CRIM 4311: Crime and Public Policy Fall, 2011 I.

Course Navigation: Before you begin work, please take a moment to familiarize yourself with this web-based course. The course is online in an asynchronous format, i.e., you do not have to come to campus and you do not have to be online at the same time as your professor or classmates. You can complete your course by navigating around the eLearning CRIM 4311 home page and reading the materials specified on it and through the material in the organizers on that page. We will utilize the assessment, discussion, mail, announcement, whos online, and my grade tools which are all available to you on the menu on the homepage. If you have any questions about how to access any of the course materials or assignments please email me at kds106020@utdallas.edu. You must check your email in the eLearning course site at least three times per week for emails and announcements. Remember this is your classroom so please feel comfortable asking me any questions which you would ordinarily ask in class. II. Professor Contact Information: Kelli D. Stevens kds106020@utdallas.edu Cell: 817 888-0209 Students are strongly encouraged to use email as the primary method of communication. Your professor checks email several times per day and you can normally expect a response within 8 hours or sooner. Technical Support: If you experience difficulties with your UTD account you may send an email to assist@utdallas.edu or call the UTD Computer Helpdesk at 972-883-2911. III. Course Description: CRIM 4311 Crime and Justice Policy (3 semester hours) provides in-depth analysis of crime and the efforts to control crime through public policy. Although crime is most often committed by private persons against individual victims, crime is a public problem and society's reaction to crime and criminals is one of the most controversial areas of public policy. Crime control, deterrence and incapacitation, gun control, law enforcement, and court processes are just a few of the areas in which public opinion and policy are in current controversy and debate. IV. Texts and course materials: Required text: Walker, Samuel. (2011). Sense and Nonsense about Crime, Drugs, and Communities: A Policy Guide, 7th Edition. Option to purchase ebook or rental ISBN: 0-495-80987X http://www.cengagebrain.com/shop/en/US/storefront/US?cmd=catProductDetail&productID=5782419 421023337452105204781888263545 A hard copy of this text can also be purchased at the UTD Bookstore or on various online bookstores such as Amazon. This book is also available on Kindle. Recommended Text: Worrall, John (2008). Crime Control in America: What Works?, 2e ISBN: 0205593399

V. Overall Learning Outcomes: (each chapter in the text will contain specific learning objectives for that chapter) 1. Comprehend the various explanations given for the recent crime decline 2. Differentiate between contextual and policy factors that together affect crime rates 3. Understand the differences between conservative and liberal approaches to crime and crime control. Describe the victims rights movement by identifying those who have been involved in it, the timeframe in which it has unfolded, associated laws and acts, and the critique of the movement 4. Assess the important part handguns play in Americas unique crime problem of lethal violence by summarizing the evidence on gun-related violence 5. Define rehabilitation and differentiate between rehabilitation and other crime control policies 6. Describe the broad contributions drugs have had on issues in the U.S.H. 7. Review and analyze the policy recommendations provided by evaluative research VI. Grades Are based on the following scale: A+=98-100, A=94-97, A-=90-93: B+=87-89, B=84-86, B-=80-83, C+7779, C=74-76, C-=70-73,D+=67-69, D=64-66, D-=60-63, F=0-59. Please note that there is no extra credit work available in this class and each student should strive to do his or her best work on each and every grading event.

55% of total grade EXAMS (Points total) Exams 1-3; 2 hours each, online, open-book; questions from textbook. Each exam is available online for one week (Friday to Friday), due midnight on the posted date. Students may take the exam anytime during that one week period. No make-up exams allowed due to students having one week to complete. Exam 1 (10 points) Exam 2 (20 points) Exam 3 (25 points)

15% of total grade SHORT RESEARCH PAPER (Points Total ) Students will complete one short research paper that must be typed in a Word Document following APA formatting with SCHOLARLY JOURNAL REFERENCES and uploaded to the eLearning system. Research Paper (15 points)

30% of total grade DISCUSSION QUESTIONS (Points Total ) Answer to the discussion questions must be posted on the discussion board in essay format of 500 words or more per answer with three SCHOLARLY JOURNAL external references per answer (CANNOT USE TEXT). Each student must comment on at least 5 other classmates discussion responses for each discussion question (for a total of 15 comments for the semester).

