• Department of     Criminal Justice


    Chair: Joe B. Lomax
    Phone: 342-1621
    E-mail: lomaxj@uwplatt.edu
    Program Office: 428 Warner Hall
    Phone: 342-1896

    Professors: Robert G. Culbertson, David P. Van Buren, Robert W. Warfield, Kathryn A. Winz
    Associate Professors: Thomas E. Caywood, Joe B. Lomax
    Assistant Professor: Cheryl Banachowski-Fuller

    The major in criminal justice provides a basic understanding of the criminal justice system and the society in which it functions. The first 60 credits are composed primarily of general education courses to develop a broad educational background, along with the first three core criminal justice courses. After completion of 60 credits, in-depth knowledge can be obtained by careful selection of courses in policing, corrections, criminological theory, law, AODA counseling, and private security.

    The Criminal Justice Department has received national recognition for the superior quality of its internship program. As a result, participation in the internship program is competitive. The Department of Criminal Justice reserves the right to refuse a student an internship if the department decides that the student is not a suitable candidate on the basis of scholarship, verbal ability or character. To be eligible for internship, the student must have earned at least 60 credits plus 12 upper division criminal justice credits, a 2.25 GPA, and have passed the department's writing certification requirement.

    A criminal justice major who takes CJ 2130, 2930, 3130, 3630, 4030, 4130, and 4330 (21 credits) will receive advanced placement into the Wisconsin Police Certification Training School which is offered on campus through Southwest Technical College.

    The Departments of Chemistry and Engineering Physics, Biology, and Criminal Justice cooperate in preparing students interested in becoming crime laboratory analysts.

    In cooperation with the Department of Psychology and the Counselor Education Graduate Program, undergraduate criminal justice majors can obtain AODA (alcohol and other drug abuse) certification.

    The Departments of Criminal Justice and Psychology also cooperate in the social work certification process.

    General Requirements ­ Bachelor of Science Degree

    Total for Graduation 120 credits

    General Education 4458 credits

    Major Studies 36-54 credits

    Bachelor of Science supplement 6 credits

    Bachelor of Science Supplement

    Students must choose from the following (only 3 credits per discipline):

    ENGL 3000 Technical Writing

    COSC 1830 Microcomputer Applications

    SPCH 2250 Communication & Leadership in Small Groups

    SPCH 3250 Interpersonal Communication

    SPCH 3500 Persuasion and Argumentation

    COMM 3510 Investigative Photography

    BSAD 2330 Organization and Management

    General Requirements ­ Bachelor of Arts Degree

    Total for Graduation 120 credits

    General Education 44-58 credits

    Major Studies 36-54 credits

    Bachelor of Arts supplement 4-6 credits

    Bachelor of Arts Supplement

    Students must choose one of two options.

    Option One

    Six credits from the following (only three credits per discipline):

    PHIL 2330 Origins of Western Philosophy

    PHIL 2430 Philosophy of Modern World

    PHIL 2530 Ethics

    PHIL 3430 Social Philosophy

    PHIL 3930 Philosophy of Law

    ENGL 2130 English Literature: Beginnings through the Commonwealth

    ENGL 2230 English Literature: Restoration through the Romantic Age

    ENGL 2330 English Literature: Victorian Age to the Present

    ENGL 2430 American Literature through the Civil War

    ENGL 2530 American Literature since the Civil War

    ENGL 3430 Development of the American Novel

    ENGL 3530 Modern American Drama

    ENGL 3630 Mark Twain and American Humor

    ENGL 4330 Shakespeare

    HIST 3120 American Colonial History

    HIST 3130 New Nation

    HIST 3140 Civil War and Reconstruction

    HIST 3150 Gilded Age and Progressive Era

    HIST 3430 Twentieth Century America

    Option Two

    Four credits from:

    FREN 2040 Intermediate French

    GERM 2240 Intermediate German

    SPAN 2840 Intermediate Spanish

    Criminal Justice Major (36-54 credits)

    Majors must take at least the following:

    C J 1130 Intro to Criminal Justice 3

    C J 2130 The Police Function 3

    C J 2230 Correctional Philosophy 3

    C J 4030 Criminal Law 3

    C J 4930 Criminal Justice Seminar 3

    Electives in Criminal Justice 21 Total: 36

    In addition, all criminal justice majors:

    1) must complete 3 credits of course work on the nature and causes of criminal and delinquent behavior, which can be fulfilled by successful completion of CJ 3430 Patterns of Criminal Justice and Delinquent Behavior, CJ 3630 Juvenile Justice, PSYCH 4830 Psychology and the Law, or SOC 3330 Crime and Delinquency.

