westlaw Legal Research

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* As a degree candidate, you will take a proctored examination at the end of each semester on selected courses within that semester. We make it easy because you pick the location and the person you want to supervise the exam, as long as Penn Foster College's established policy and qualifications are met. Complete information packets with procedures will be provided well in advance, before completion of final semester coursework.

A High School Diploma or GED is required to enroll in this degree program. Although this outline covers all four semesters of the Criminal Justice Degree Program, you'll receive lesson materials for each semester as you enroll.

Note: Advanced standing student shipments may vary from the above schedule.

We reserve the right to change the program content and materials when it becomes necessary.

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