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cj211 introduction to law enforcement 1 course number/title cj211 intro to law enforcement department required text web site instructor office hours criminal justice schmallberger policing today pearson hall http istep.axiolearning.org dr michael thompson posted year spring 2011 credit hours 3 hour days/times m-w 10:10 a.m 11:05 a.m room number bmc 712 office ph 785.460-5530 785.443-1476 c e-mail michael.thompson@colbycc.edu course placement freshman/sophomore prerequisite none rationale this course offers elective credits in criminal justice studies course description the course is an introduction to the role of law enforcement in a constitutionally-based criminal justice system an emphasis will be placed on the historical development of the law enforcement function the current practices of policing the challenges and rewards of careers in law enforcement and the dilemmas inherent in policing a free society will be explored the course is designed to provide students with realistic expectations about policing as well as to promote critical thinking about the appropriate role of the police in society ccc student learning outcomes addressed in this course 1 2 3 4 5 effective oral and written communication skills a higher level of critical and creative thinking processes ability to solve problems using a variety of techniques and methods ability to utilize the technology relevant to the learner s discipline an awareness of the diversity of cultures.

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cj211 introduction to law enforcement 2 course outline january 12-14 january 17-21 january 24-28 january 31february 4 orientation foundations of policing personnel issues police work february 7-11 legal issues february 14-18 challenges of law enforcement february 23-25 challenges continued february 28march 4th march 7th the future of policing final exam ­ all assignments due course competencies see attached student evaluation and competency index course learning objectives present the historical development of law enforcement and the forces influencing the dynamics of a modern police agency discuss the anatomy of law enforcement and its relevance in the criminal justice system explore the contributive elements that generated an enormous expansion of police professionalism examine the social moral and political influences on law enforcement and those professionals focus on the interrelationships within a law enforcement organization and the intense bonding of officers with their own reflect on the numerous ideologies relevant to law enforcement and the manifestations needed to have an effectual department predict the problems facing law enforcement in the near future and present plans for preparing viable solutions examine the term police officer explore the various dimensions equated with policing a constitutionally-based society as opposed to other forms of government recognize the symbolic and tangible images associated with law enforcement understand the construction of the law enforcement structure and organization associate social moral and political disintegration and their effects on law enforcement distinguish the differences between an effective officer and an ineffective officer comprehend the prejudicial influences aligned with minorities working in the profession separate the delusions from the realities of law enforcement examine the qualities of character professional ideals and personal convictions required for successful law enforcement officers establish a working relationship with all members of the class and develop further networking skills determine the advantages and disadvantages to working as a law enforcement professional generate a workable concept of law enforcement in the 21st century perceive future problems and solutions.

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cj211 introduction to law enforcement 3 method of instruction method of instruction will be by means of lecture cooperative learning completion of written assignments and usage of resources textbook transparencies handouts current events and instructional technology including interactive computer simulations internet and videotaped programs as well as case work will reinforce the understanding of general principles guest speakers and field trips may be utilized to accentuate the material being covered scheduled presentations will employ lecture-discussion sessions in which students will be encouraged to participate in an instructor-guided exchange of ideas and observations pertinent to selected subject areas class attendance and participation are imperative the instructor may modify course activities and/or the class schedule in the best interest of student learning and will inform the students of any changes i strongly believe that a free and open exchange of ideas and points of view concerning the concepts and issues surrounding the study of law enforcement is an essential element of the learning process this approach requires that students think in an objective fashion it also requires students to adequately prepare themselves to participate in class discussions opposing points of view even those contrary to my own which are in good taste pertinent to the topic at hand and intended to enhance the learning process are encouraged as such this course will be a collaborative effort between the instructor and student we will engage in lectures class discussion simulation exercises critical writing practical encounters and video viewing method of evaluation evaluation of the student s success will be measured through five 5 graded assignments consisting of examinations class attendance/participation and practicums using this range of assessment will give me a fair evaluation of student performance in the course a final letter grade will be given based on the following criteria exams there will be two 2 scheduled exams for this class subsequent exams are not comprehensive each exam will cover all material from up to and including that presented the day immediately prior to the exam any topic discussed in class or included in the readings regardless of whether the material was covered by lecture will be considered fair game for testing examinations are designed to allow the student to demonstrate and measure their factual knowledge and ability to identify interpret and analyze major concepts and themes the format will be the same for all exams multiple choice and true/false questions each exam consists of 30-50 questions at a rather high degree of difficulty and reflect your understanding rather than ability to memorize or look up information in other words you will not easily find the correct or best answer by looking in the textbook or on the websites and none of the exam questions are recycled the resource materials may guide you to the right answers but are not a substitute for thinking intuition or understanding i reserve the right of final answer for any disagreement over right answers exams are open book open note and open internet you are not allowed to work together work in groups or receive any outside help on exams attendance students must attend a minimum of 70 of the required class sessions to be eligible for a passing grade once the student surpasses the 70 minimum there cannot be a differentiation between an excused and unexcused absence emergency circumstances school sponsored events and the instructor will make other considerations on an individual basis students must approach the instructor to determine the feasibility of making-up the lost hours.

