4/26/2024 1:31:29 PM	AJ 70 Course Outline as of Fall 2008	Changed Course
CATALOG INFORMATION
Discipline and Nbr:  AJ 70	Title:  INTRO TO CORRECTIONS
Full Title:  Introduction to Corrections
Last Reviewed:2/22/2021

Units		Course Hours per Week			Nbr of Weeks	Course Hours Total
Maximum	3.00	Lecture Scheduled	3.00		17.5 max.	Lecture Scheduled	52.50
Minimum	3.00	Lab Scheduled	0		17.5 min.	Lab Scheduled	0
		Contact DHR	0			Contact DHR	0
		Contact Total	3.00			Contact Total	52.50
		Non-contact DHR	0			Non-contact DHR Total	0

Total Out of Class Hours:  105.00

Total Student Learning Hours: 157.50

Title 5 Category:  AA Degree Applicable
Grading:  Grade Only
Repeatability:  00 - Two Repeats if Grade was D, F, NC, or NP
Also Listed As: 
Formerly: 

Catalog Description:

This course is designed to provide the student with an overview of the history and trends of adult and juvenile corrections including probation and parole.  It will focus on the legal issues, specific laws and general operation of correctional institutions.  The relationship between corrections and other components of the judicial system will also be examined.  

Prerequisites/Corequisites:

Recommended Preparation:
Eligibility for ENGL 100 or ESL 100

Limits on Enrollment:

Schedule of Classes Information
Description:

History, philosophy and current procedures in contemporary corrections; to include probation, institutions, parole, and related community and private corrections.  

(Grade Only)
Prerequisites:
Recommended:Eligibility for ENGL 100 or ESL 100
Limits on Enrollment:
Transfer Credit:CSU;
Repeatability:00 - Two Repeats if Grade was D, F, NC, or NP

ARTICULATION, MAJOR, and CERTIFICATION INFORMATION

Associate Degree:		Effective:		Inactive:
Area:
CSU GE:	Transfer Area			Effective:	Inactive:
IGETC:	Transfer Area			Effective:	Inactive:
CSU Transfer:	Transferable	Effective:	Fall 1981	Inactive:
UC Transfer:		Effective:		Inactive:
C-ID:
CID Descriptor: AJ 200	Introduction to Corrections	SRJC Equivalent Course(s): AJ70

Certificate/Major Applicable: Certificate Applicable Course

COURSE CONTENT

Outcomes and Objectives:
At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:

Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to:

1.  Define the term corrections and know how correctional agencies fulfill the mission of protecting society.

2.  Identify the role that plea bargaining plays in criminal sentencing.

3.  Discuss the daily operations of a jail.

4.  Explain the organization and operation of modern probation.

5.  Compare and contrast the federal and state prison systems.

6.  Compare and contrast the ways inmates can be released from prisons, including parole, supervised mandatory release, and unconditional mandatory release.

