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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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”
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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
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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