Discussion 1 (10 points) Discussion 2 (10 points) Discussion 3 (10 points)

Your grades will be posted to the eLearning grade book with a running average in the Total column. Your final grade is out of 100.

Incomplete Grade Policy: As per university policy, incomplete grades will be granted only for work unavoidably missed at the semesters end and only if 70% of the course work has been completed. An incomplete grade must be resolved within eight (8) weeks from the first day of the subsequent long semester. If the required work to complete the course and to remove the incomplete grade is not submitted by the specified deadline, the incomplete grade is changed automatically to a grade of F. Assignments: There are no group assignments in this class. Each student must complete his or her work individually. Examinations: All exams are open book. Your examination responses will not be a public assignment. You CANNOT work together on this assignment. Each exam must be completed individually by each student. The first test is worth 10 points, and each exam is progressively worth more points (20, 25). Exams will comprise 55% of your total grade for the class. TESTS WILL BE OPEN FOR ONE WEEK. STUDENTS MAY TAKE THEM ANY TIME DURING THE SCHEDULED WEEK AND WILL HAVE 2 HOURS TO COMPLETE. THEREFORE, NO LATE TESTS OR MAKE-UP EXAMS WILL BE ACCEPTED OR ALLOWED. IF A STUDENT IS SEVERELY ILL, HAS A FAMILY TRAGEDY, ETC. WRITTEN DOCUMENTATION FROM A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL SHOWING THAT THE STUDENT WAS ILL FOR THE ENTIRE WEEK WILL BE REQUIRED TO OBTAIN AN EXCUSE FOR A MISSING TEST. Your score will be posted in percentage format in your grade book with a maximum score of 100% on each. Please be aware that the exams are rigorous, and you will be given a maximum of TWO hours to complete each exam. Please read and study the text in detail before beginning the exam. Discussion Board Questions/Essays: Three discussion questions/reaction essays must be answered with each item worth 10 points for a cumulative score of 30 points for your overall grade. Discussion Board items may be posted early if the student wishes. Due dates for the postings are detailed in the Course Calendar of the course Syllabus. Questions not posted by the due dates will be reduced one letter grade per calendar day (i.e., one minute after midnight and every 24 hours after). Discussion question answers must be the students own original work, must be at least 500 words, and each answer must be followed by the bibliographic information with three scholarly journal articles from three different journals (do not use the textbook as a bibliographical source). In other words, please treat each discussion question as a short one-page paper. Answers that are simply copied and moved from any other site that are not the original work of the student posting the answer will receive a grade of zero unless properly cited and the student will be referred for disciplinary action by the university. Do not plagiarize fellow classmates ideas, content, etc. either. If student posts are too similar you could be disciplined for cheating. Responses: Students are also required to briefly and respectfully comment on other students discussion posts. There is no length requirement for the responses to other student answers. Your responses should be based on the substantive content of their posting and must address the content of their answer. DO NOT criticize the other student or make negative references about the student. Attention to proper writing and correct spelling when posting the discussion questions and responses is expected and is a part of the grade received for the assignment. Use proper grammar and spelling. Do not use any type of abbreviations not found in a commonly accepted, standardized English dictionary. All comments posted by students must be in formal collegiate language or discourse (be professional) with no intolerant, rude, abusive, or obscene language. Violations of this policy will be referred for disciplinary action with the recommendation that the student be expelled from the class.

