College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Catalog 2016

183 students will select for further study, contingent upon faculty approval. Students are expected to synthesize and integrate the learning experiences in criminal justice and to evaluate research and current topics relative to the field. Topics for consideration include but are not limited to: leadership perspectives on criminal justice; the changing nature of criminal justice in the United States; evolving models and practices; and self-care and burnout prevention strategies for criminal justice practitioners. CJI 8210 Risk Assessment (3 credits) One of the most controversial areas in forensic psychology is the ability of mental health professionals to predict violent behavior. This course will review the controversy from a historical point of view, and then look at the different methods of assessing the potential for violent behavior. The course will conclude with a discussion of ethical issues involved in the assessment of violent behavior, such as harm to others, and making statements based on insufficient information. CJI 8220 Gender Violence: Domestic Violence & Sexual Abuse (3 credits) Domestic violence and sexual abuse crimes are different from other criminal acts in that the victims, usually but not always women, often have an intimate relationship with the perpetrators, usually but not always, men. The victims’ testimony, which is often the most compelling evidence to prosecute the crime, must be obtained despite the fact that the victims have experienced trauma and may develop psychological symptomology subsequent to the events. This course will explore the current psychological theories about the impact of abuse on the victim and the best practices in working with victims who have been traumatized both to obtain their cooperation in prosecution and to prevent future abuse by exploring domestic violence courts and offender-specific treatment programs. CJI 8230 Mental Health Courts and Therapeutic and Restorative Justice (3 credits) In this course the theoretical underpinnings and psychological practices used by therapeutic and restorative justice courts will be examined. An appreciation of the difficulties of blending therapeutic and punishment systems will be explored. The Mental Health Court is the newest member of the therapeutic and restorative justice courts in the criminal justice system. The first mental health court opened in 1997 when it became clear that close to 25% of those people arrested for non-violent misdemeanor crimes suffer from serious mental illness. Most had no permanent home, few family ties left, and were recycling in and out of the criminal justice system. The court is modeled after drug and domestic violence courts that have been operational for a longer period of time. The goal is to identify the seriously mentally ill defendants at the point they entered the justice system and defer them to treatment facilities in the community to restore them to optimum mental health functioning. CJI 8240 Sexual Offenders (3 credits) This course will examine sexual deviance and sexual criminality from the perspectives of victims, offenders, investigators, prosecutors, mental health professionals, and supervision/parole officers. Special emphasis will be paid to the burgeoning problem of online sexual criminality, including Internet predation and the production and distribution of child pornography. The course will identify and integrate psychological factors (e.g., diagnostic and treatment issues, offender typology) with law enforcement factors (e.g., investigative strategies, online undercover operations, interrogation and interviewing techniques, and community supervision of sex offenders). Causal and maintaining factors involved in sexual offending also will be discussed within a context of risk assessment and relapse prevention. Learning Outcomes CJI 8250 Psychological Issues for Children and Adolescents in the Legal System (3 credits) Children and adolescents may be involved with many different areas within the legal system such as delinquency, dependency, family, drug, domestic violence, and criminal/juvenile courts. Courts dealing with youth often rely heavily on the mental health expert to assist in understanding the psychological needs of the youth. Psychology can provide information about the child’s cognitive, emotional, and behavioral development as compared to others his or her age by using standardized tests, expert consultation, and evaluation. Psychological interventions available for use with children involved with the legal system, such as medication, psychotherapy, competency restoration, and cognitive retraining will be reviewed. Forensic psychologists can use these data to inform the court as to the special needs of these justice involved youth as well as assist the judge in meeting the legal standards. CJI 8310 Contemporary Challenges in Juvenile Justice Leadership: (3 credits) This course is designed to provide a comprehensive overview of the various challenges facing the juvenile justice system in the 21 st century. A range of contemporary issues central to juvenile justice will be analyzed including: trends in juvenile violence; the proliferation of gangs; the impact of significant institutional influences (family, peers, schools and community) on delinquents; gender and racial disparity in the administration of justice; the correlates of delinquency including childhood abuse, exposure to violence, drugs; and the philosophical shift toward balanced and restorative justice. CJI 8320 Legal and Ethical Issues in Juvenile Justice: (3 credits) This course examines contemporary legal and ethical issues from the perspective of their integration into the practice of