    2) must complete 3 credits of course work in research methods, which can be fulfilled by successful completion of CJ 3900 Research Methods in Criminal Justice, PSYCH 2230 Introduction to Experimental Psychology, SOC 3430 Social Research, or POSC 4720 Study & Research in Political Science.

    3) must earn a "C" or better in each core course before going on to the next.

    In addition, each major must earn a "C" or better in ENGL 1130 and 1230 and pass the departmental writing proficiency exam before taking upper division criminal justice courses.

    In addition to the social science requirements of the university, the student must either complete at least 6 credits each in psychology, sociology, and political science, OR complete a minor or second major in any discipline. Minors to consider include foreign languages, accounting for federal law enforcement, or psychology for corrections. Computer science, political science, chemistry and biology are also excellent minors for students majoring in criminal justice.

    Criminal Justice Minor (24 credits)

    Criminal justice minors must take the following:

    C J 1130 Intro to Criminal Justice 3

    C J 2130 The Police Function 3

    C J 2230 Correctional Philosophy 3

    C J 4030 Criminal Law 3

    Electives in Criminal Justice 12

    Total: 24

    Courses OfferedCriminal Justice

    C J 1130 3 credits

    Introduction to Criminal Justice

    A survey of the administration of criminal justice, including the structural components of the criminal justice system and the stages of the criminal process from the detection of crime and arrest through prosecution, adjudication, sentencing, and correctional intervention; emphasis upon analysis of decisions and practices within the context of the entire criminal justice system. F S GE: SS

    C J 2130 3 credits

    The Police Function

    The roles and functions of police in a democratic society, including their responsibilities for peacekeeping, law enforcement and service; the police as part of the criminal justice system and as agents of municipal government; models and styles of police behavior. P: C J 1130 with a "C" or better. F S

    C J 2230 3 credits

    Correctional Philosophy

    The theories, philosophies and practices of corrections; sentencing structures and their relationships to correctional objectives; the modes of correctional intervention. P: C J 1130 with a "C" or better. F S

    C J 2630 3 credits

    Private Security Operations

    A survey of the physical, personnel and informational aspects of the security field; concept of physical information and personnel security systems integrated with management systems; controls in regard to private, public and government owned complexes. F

    C J 2830 3 credits

    Ethnicity, Race and Crime

    (Cross offered under Ethnic Studies 2830)

    This course will study the correlation between ethnicity, race, crime and criminality in the United States. It will explore the interrelationships among ethnicity, race, the production of criminal law, and the sanctioning of criminal behavior. Also, it will examine social dynamics which underlie current concepts, information and misinformation regarding ethnicity, race and crime in an increasingly diverse society. P: sophomore standing. GE:E

    C J 2930 3 credits

    Interviewing

    Examination of the principles of effective interviewing as applied to investigative reporting, research, persuasion, counseling, employment, and the investigation of crime. The latter part of this course will pay particular attention to the theory and practice of interviewing and interrogation as applied to gaining information from complainants, witnesses, victims, informants, and suspects. P: Sophomore standing. F S

    C J 3130 3 credits

    Criminal Investigation

    An introduction to the principles and procedures of criminal investigation, including the identification of physical and testimonial evidence, creation of hypotheses for the development of leads and documentation of findings. P: C J 2130 with a "C" or better and junior standing. S

    C J 3140 4 credits

    Criminalistics

    The function and techniques of the application of scientific methods to the evaluation of physical evidence. The course examines the various analytical systems used in the evaluation of physical evidence with a balance between the theoretical framework and practical application. P: C J 2130 with a "C" or better and junior standing. F

    C J 3230 3 credits

    Comparative Criminal Justice Systems

    Cultural bases of laws, development of laws, conceptions of justice and patterns of crime; comparison of American

    criminal justice systems with other Western and Asian justice systems. P: C J 2130 and 2230 with a "C" or better in each and junior standing. S

    C J 3330 3 credits

    Police Administration

    Principles of police administration and organization; detailed analysis of police administration such as budgeting, personnel management, implementation of programs toward fulfillment of objectives and decision-making. P: CJ 2130 with a "C" or better and junior standing. S

    C J 3430 3 credits

    Patterns of Criminal and Delinquent Behavior

    The legal and behavioral classification of crimes and criminals based on analysis of the criminal career of the offender, group support of the behavior, society's reaction and the response of the legal system; analysis of crimes as systems of behavior: property, violent, professional, organized, victimless, white-collar, conventional and political crime. P: CJ 2130 and 2230 with a "C" or better in each and junior standing. F

    C J 3530 3 credits

    Correctional Institutions

    History, development and functions of correctional institutions including prisons and jails; their custodial and correctional programs; the impact of incarceration on inmates; the interactional structure of the prison environment; improving conditions and correctional programs. P: C J 2230 with a "C" or better and junior standing. F