7.  Describe the challenges facing male and female prisoners in a correctional setting.

8.  Discuss the reasons why juveniles are waived to adult courts and the concerns about the process.

9.  Define special offenders and describe how they require special handling under correctional supervision.

10. Define unit management and describe the role it plays in the management of a prison.

11. Compare the culture of women's prisons to the culture of men's prisons.

12. Discuss the categories of inmate assignments in special housing units.

13. List and describe court rulings regarding the use of capital punishment.

14. Discuss the benefits of accreditation.

15. List and identify the potential future of corrections.  

Topics and Scope

I. Defining Corrections

   A. Corrections as a part of the criminal justice system

   B. The correctional funnel and correctional policy

   C. Theories of crime and punishment

   D. Early responses to crime

   E. The development of the prison

   F.  Sentencing goals of corrections

II. Sentencing and the Correctional process

   A.  Pre-trial correctional activities

   B.  The role of plea bargaining and sentencing

   C.  Pre-sentencing correctional activities

   D. The sentencing decision

   E.  Drug Courts

III.  Jails

   A.  History

   B.  Role and Function

   C.  Organization

   D.  Supervision

IV. Probation

    A.  History

   B.  Practices and issues of probation

   C.  Intermediate sanctions

V. Prisons

   A.  Current status of prisons in the United States

   B.  Adult prisons systems in the United States

VI. Parole and prisoner re-entry

   A.  The history of parole

   B.  Operations of parole

   C.  Effectiveness of parole

   D.  Prisoner re-entry

VII.Clients of adult correctional agencies

   A.  Overview of adult offender

   B.  Types of offenders and length of confinement

   C.  Male offenders

   D.  Female offenders

   E.  Need for medical care

VIII Juvenile correctional system

   A.  The problem of juvenile crime

   B.  Development of the juvenile justice system

   C.  Categories of juvenile offenders

   D.  The juvenile justice system and process

   E.  Juvenile residential facilities

   F.  Legal issues affecting the juvenile justice system

IX. Special offenders

   A.  Juvenile offenders in adult criminal courts

   B.  Drug offenders

   C.  Mentally ill offenders

   D.  Aging offenders

   E.  Violent offenders

   F.  Sex offenders

   G.  Offenders with infectious diseases

X. Management of prisons

   A.  Organization of prisons

   B.  Unit management

   C.  Controlling inmate behavior

   D.  The role of staff in prison

XI. Prison life for inmates

   A.  Male offenders

   B.  Female offenders

XII. Organization and culture of prison staff

   A.  The jobs of prison staff

   B.  The organization of a prison

   C.  The warden

   D.  Culture

   E.  Female correctional officers in male prisons

XIII. Custody and treatment

   A.  Security and custody within a prison

   B.  Inmate riots and disturbances

   C.  Treatment and programs within a prison

   D.  Identifying inmate needs

   E.  Types of prison programs

XIV. Legal issues and the death penalty

   A.  Legal issues regarding inmates

   B.  The development of inmate legal rights

   C.  The Bill of Rights and inmate rights

   D.  Special rights of prisoners

   E.  Inmate discipline

   F.  Litigation by inmates

   G.  The history of capital punishment

   H.  Legal and statutory provisions regarding the death penalty

   I.  Death row prisoners

   J.  Public opinion and capital punishment

   K. The finality of the death penalty

XV. Current issues in corrections

   A.  Prison and jail populations

   B.  Politics and policy

   C.  Budget concerns

   D.  Accreditation

    E.  Staff diversity

   F.  Effectiveness of treatment programs

XVI. The future of corrections

   A.  Current approaches and goals

   B.  New paradigms of sentencing and corrections

   C.  Corrections as a career  

Assignments:

1. Small group discussion

2. Small group activities

3. Reading 20-40 pages a week

4. 3-5 case scenarios

5. Weekly quizzes

6. Mid-term and final exam

7. Term paper or research project.  

Methods of Evaluation/Basis of Grade.

Writing: Assessment tools that demonstrate writing skill and/or require students to select, organize and explain ideas in writing.		Writing 20 - 30%
Written homework, critiquing of reports and case scenarios, term paper/research project
Problem solving: Assessment tools, other than exams, that demonstrate competence in computational or non-computational problem solving skills.		Problem Solving 20 - 30%
Small group activities
Skill Demonstrations: All skill-based and physical demonstrations used for assessment purposes including skill performance exams.		Skill Demonstrations 0 - 0%
None
Exams: All forms of formal testing, other than skill performance exams.		Exams 40 - 60%
Mid-term and final exam
Other: Includes any assessment tools that do not logically fit into the above categories.		Other Category 0 - 0%
None

Representative Textbooks and Materials:

1. Corrections: An Introduction, R.P. Seiter, Prentice Hall, current ed.

2. Corrections in America, Latessa Allen, Ponder & Simonson, Prentice Hall, current ed.

3. Essentials of Corrections, L. G. Mays & L. T. Winfree, Wadsworth, current ed.

4. American Corrections, T. R. Clear, G. F. Cole and M. D. Reisig, Wadsworth, current ed.

5. Corrections: Past and Future, J. Stinchcomb, American Correctional Association, current ed.  

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