Learning Objectives for
Essentials of Criminal Justice
CHAPTER 1
Crime and Criminal Justice
After completing this chapter, students will…
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Discuss the formation of the criminal justice system
Be able to define the concept of a criminal justice system
Name the three basic component agencies of criminal justice
Be familiar with the size and scope of the contemporary justice system
Trace the formal criminal justice process
Know what is meant by the term “criminal justice assembly line”
Characterize the “informal criminal justice system”
Describe the “wedding cake” model of justice
Be familiar with the various perspectives on justice
Understand the ethical issues in criminal justice
CHAPTER 2
The Nature of Crime and Victimization
After completing this chapter, students will…
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Be able to discuss how crime is defined
Be familiar with the methods used to measure crime
Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of crime measures
Recognize the trends in the crime rate
Comment on the factors that influence crime rates
Be familiar with international crime trends and how the US compares to other
nations
Know the various crime patterns
Understand the concept of the criminal career
Be able to discuss the characteristics of crime victims
Distinguish between the various views of crime causation
CHAPTER 3
Criminal Law: Substance and Procedure
After completing this chapter, students will…
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Know the similarities and differences between criminal and civil law
Understand the concept of substantive criminal law and its history
Discuss the sources of the criminal law
Be familiar with the elements of a crime
Define the term “strict liability”
Be able to discuss excuses and justification defenses for crime
Be familiar with the most recent developments in criminal law reform
Describe the role of the Bill of Rights in shaping criminal procedure
List the elements of due process law
Know about the role the Supreme Court plays in interpreting the constitution and
shaping procedural laws.
CHAPTER 4
Police in Society: History and Organization
After completing this chapter, students will…
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Describe how law enforcement developed in feudal England
Summarize characteristics of the first law enforcement agencies
Discuss the development of law enforcement in the United States
Analyze the problems of early police agencies
Discuss how reformers attempted to create professional police agencies
Describe the major changes in law enforcement between 1970 and today
Be familiar with the major federal law enforcement agencies
Summarize the differences among state, county, and local law enforcement
Explain the role of technology in police work
CHAPTER 5
The Police: Role and Function
After completing this chapter, students will…
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Understand the organization of police departments
Articulate the complexities of the police role
Explain the limitations of patrol and the methods for improving it
Summarize the investigation function
Explain what forensics is and what forensic experts do for police agencies
Understand the concept of community policing
Discuss the concept of problem-oriented policing
Be familiar with the various police support functions
CHAPTER 6
Issues in Policing: Professional, Social, and Legal
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Summarize demographic trends in policing
Explain how minority and female officers act and are treated
Explain police culture and personality
Identify distinct policing styles
Describe factors that affect police discretion
Discuss four major problems of policing
Distinguish between deadly and non-deadly force and methods for controlling them
Explain the importance of less lethal weapons
Be familiar with the Supreme Court’s involvement with the police through its effort
to control search and seizure and interrogation, and the establishment of the
exclusionary rule
CHAPTER 7
Courts, Prosecution, and the Defense
After completing this chapter, students will…
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Describe the varying structures of the state court system
Describe the federal court system
Summarize the selection procedures and duties of the trial judge
Explain the role of the prosecutor
Describe prosecutorial discretion and summarize its pros and cons
Understand the role of the defense attorney in the justice process
Discuss the different forms of indigent defense
Summarize the pros and cons of private attorneys
Be familiar with the expanding role of technology in the court process
CHAPTER 8
Pretrial and Trial Procedures
After completing this chapter, students will be able to…
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Summarize the bail process
Discuss the main issues associated with bail
Differentiate between the two main mechanisms for charging defendants (grand
jury indictment or prosecutor’s information)
Summarize the pleas available to a criminal defendant
Explain the issues in plea bargaining
Describe the plea bargaining process
Explain the purpose of “pretrial diversion”
Describe the goals and purpose of the trial process
Explain the legal rights of the accused at trial
Summarize the trial process
CHAPTER 9
Punishment and Sentencing
After completing this chapter, students will…
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Outline the historical development of punishment
List the major goals of contemporary sentencing
Distinguish between general and specific deterrence, incapacitation and retribution
Compare rehabilitation with just deserts
Identify various sentencing models
Explain how sentences are imposed
Summarize factors associated with sentencing decisions
List the arguments for and against capital punishment
Be familiar with the legal issues associated with capital punishment
CHAPTER 10
Community Sentences: Probation, Intermediate Sanctions, and
Restorative Justice
After completing this chapter, students will…
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Be familiar with the concept of community sentencing
Know the history of community sentences
Recognize the different types of probation sentences
Be familiar with the rules of probation
Know about the organization and administration of probation services
List and discuss the elements of a probation department’s duties
Be familiar with the legal rights of probationers
Debate the effectiveness of probation
Know what is meant by intermediate sanctions
Define restorative justice and discuss its merits
CHAPTER 11
Corrections: History, Institutions, and Populations
After completing this chapter, students will…
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Understand the meaning of the term “the new penology”
Be able to explain how the first penal institutions developed in Europe
Explain how William Penn revolutionized corrections
Compare the New York and Pennsylvania prison models
Chart the development of penal reform
Know how parole developed
List the purposes of jails and be familiar with the makeup of jail populations
Be familiar with the term “new generation jail”
Classify the different types of federal and state penal institutions
Discuss prison population trends
CHAPTER 12
Prison Life: Living in and Leaving Prison
After completing this chapter, students will…
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Discuss the problems of the adult correctional system
Know what is meant by the term “total institution”
Differentiate between a no-frills and a rehabilitation philosophy
Chart the prisonization process and the development of the inmate social code
Compare the lives and culture of male and female inmates
Be familiar with the different forms of correctional treatment
Discuss the world of correctional officers
Understand the cause of prison violence
Know what is meant by prisoner’s rights and discuss some of the key privileges that
have been granted to inmates
Be knowledgeable about the parole process and the problems of prisoner re-entry
CHAPTER 13
Juvenile Justice in the Twenty-First Century
After completing this chapter, students will…
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Describe the history of juvenile justice
Discuss the establishment of the juvenile court
Describe the changes in juvenile justice that began in the 1960s and continue today
Summarize police processing of juvenile offenders
Describe the juvenile court process
Explain the concept of waiver
Explain the importance of In re Gault
Describe the juvenile correctional process
CHAPTER 14
Crime and Justice in the New Millennium
After completing this chapter, students will…
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Discuss the impact of criminal enterprise crime
Describe a ponzi scheme
Be familiar with a mortgage fraud scandal
Be familiar with various forms of green crime
Discuss the various forms of cyber crime
Know what is being done to thwart cyber criminals
Be familiar with the influence of globalization on crime
Understand the concept of transnational crime
Be familiar with some of the most important transnational crime groups
Tell how law enforcement is taking on transnational criminal syndicates