SOC 107 Introduction to Criminal Justice
This course will provide the student with an introduction to formal institutions of social control - the criminal justice system - and will closely examine the three major components of the criminal justice process: policing, the courts system, and corrections. (This course will prepare students wishing to take advanced courses that more extensively address each individual component of the criminal justice system, though it is not a prerequisite.) The primary goal of this course is to develop a general understanding of the criminal justice system, as well as its response to crime in U.S. society. This introductory course will also examine special criminal justice issues such as juvenile justice, drugs and crime, and multi-national criminal justice systems, in addition to discussing the future of criminal justice in the U.S. It is important to note that the general theme of the course addresses the establishment of, and the adaptation to, the ever-changing balance between the expectations of the community, in terms of safety, and the rights of the individual, in terms of civil liberties. It is the mandate of the criminal justice system to address this balancing act. We will take a look at how well it succeeds, or not.