    C J 3630 3 credits

    Juvenile Justice

    Conceptions of juvenile delinquency; the juvenile offender in the juvenile justice system; the philosophy, structure and function of juvenile courts; legal rights of accused juveniles, correctional theories, and programs in juvenile institutions; methods and models of rehabilitating juvenile offenders and prevention of juvenile delinquency. P: C J 2230 with a "C" or better and junior standing. F S

    C J 3730 3 credits

    Women and the Law

    (Cross offered under Women's Studies 3030)

    A study of women in their legal roles as wives and mothers, workers and students, criminals and victims of crime. The course examines how the law affects women's personal choices regarding marriage, having children, and aiming for high-level achievements in education and in work. The course also examines ways in which law affects women in poverty and in old age. P: C J 1130 or one course in women's studies and junior standing. F GE: SS, G

    C J 3800 3 credits

    Environmental Law

    A study of historical concepts and common law rules and their effect on the development of environmental law; examination of state and federal statutes, regulations and case law relating to land use, pollution control and preservation of natural resources; exploration of the legal frontiers of environmental protection and restoration. P: Four credits of lab science and junior standing. S

    C J 3830 3 credits

    Crime Prevention

    An investigation of the prevention of crime utilizing changes in both the physical and social environments. P: C J 1130 with a "C" or better and junior standing. S

    C J 3900 3 credits

    Research Methods in Criminal Justice

    An introduction to research methods in criminal justice and criminology, with applications to both pure and applied research. The course provides a basic conceptual framework for understanding and interpreting criminal justice research as well as designing, conducting and evaluating research projects. P: C J 2130 and 2230 with a "C" or better in both, Math 2430, and junior standing. S

    C J 3930 3 credits

    Law of Corrections

    The law pertaining to the effects and consequences of conviction, sentencing and prisoner rights; the legal process in terms of post-trial motions and appeals of conviction. P: C J 2230 with a "C" or better and junior standing. F

    C J 4030 3 credits

    Criminal Law

    A study of the principles, doctrines and selected rules of criminal law; the sources of substantive criminal law and historical development of common law principles of criminal responsibility; constitutional constraints on the decision to define the behavior as criminal. P: C J 2130 and 2230 with a "C" or better in each and junior standing. F S

    C J 4130 3 credits

    Police-Community Relations

    Analysis of the interdependence of the police and community in maintaining order and controlling crime; theories of community and the community's role in the development of police systems; tensions and conflict in police-community interaction; programs and strategies for improving the quality of police-community relations. P: C J 2130 with a "C" or better and junior standing. F

    C J 4230 3 credits

    Community-Based Corrections

    Community-based correctional programs, pre- and post-trial; a critical investigation of theories, practices and problems involved in pre-trial diversion, probation and parole. P: C J 2230 with a "C" or better and junior standing. S

    C J 4330 3 credits

    Criminal Procedure and Evidence

    A study of case law defining constitutional constraints on police behavior in the areas of arrest, search and seizure, interrogation, identification and investigation; rules on the exclusion of illegally seized evidence. P: C J 4030 with a "C" or better and junior standing. F S

    C J 4500 1-3 credits

    Directed Individual Studies

    Supervised individual study of a topic selected by the student with staff approval. P: C J 4030 with a "C" or better, an accumulated GPA of 2.50, junior standing, and consent of instructor. F S

    C J 4630 3 credits

    Current Topics in Criminal Justice

    Current issues in criminal justice which may not warrant a permanent course. Course content will be announced each time the course is presented. P: C J 4030 with a "C" or better and junior standing. Variable

    C J 4730 3 credits

    Honors in Criminal Justice Research

    The practical application of research to the criminal justice field. The student will design a complete research project within the framework of a tutorial relationship with a member of the criminal justice faculty. P: C J 4030 with a "C" or better, junior standing, and departmental approval. Variable

    C J 4830 3 credits

    Psychopharmacology for AODA Counselors

    The effects of nutrients, additives and psychoactive drugs on criminal behavior and the process by which behavior is affected by these substances. P: BIOL 1150 or CHEM 1050 and C J 1130, PSYCH 1130 or SOC 1030 and junior standing. S

    C J 4880 8 credits

    Internship

    Enhancement of the educational experience through placement of a student with a governmental or private agency; emphasis placed on integration of criminal justice theory and practice through field observations, practical experience, and extensive report writing, including submission of daily reports, administrative reports, and case reports. P: C J 4030 with a "C" or better, an accumulative GPA of 2.25, junior standing, and departmental approval. F S Su

    C J 4930 3 credits

    Criminal Justice Seminar

    Discussion and evaluation of problems in the contemporary criminal justice system; individual research and presentation of findings. P: C J 4030 with a "C" or better and senior standing. F S