Criminal Justice

The criminal justice major at Wilmington College offers students the opportunity to pursue careers in law enforcement, corrections, probation and parole, and law. Criminal Justice majors examine the institutions, procedures, and techniques involved in the identification and apprehension of suspects, the enforcement of criminal laws, and the reintegration of offenders. They also analyze the rights of victims and the prospects for victim-offender reconciliation.

The interdisciplinary program of study combines course work in Criminal Justice, Psychology, Sociology, and Political Science. In addition to core courses in law enforcement, corrections, criminal law and investigation, and statistics, the curriculum enables students to choose from an array of electives that provide necessary background for career placement and further education.

Internships are available in the sophomore, junior, and senior years at local juvenile courts, probation and parole agencies, correctional institutions, prosecutor’s offices, and in administrative settings at the local, state, and national level.

Recent graduates have secured work in probation and parole agencies, court administration, law enforcement, corrections, and other fields.

Degrees

Courses

CJ130: INTRODUCTION TO CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Credits 4
A basic overview of crime and justice in America. Includes the criminal process, problems and prospects of policing, the courtroom workgroup, prisons, and correctional policy.

CJ201G: INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Credits 4

This course will examine crime and criminal justice from a global perspective. Issues surrounding the definition, incidence, trends, control, treatment, and prevention of crime will be explored using theoretical and empirical resources from mainstream and international criminology.

CJ231: JUVENILE JUSTICE

Credits 4
Introduces the juvenile justice system in the United States. Includes classifications of juvenile offenders, the family and the offender, the role of the juvenile court, and the legal approach to combating juvenile crime. Causation models are outlined, as well as current treatment methods used in juvenile rehabilitation.

CJ234: POLICING

Credits 4

A study of the history, structure, and function of police in America. Includes police management and supervision; constitutional limitations on police; law enforcement and community relations; and the sociological implications of contemporary policing.

CJ331: CORRECTIONS

Credits 4
Skill
W
This course will focus on forms of supervised release including probation and parole, home confinement, electronic monitoring, and halfway houses. We will also examine the institution of incarceration as it exists in American society. Includes many of the current issues in the field such as overcrowding, prison violence, rehabilitation, and prison construction.

CJ336: VICTIMOLOGY

Credits 4
This course addresses the victim’s experience in the justice system. Using case studies of individual and organizational victims, examines the costs of crime, prevention services, intervention, and public compensation. Students will also explore the concepts of vulnerability, culpability, and intra-family crime.

CJ339: CRIMINAL LAW I: SUBSTANTIVE CRIMINAL LAW

Credits 4

This course provides a general overview of classification and analysis of selected areas of the substantive law of crimes, including basic principles of criminal law, general assumptions, and elements of crime, against persons and property, and defenses. The particular emphasis of this course is the intersection of the common law and statutory law (drawn from various states and the federal system). Topics addressed include criminal liability, actus reus, mens rea, defenses, inchoate crimes, crimes against persons, crimes against property, crimes against public order, and crimes against the state. 

CJ341: CRIMINAL LAW II: PROCEDURAL CRIMINAL LAW

Credits 4

Examines the general principles, theories, and laws of criminal procedure, including concepts of due process, arrest, search and seizure, wiretapping, lineups, and other recent developments. This course will focus on federal constitutional criminal procedure with some time dedicated to exploring differences in procedure among the states. 

CJ350: TOPICS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Credits 4
Exploration of areas of special interest in criminal justice. Potential topics include organized crime, computer crime, criminal evidence, legal issues in corrections, women in the criminal justice system and others.

CJ430: THE DEATH PENALTY

Credits 4

This course provides an in-depth examination of the historical and contemporary use of capital punishment in American society. The course explores arguments surrounding the death penalty, death row, the historical and modern execution process, constitutional issues, alternatives to capital punishment, and related topics.

CJ435: FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY

Credits 4
This course is designed to provide a general understanding of the interface of psychology and the law and the difference between the two fields of study. In so doing, we will examine the roles and responsibilities of Forensic Psychologists, such as the selection and training of police officers, police interrogating and confessions, criminal profiling, criminal investigation, eyewitness accounts, trial preparation, jury selection, mental defenses and issues of competency, other types of defenses, sexual abuse issues, child custody disputes, discrimination, sexual harassment, and death penalty cases.