Short Paper: A 3-page research paper will be required of each student which is worth 15% of your total grade. Research topics can include a variety of issues discussed in the text or other issues related to the class material. This research paper must be written using the American Psychological Association (APA) format. The following website is a good source for APA format and even has illustrations of what a completed paper looks like. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ Please see Term Paper Grading Rubric posted in the Course Content section for more detailed discussion of what is required for this assignment and how your paper will be graded. Introductions: Students should go to the discussion board and post a brief introduction about themselves during the first week of class. Please do not post addresses or other personal contact information on the discussion board. Give a brief summary about yourself including classification (freshman, sophomore, etc.), your major, and any future career goals if you have formulated them. Netiquette: Please express all posted comments in formal English without street jargon or employment related jargon, acronyms, or abbreviations that will not be understood by all students. Avoid being critical of your fellow classmates and focus your responses to the content of what they posted. Do not make emotional outbursts on the discussion page and always remember that anything you post will be retained exactly as you post it for a long time and can be referred to exactly as you post it in the future. Some yes and no rules to follow in the course: Yes, you can email your professor as often as you like, kds106020@utdallas.edu Yes, you can critique postings in your responses in any way that you like as long as it is not offensive and not critical of another student personally. No, you should not try to use humor as it sometimes comes across online with unintended consequences. Yes, you can ask the professor any question that you have. Remember that even if you are posting your comments in the privacy of your home, they will be viewed online exactly as comments would be viewed in a live classroom. VII. Academic Integrity: It is the philosophy of The University of Texas at Dallas that each student is responsible for following the Student Code of Conduct and students should read the Code in their Catalog pertaining to all aspects of academic integrity, especially the provisions regarding plagiarism and academic dishonesty. Academic dishonesty is a completely unacceptable mode of conduct and will not be tolerated in any form. All persons involved in academic dishonesty will be disciplined in accordance with University regulations and procedures. Discipline may include suspension from the University or other resolutions as required by the University. Academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, collusion, the submission for credit of any work or materials that are attributable in whole or in part to another person, taking an examination for another person, or any act designed to give unfair advantage to a student. VIII. University Drop Policy: It is the responsibility of the student to process the official drop and add forms. Faculty/staff cannot drop students from class. Please be aware the professor cannot drop a student for never attending or missing too many classes and can only assign grades based on the work submitted. For this reason it is important to your grade that if, for any reason, you decide to not complete the course, to complete the appropriate paperwork to drop the class officially or to withdraw from the university.

IX. Course Calendar and Assignment Schedule

Week

Dates

Reading PART I: Thinking Clearly About Crime Syllabus; Chapter 1 - Crime & Policy Chapter 2 Models of Criminal Justice Chapter 3 The Going Rate Chapter 4 The Prediction Problem

Assignment

Assessment

1 2

8/21/11-8/27/11 8/28/11-9/3/11 9/4/11-9/10/11 9/11/11-9/17/11 9/18/11-9/24/11

Introductions Discussion Q1

Syllabus Quiz

3 4

Exam 1 (Ch. 1-4) PART II: Get Tough: The Conservative Attack on Crime Chapter 5 Unleash the Cops! Chapter 6 Deter the Criminals Chapter 7 Lock Em Up Chapter 8 Close the Loopholes

5 6 7 10 11

9/25/11-10/1/11 10/2/11-10/8/11 10/9/11- 10/15/11 10/23/11-10/29/11 10/30/11-11/5/11

Short Term Paper Due Discussion Q2 Exam 2 (Ch. 5-8)

12 13

11/6/11-11/12/11 11/13/11-11/19/11

14

11/20/11-11/26/11

15

11/27/11-12/3/11

16 17

12/4/11-12/10/11 12/11/11-12/16/11

PART III: The Middle Ground: Guns & Victims Chapter 9 Protect Crime Victims Chapter 10 Control Gun Crimes PART IV: Reform: The Liberal Prescription Chapter 11 Treat Em! Chapter 12 Gain Compliance with the Law Part V: The Drug Problem Chapter 13 Sense and Nonsense about Drugs and Crime Part VI: Putting it All Together: Crime and Community Chapter 14 Crime and Community Study for final

Discussion Q3

Exam 3 (Ch. 9-14)