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cj211 introduction to law enforcement 4 partcipation this is a hands-on course it is your task to impress me by playing an active role in class and have thoughtfully read the assignments it is not necessary for you to have the answer to every question asked in class class time is for answering your questions and exploring ideas on the other hand if you never answered a question make a comment or add your insights to the class discussion or if you are regularly absent your grade will suffer you will have the opportunity to analyze sociological and political data relevant to policing that comprise the focus of this course this analysis will not be a summary of what you read but will instead consist of critiques comments observations suggestions or ideas developed while preparing for your assignments and you will help one another and the instructor better understand the issues at this level of the societal and governmental spectrum it should be fun as well as informative to get the most out of this class you need to participate in all aspects of it including internet analyses field trips class discussions and class meetings with invited guests you are also expected to complete assignments and papers on time and to do your own work these exercises and assignments are intended to develop your critical reading and thinking skills and will also serve as important feedback regarding what you are learning from the readings so that i can adjust our in-class activities to help you understand the material better you will be graded on the critical thinking evident in your responses that indicate you carefully reflected on the assignment quality not quantity are the keys to a good participation forum my experience with these forums has been that students sometimes treat them as an obligation where they simply bang something out about that week s topic then move on to the next task in their schedule that is contrary to the aim of a forum which is to stimulate conversation imagine being in a group of people at a party someone you don t know very well comes up to the group blurts out something then moves on the conversation drops dead in its tracks or shifts to a discussion of that odd character that just left neither outcome is very productive each participation assignment should consider what has been said previously and should advance the discussion in some way assignments web assignments each student will awarded 10 to 15 points with a possible 100 points for reflections relating law enforcement concepts to real life situations the observations for these reflections will come from your assigned internet reading and honestly held beliefs assigned class discussions students will be assigned outside reading and will be required to participate in a live class discussion on the assigned topic these discussions will be worth up to 90 points in which you critically reflect upon and analyze the assigned reading if a student has been excused from the live class discussion there will be an opportunity to earn those points the instructor reserves the right to assign another outside reading on a different topic and have the student e-mail their critical analysis to the instructor wiki/digital stories this semester project will be worth a total of 500 points each student will be assigned chapters from the required text to write an original summary of those chapters each student must contribute to the project the summaries must be posted on the colby community college criminal justice wiki no later than march 7 2011 each group will be required to produce a digital story representing some aspect of the field of corrections again each member of the group must participate be creative have fun and remember to be tasteful digital stories must be uploaded no later than march 7 2011.

