BOR 3305 PERSPECTIVES ON CRIME IN AMERICA. Eight Week Course TEXTBOOK:

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1 BOR 3305 PERSPECTIVES ON CRIME IN AMERICA Eight Week Course TEXTBOOK: & Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 4th ed. Author(s): Steven E. Barkan Publisher: Pearson Prentice Hall Year: 2009 ISBN: Unless otherwise specified in a specific module, all reading assignments refer to the chapters and pages of this text. Other readings may be assigned by the instructor through the course of completing this class. I. Introduction There are many perspectives on crime in America. Some are based on research, others based on reported statistics, and still others based on myth. Clarifying crime in America is like looking at a shifting sand dune through the bottom of a Coke bottle. Is crime sociological? Is it biological? Or is crime psychological? Perhaps it comes down to a combination of all three. So too is the debate over the efficacy and efficiency of the criminal justice system. Some viewpoints see it as excessively punitive and coercive. Others see it as weak. And still others view the criminal justice system as criminal in and of itself, perpetuating criminal behavior instead of correcting it. Behavior that deviates from societal norms is frequently labeled as criminal. Securing the Homeland and our borders is fundamentally a matter of determining what is and isn t criminal behavior. Understanding the evolution of criminal behavior across history and the social responses to that behavior, as well as the attempts to understand the underlying causality associated with it, is the focus of this particular course. Course Description: From the course catalog: This course involves the intensive examination of American crime problems in historical perspective. Through the lens of various perspectives regarding the cause and prevention of crime, the course explores the social and public factors affecting crime, the divergent trends in criminal behavior, and the social characteristics of specific types of criminal deviance. II. Course Objectives 1. Objective One: To understand and appreciate what crime and victimization are.

2 2. Objective Two: To grasp the various theoretical explanations for criminal behavior. 3. Objective Three: To grasp the complexities of crime control. 4. Objective Four: To enhance critical thinking about crime, crime control, and crime reduction. III. Learning Outcomes Students have a right to know what instructors are going to expect that they learn from a course of instruction and how their learning will be measured. This course establishes several learning outcomes that are measured objectively and subjectively. When you finish this course you should be able to: 1. Describe the historical evolution of definitions of criminal behavior, and the societal and legal responses to that behavior. 2. Describe the impact of media coverage and formal reporting and measurement of crime on present perceptions of crime, its seriousness, the development of a fear of victimization within society, and perceptions about police, injustices within the crime control apparatus, and costs of crime control. 3. Explain the various theories of criminal behavior as an individual manifestation. 4. Explain the various sociological theories of criminal behavior. 5. Demonstrate through writing assignments an understanding of crime control in a democratic society and the associated mechanisms of prosecution and punishment of criminal behavior. Another major need identified by Homeland Security professionals is the ability to produce technical reports and briefings, to communicate coherently a wide variety of thoughts to a diverse audience that may not be as knowledgeable of a subject as the person conducting the brief or writing the report. To address this concern, throughout the Border Security and Criminal Justice programs students are assigned writing projects of various lengths and complexity. Several short writing assignments are implemented throughout the course to measure the student s ability to critically analyze sociologically perspectives on crime in America. Specific knowledge on topics of importance to future courses in the Border Security program is measured through the use of comprehensive exams. To measure the student s comprehensive understanding of the materials presented in this course, each exam is comprehensive, inclusive of all previous materials covered.

3 IV. Academic Honesty Honesty and integrity are expected. The Angelo State University Student Academic Honor Code can be found at: All students are expected to adhere to the requirements of the Honor Code. Online courses are necessarily limited in their oversight of student adherence to the Honor Code so it is up to you to determine if your actions may be in violation of some component of the restrictions on plagiarism, cheating, fabrication, misrepresentation, conspiracy, collusion, etc. While the professor reserves the right to assign a failing grade to a student for academic dishonesty, the student should be aware of their rights of appeal as specified in the Student Handbook. V. Grading Angelo State University employs a letter grade system. Grades in this course are determined on a percentage scale: A = % B = % C = % D = % F = 59 % and below. This course employs three exams. Exams account for 60% of the course grade (each individual exam counts as 20% of your grade). You must have the Respondus LockDown Browser installed on your computer to take these exams. Each exam must be completed within ninety (90) minutes of when it was started. There are six writing assignments. Writing assignments account for 40% of the course grade. Participation & Communication In this class everyone, brings something to the table. Your ideas and thoughts do count, not only to me, but the entire class. Feel free to ask questions either via or the discussion board. Check the discussion board regularly. Many student questions are applicable to the class as a whole, as are the responses. You may be surprised how many of your classmates have the same questions and concerns as you. I may simply post your particular question on the discussion board and allow your classmates to provide the answer through their own posts.

4 To some, this may be their first online class and naturally, it could seem somewhat intimidating. As a class, we are together to help each other with this learning process and share our collective knowledge on how best to communicate; how to resolve technical issues that may arise (if we have the expertise), and to assist each other to find answers to our questions. We will learn and work as a team. Courtesy and Respect Courtesy and Respect are essential ingredients to this course. We respect each other s opinions and respect their point of view at all times while in our class sessions. The use of profanity & harassment of any form is strictly prohibited (Zero Tolerance), as are those remarks concerning one s ethnicity, life style, race (ethnicity), religion, etc., violations of these rules will result in immediate dismissal from the course. VI. Class Schedule This is an eight (8) week course. As such, there is limited time to finish the assigned readings and associated projects. Please keep this in mind as you schedule your work. The assignments are completed in eight (8) modules. You should complete one module each week. Lesson 1: We open with a look at the roots of the sociological perspective of crime and criminal behavior. This module also covers some of the basics associated with crime, deviance, criminal law, and the research methods utilized by criminologists. We also look at the impact the media has on our understanding of crime, and the mythology that develops from the media perspective. Assignment 1 Lesson 2: In this module we examine how crime is measured and the accuracy of those measures. Moving into an examination of crime patterns, social patterns, victimization patterns, and victim-offender relationships, students then review the costs and consequences of victimization. This module is finished with a review of victim treatment within the criminal justice system. EXAM 1 Assignment 2 There are many competing and complementing explanations for criminal behavior, understanding how those have evolved, where they are today, is important to understanding crime in America. The next three modules help in explaining crime and criminal behavior.

5 Lesson 3: There are viewpoints that explain crime. Initially, the student reviews the individual perspective, beginning with the ideas of sin and evil. More recently the medical community has returned to examining the biological and psychological contributors to criminal behavior. Assignment 3 Lesson 4: Social scientists have proposed many theories to explain criminal behavior. In this module we look back to Emil Durkheim then move through the views of social disorganization, social ecology, anomie, strain theory, sub-cultural theories, and structural and gender theories of crime. Next, the student examines the social process explanations for criminal behavior, ending with the Life-Course Theories. Assignment 4 Lesson 5: Closing the examination of theoretical perspectives attempting to account for crime in America, the student looks at the various critical perspectives and associated theories. EXAM 2 Assignment 5 Lesson 6: Justice is supposed to be blind; but is it? Knowing how the modern police force conducts itself, as well as the composition of these forces and how that structure impacts crime and crime control is important in understanding how we perceive both the law enforcement community and the criminal. Lesson 7: The American court system is adversarial, supposedly blind, yet clearly biased in the execution of its function. Understanding how courts carry out their functions and the perpetuation of crime that result, is important. So too is the most contentious debate in the U.S. that over the efficacy of the death penalty. Lesson 8: This final module offers the student the opportunity to examine the criminal justice system funnel and the sociological proposals for crime reduction. EXAM 3 Assignment 6 Due last Thursday of the 8 week semester!