Courses in Criminal Justice

Subject titles and course numbers in parentheses at the end of the course descriptions below represent the course equivalent in the Texas Common Course Numbering system.

No more than 12 credit hours of criminal justice coursework may be transfered from Southwest Texas Junior College to SRSU-Rio Grande College.

Southwest Texas Junior College Courses

CRIJ 1301 Introduction to Criminal Justice (3). History and philosophy of criminal justice and ethical considerations; crime defined; its nature and impact; overview of the criminal justice system; law enforcement; court system; prosecution and defense; trial process; corrections.

CRIJ 1306 Court Systems and Practices (3). The judiciary in the criminal justice system; structure of American court system; prosecution; right to counsel; pretrial release; grand juries; adjudication process; types and rules of evidence; sentencing.

CRIJ 1307 Crime in America (3). American crime problems in historical perspective; social and public factors affecting crime; impact and crime trends; social characteristics of specific crimes; prevention of crime.

CRIJ 1310 Fundamentals of Criminal Law (3). A study of the nature of criminal law; philosophical and historical development; major definitions and concepts; classification of crime; elements of crimes and penalties using Texas statutes as illustrations; criminal responsibility.

CRIJ 2313 Correctional Systems and Practices (3) A study of the history and philosophy of the American correctional system with an emphasis of federal and state penal institutions.  Constitutional issues relating to prisoner rights are examined.

CRIJ 2328 Police Systems & Practices (3). The police profession; organization of law enforcement systems; the police role; police discretion; ethics; police-community interaction; current and future issues.

Courses in Criminal Justice

CRIM 3300 History of Criminal Justice (3-0).  A survey of criminal justice history; a study relating to the developments in American law, police practice and penology in western civlization.  Major American and european theories of criminal justice are studied.

CRIM 3301 Police Administration (3-0). A study of the policies and human issues that affect law enforcement agencies in the United States. Agency operations and police functions will be examined with an emphasis on administrative and constitutional issues.

CRIM 3302 Victimology (3-0). Provides an in-depth study of factors that affect victims of crime. Specific crimes are studied and remedies explored; victim precipitation, self-help and prevention of victimization, victimization surveys and other data sources; history of victims? rights and the victims? rights movement and victim services.

CRIM 3303 Forensic Science (3-0). The science of fingerprints and DNA is examined; a study of criminalistics and the techniques employed in the recovery, classification, and identification of crime scene evidence; the analysis and interpretation of physical evidence.

CRIM 3304 Law and Society (3-0). An Analysis of the American criminal justice system; an overview of the history, philosophy, and contemporary functions of the separate institutions which contribute to the process; the police, courts, corrections, and juvenile justice systems will be examined for their contributions, assumptions, and interrelations.

CRIM 3305 Substantive Law (3-0). A study of the philosophical foundations of American law; a survey of applied criminal law with an emphasis on the most common criminal offenses; an examination of the Texas Penal Code.

CRIM 3306 Probation and Parole (3-0). Rehabilitation concepts; probation and parole techniques; statutory and case law; case management; agency organization and administration.

CRIM 3307 Police Ethics and Legal Liabilities (3) An Analysis of ethical dilemmas in the criminal justice system. An exploration into situational ethics relating to law enforcement officers and questionable practices in policing and other areas of the justice system.  To explore the legal ramifications for misconduct and deviance within the criminal justice arena; an analysis of the process of civil and crminal litigation and the preceeding investigation into such practices.  

CRIM 3308 Law of Evidence (3-0).  An examination of the rules of evidence and the procedures for obtaining it with special emphasis on application in criminal court.

CRIM 3309 Juvenile Law (3-0).  Study of juvenile deviant behavior; deviancy theories; juvenile statutory and case law; judicial processes; policies and police practices related to juvenile justice.

CRIM 3310 Crime Scene Investigation (3-0).  An overview of the crime solving process with an emphasis on methodology, technology, and evidence; a classic course on investigative techniques in the application of forensic science.

CRIM 4300 American Corrections (3-0).  An overview of state and federal correctional systems; methods of treatment of offenders and humanistic approach to corrections, institutional and community sanctions, and correctional administration is studied.

CRIM 4301 Drugs and the Law (3-0).   Lectures, demonstrations, and discussions that address all aspects of drug law, identification and analysis with an emphasis on those related to law enforcement.  Illicit drugs are examined for their societal impact.

CRIM 4302 Constitutional Law (3-0). An analysis of the role of the U.S. Supreme Court and the appellant courts in protecting individual rights and civil liberties with a focus on litigation involving provisions of the Bill of Rights.

CRIM 4303 Family Violence (3-0). A study of child maltreatment and spousal abuse within the family with an emphasis in detection, investigation and deterrence; an examination into other forms of domestic violence.

CRIM 4304 Criminology (3-0).  Study of factors that contribute to crime; criminological theories; criminal typologies; crime trends; and criminal deviance.

CRIM 4305 Procedural Law (3-0).  A study of criminal procedure and the procedural rules for the judicial enforcement of criminal law; a survey of due process; and an examination of the Texas Cose of Criminal Procedure.

CRIM 4306 Individual Research (3-0). Research projects to be offered as individual study under the supervision and guidance of the instructor. Research must be original and significantly contribute to the body of literature in the criminal jsutice arena.  Permission is required from the instructor and/or department chair before enrolling.

CRIM 4307 Internship (3-0). The course has been designed to give students the opportunity to apply classroom theory to actual practice. Students who qualify are assigned to work at a federal, state, or local agency in the criminal justice arena while attending a weekly seminar on campus.

CRIM 4308 Constitutional Rights of Prisoners and Detainees (3-0). A study of the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights and the theories behind those rights, as they relate to convicted prisoners and pretrial detainees. The impact of court decisions on prisons and jails. Liability and immunity of correctional personnel.

CRIM 4309 Seminar in Criminal Justice (3-0). A seminar course addressing various aspects of the criminal justice system; topics are subject to change with each semeseter.

CRIM 4310 American Courts (3-0).  A survey of the dynamics of the state and federal judicial system; the interrelated relationship of the judge, jury, prosecutor, and defense; judicial theory, and an in-depth study of the criminal case within the court.