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cj211 introduction to law enforcement 5 extra credit store students will have the opportunity to earn extra credit points by answering questions selected by the instructor these questions will be selected from the questions for review located at the end of each chapter you can earn up to 5 points for each question with the potential to earn 70 extra credit points your answers must be in your own words do not copy the answers straight from the text to do so will result in no points earned grading policy and scale there is no grading curve nor are there any expectations as to the number of a s b s c s etc are given in a particular class therefore you are not competing against others in the class this means you will receive whatever grade you earn based upon the quality of your work however excellent or poor that quality is i believe every student is capable of earning a good grade in this course if they are willing to make the necessary commitment of tire and effort i encourage you to be optimistic about your potential grade however at the same time you have realistic expectations given the level of commitment you are willing to devote to the class i make every effort to be a fair and objective grader i will never penalize you because you have a difference of opinion with me as long as you support your opinion with well-reasoned arguments and evidence which you believe supports your opinion letter grades will be assigned as follows abcdf 90 and above 80-89 70-79 60-69 below 60 grade appeal procedure for assignment and exam grades i am perfectly willing to hear an appeal of your grade on any assignments or exam in fact because i try my best to be a fair objective and accurate grader i actually want you to point out to me any concerns you have about the points and grades i have assigned to make the appeal process itself as fair and objective as possible i have the following procedures you need to follow in making a grade appeal 1 your appeal must be in writing and typed this is so that i have an official record of the specifics of your appeal but also partly so that i know your appeal is genuine 2 in your written appeal you must tell me your precise concern about my grading how many additional points you think you deserve and why this is so i know your precise concerns the specific remedy you are seeking and your reasons in support of your appeal if you believe a photocopy of a portion of your class notes or a page reference to one of the course texts supports your appeal then include them in your written appeal 3 you must attach your graded assignment or exam to your appeal so that i can reevaluate it with your concerns in mind after receiving your written appeal i will give it serious consideration and make a decision as soon as possible i will return the assignment or exam to you with a written typed explanation of my decision in the appeal if you would then like to meet with me personally to discuss my decision i

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cj211 introduction to law enforcement 6 will be happy to do so in order to help you improve your performance in the course further appeals should be made to the division chair and subsequently to the dean of instruction course requirements attend each class read the assigned text prepare daily keep clear chronological notes of the various classroom presentations analyze the information presented participate in class activities in a positive and sincere manner during class and maintain respect for other students most assignments will come from the book and/or internet websites the book must be purchased but the websites are free assignment and deadline policy students are expected to meet all deadlines as designated if you miss a scheduled deadline for any reason you must document the reason for the absence in order to be considered for any makeup opportunity no students will be allowed a makeup opportunity without my prior approval the format of the makeup will be at my discretion and may differ significantly from the in-class assignment if you fail to take the makeup a zero will be recorded there will be no makeup date for in class assignments and work bottom line late assignments are not acceptable test policy students will be prepared to take an examination at the designated time and place with all the necessary items fully prepared for usage and without unauthorized papers books or other materials students shall not wear hats or coats during the exam without the instructor s permission emergency situations will be handled on an individual basis students should inform the instructor or designated representative as soon as possible regarding the emergency test makeup and retake policy students are expected to take the exam and turn in assignments at the scheduled time if you miss a scheduled deadline for any reason you must document the reason for the absence in order to fall into the grace period no students will be allowed to take a makeup exam or turn in a late assignment without my prior approval all makeup exams and missed assignments must be scheduled within seven 7 days of the deadline the format of the makeup exam will be at my discretion and may differ significantly from the in-class exam if you fail to take the makeup a zero will be recorded there will be no makeup date for the final exam or for in class work students are discouraged from turning assignments in too early the exam retake policy applies to all students in class and distance learning an exam may be retaken once but only if the student makes a grade of `c or less the student must contact me to make special arrangements to retake the exam or quiz you will get the better of the two grades all retake exams will be scheduled for our last class meeting of the semester the format of the retake exam will be at my discretion and may differ significantly from the in-class exam attendance policy daily attendance will be taken there is no excuse for missing a class unless a debilitating illness or kidnapping occurs communicating your thoughts to others is an important component of learning

