10504910Diversity and Criminal Justice
Course Information
Description
An examination of race in the context of the criminal justice system. Emphasis on the treatment of racial minorities as victims and offenders by law enforcement, courts, and corrections. The primary purpose of this course is to assist students in building their analytic and critical skills necessary to gain a deeper understanding of the issues of race and the criminal justice system.
Total Credits
3
Course Competencies
  1. Relate race and ethnicity to crime and criminal justice
    Assessment Strategies
    Written Product, Test
    Criteria
    Analyze the role of race and ethnicity in understanding crime and criminal justice in America
    Identify recent trends in criminal justice and the current crime situation in America
    Describe emerging problems in the criminal justice system
    Identify factors affecting race, ethnicity, and justice within the criminal justice system

  2. Differentiate between race, culture and ethnicity
    Assessment Strategies
    Written Product, Test
    Criteria
    Describe the difference between race and ethnicity
    Assess the quality of commonly used criminal justice data (e.g., arrests) and whether they provide an accurate picture of what actually happens in the justice system
    Differentiate between disparities and discrimination with regard to race and ethnicity
    Analyze the scientific categories and how they are used by the U.S. Census Bureau and by criminal justice agencies

  3. Interpret different theoretical explanations for the racial and ethnic gap in offending and victimization
    Assessment Strategies
    Written Product, Test
    Criteria
    Analyze basic data on crimes and victims
    Identify occasions when the news media present a distorted picture of crime in America
    Explain basic patterns of who commits major crimes and who the principal victims are
    Describe racial- and ethnic-group patterns related to both victims and offenders

  4. Analyze the nature and extent of inequality in American society with respect to racial and ethnic minorities
    Assessment Strategies
    Written Product, Test
    Criteria
    Compare inequalities in income and wealth with respect to race and ethnicity
    Analyze the impact of social and political reform efforts designed to reduce inequality, including the civil rights movement and different antipoverty efforts

  5. Explain key issues related to the barriers between law enforcement and people of color
    Assessment Strategies
    Written Product, Test
    Criteria
    Identify key issues related to police and people of color
    Explain complex data on police shootings, use of force, racial profiling, and other issues
    Describe trends in the employment of people of color in policing

  6. Examine the historical background that is the foundation of hostility between people of color and law enforcement
    Assessment Strategies
    Written Product, Test
    Criteria
    Differentiate between racial disparities and racial discrimination
    Explain how decisions regarding bail and charging are affected by race/ethnicity and how these decisions, in turn, influence sentence severity
    Evaluate arguments regarding selective prosecution of African-American pregnant women who abuse drugs

  7. Examine the workings of the criminal justice system for the economically disadvantaged
    Assessment Strategies
    Written Product, Test
    Criteria
    Explain how race and ethnicity are taken into consideration during the jury selection process
    Explain the concept of jury nullification
    Assess competing arguments regarding the legitimacy of race-based nullification

  8. Describe how race and ethnicity are taken into consideration during the jury selection process
    Assessment Strategies
    Written Product, Test
    Criteria
    Summarize the role of the jury
    Explain how the U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted the requirement that jurors be chosen from a random cross-section of the population

  9. Analyze racial differences in attitudes toward capital punishment
    Assessment Strategies
    Written Product, Test
    Criteria
    Explain why racial disparity in sentencing does not necessarily signal the presence of racial discrimination in sentencing
    Describe the five explanations for racial disparities in sentencing
    Explain how the race of the victim affects sentencing decisions
    Summarize the results of empirical studies examining the effect of race on the application of the death penalty

  10. Break down the racial and ethnic composition of the prison population
    Assessment Strategies
    Written Product, Test
    Criteria
    Detail the prison population
    Describe special problems involving Native Americans and the corrections system
    Examine unique issues related to women of color in prison

  11. Explore diversity and or lack of diversity in law enforcement
    Assessment Strategies
    Written Product, Test
    Criteria
    Summarize common issues when corrections personnel (correctional officers, parole officers) are people of color
    Explain the hesitation to join law enforcement from members of the minority community
    Analyze why officers of color are fighting a battle to “dual fronts”

  12. Examine the minority law enforcement officer perspective in a correctional facility and on the city streets
    Assessment Strategies
    Written Product, Test
    Criteria
    Analyze the perspectives faced by different minority groups in the law enforcement and correctional professions
    Analyze minority law enforcement candidate preference to patrol the streets rather than work in a correctional facility

  13. Articulate a factual and statistic-based answer to the question “Does Race Matter?”
    Assessment Strategies
    Research Paper
    Criteria
    Incorporate facts from external sources and the course text
    Cite research using APA style
    Paper includes a title page and reference page
    Paper includes an abstract with stated hypothesis
    Paper is at least 1,250 words, not including reference page, title page or abstract
    Paper is double-spaced, font size 12, Time New Roman Font, standard 1-inch margins