Criminal Justice (BA.CRJ)

Students graduating with a B.A. degree in Criminal Justice will:

1. Know the difference between the criminal justice system and process, be able to identify historical trends in the evolution of each of the three components of the system, and identify and define the stages of the criminal justice processes. Additionally, they will be able to identify and compare the roles and responsibilities of criminal justice professionals throughout the system at each stage of the process.
2. Know the sources of law in American society, distinguish between criminal and civil law, and identify U.S. Constitutional amendments most closely associated with criminal justice, as well as important U.S. Supreme Court decisions pertaining to those amendments.
3. Be aware of current controversial issues in criminal justice and a range of policies and strategies for addressing those issues.
4. Understand the importance of organizational and management theory as applied to criminal justice, including such concepts as organizational environment, communication, motivation, occupational socialization, and managing change.
5. Be able to recognize and evaluate various methods of gathering data about crime and patterns of crime and victimization, recognize and compare various theories of crime causation, and identify a variety of approaches to crime prevention.