MCCCD Program Description

Criminology

Course: AJS225

First Term: 2003 Spring

Lecture 3 Credit(s) 3 Period(s) 3 Load
Subject Type: Occupational
Load Formula: S

Description: Study of deviance, society`s role in defining behavior; theories of criminality and the economic, social, and psychological impact of crime; relationships between statistics and crime trends. Examines crime victimization and the various types of crime and categories of offenders. Required in the AJS curriculum

MCCCD Official Course Competencies
1. Describe the relationships between deviance, social control, criminality, and the juvenile offenders. (I) 2. Distinguish the crimes and characteristics of known offenders, limitations of statistics, and the factors that contribute to an increase in crime. (II) 3. Evaluate crimes of violence, their cultural context, and typology of violent offenders. (III) 4. Describe the categories of sex offenses and sexual offenders as well as the public views and misconceptions. (IV) 5. Describe the various characteristics of occasional, professional, and career patterns of property offenders. (V) 6. Describe organized criminal enterprises and their penetration into legitimate businesses. (VI) 7. Describe white collar/economic crimes. (VII) 8. Describe offenders which fall into the special category. (VIII) 9. Describe the various biological, sociological, and psychological theories of criminality. (IX) 10. Describe the criminal/victim relationship and bystander response. (X) 11. Describe the impact of crime on society. (XI)
MCCCD Official Course Competencies must be coordinated with the content outline so that each major point in the outline serves one or more competencies. MCCCD faculty retains authority in determining the pedagogical approach, methodology, content sequencing, and assessment metrics for student work. Please see individual course syllabi for additional information, including specific course requirements.

MCCCD Official Course Outline
I. Deviance, social control, and criminality A. Definitions of terms, norms, and sanctions B. Relationships between norms and socialization C. Society`s role in defining behavior as deviant D. Law as a means of social control E. Origins of law F. Basic premises of criminal law G. Classifications of crime H. Relationship of juvenile offender to society, including status offenders and delinquents II. Epidemiology of crime A. Uniform crime report B. Distinguishing between the extent of known crimes C. Characteristics of known offenders in relation to age, sex, and race D. Limitations of official statistics E. Relationships between statistics and crime trends F. Contributing factors in the increase of crime G. Perspectives of crime from point of view of victim, offender, judge, and criminal justice petitioner III. Crimes of violence A. Frequency and distribution of violent crime B. Cultural context of violent crime C. Typology of violent offenders IV. Sexual offenses A. Categories of sex offenses B. Public views and misconceptions of sex offender C. Varieties of sexual offenses and sexual offenders V. Conventional property offenses A. Characteristics of career criminals and patterns 1. Occasional property offenders 2. Professional offenders B. Types of property offenses VI. Organized crime A. Definition and description of organized crime B. History and development of syndicated crime C. Structure of syndicated crime D. Criminal enterprises E. Penetration of legitimate business by organized crime VII. White collar/economic crimes A. Categories of economic crime B. Impact of economic crime C. The control of economic crime VIII. Special category offenders A. Description of substance abuse 1. Relationship to crime 2. Patterns of use 3. Treatment approaches B. Psychotic, retarded, and psychopathic offender C. Female offender IX. Theories of criminality A. Biological theories of criminality B. Sociological theories of criminality C. Psychological theories of criminality X. Victims and bystanders A. Criminal/victim relationship as a factor in crime B. Bystander response and the law XI. The impact of crime on society A. Economic impact of crime 1. Crimes against person 2. Crimes against property 3. Illegal goods and services 4. Public expenditures for criminal justice 5. Private costs related to crime B. Psychological and social impact of crime 1. On the victim 2. Fear and its consequences 3. Individual defensive reactions to crime 4. Collective reactions to crimes

MCCCD Governing Board Approval Date: 2/27/2001

All information published is subject to change without notice. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information presented, but based on the dynamic nature of the curricular process, course and program information is subject to change in order to reflect the most current information available.