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cj211 introduction to law enforcement 7 and participation is an important part of the course participation requires that you to have read and thought about the material participation means not only responding to questions but also asking questions inside and outside of class people who participate perform better than those who do not moreover your absence deprives classmates of your wise judgment and could lead hopeless cynics to conclude that your thinking might be as random as your attendance regular attendance is essential to earning a passing grade in this class and is strongly encouraged if you plan to drop the course it is your responsibility to officially withdraw before the last day to drop if you fail to do so you may receive a failing grade in the course instead of a w a large portion of the course material will be presented in the class lectures and discussions it may not appear in the text if you miss a class it is your responsibility to find out from your peers what went on during that class i will not supply you with notes or repeat the lecture for you however if you have a copy of the notes and studied them and then have a question about the i will be happy to discuss them with you during office hours there may be times when class will be postponed/canceled for a variety of reasons the college has no obligation to notify students in advance of such cases as you will so will i endeavor to meet all class attendance times however should class be postponed for more than twenty 20 minutes then only those students present should sign in on the roster and the roster left at my office signing someone s name to the roster other than your own constitutes academic dishonesty and subject to such penalties student dishonesty you are strongly encouraged to review the section academic dishonesty found in the college bulletin copying answers from a classmate being unprepared for class without informing the instructor using crib notes plagiarizing signing in another student for class or representing another s work as your own without giving due credit will constitute academic dishonesty and will be dealt with in accordance with colby college s policy and result in a failing grade for the course citizenship the nature of the class is intended to elicit spirited debate and discussion you are to operate under the assumption that everyone is acting in good faith as to honestly held beliefs those beliefs will be respected discussions will be issue oriented only and not personal there will be no personal attacks name calling questioning of patriotism or the like one goal of this course is to teach you to learn how to think and analyze critically and academically you will govern your behavior accordingly no barbarics behavior students pay money to take this course and most want to learn however sometimes an individual is not primarily interested in learning and disturbs or distracts others during class in a variety of ways such as talking and laughing therefore i reserve the right to ask the student to leave class and to reduce a student s grade by a letter for each incident this also extends to a student who distracts others and me by engaging in personal chit chat in the text box of the wimba classroom a serious case of misconduct can result in expulsion from the course and a failing grade please be considerate of others trying to listen trying to contribute and trying to learn.

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cj211 introduction to law enforcement 8 readings you must be prepared to discuss the assigned reading for each class you are also responsible to learn all reading material assigned whether or not it was covered in class so pace yourself and do not leave your reading until just before a test use whatever learning skill you like but i recommend reading the material at least twice and making notes about key concepts or make an outline you must be able to demonstrate knowledge of the material presented in class and you must read and comprehend the text for example the following does little if anything to demonstrate you actually read or even thought about the material and does not explain the basis for the question or comment 1 2 what does the author mean when she said `x i disagree with the author when she said `z on the other hand the following comment demonstrates the material was thoughtfully reflected upon 1 the author says `x on page 89 but i m not sure i understand that concept because the author also seemed to say `not x on page 94 and then also left out any discussion of concept `y which i think was necessary background in understanding `x what did the author mean when she said `x 2 i disagree with the author when she said `z her evidence on page 72 did not support `z because that evidence could have been explained instead by explanation `q and then the author also used the logical fallacy of `lf when she concluded `z preparedness you are expected to be prepared for every class however i understand there are times when situations dictate otherwise because this course is participatory intensive it is disruptive to the class discussion when you are thrust into the discussion without proper preparation should you be unprepared to participate in the discussions you should indicate by sending me an email prior to class that way i will know you are unprepared and won t call on you during the discussion however should i collect too many notes from the same student it may adversely affect your final grade should you be called upon during class when you are unprepared and you failed to provide me with an email so indicating i will consider it a form of academic dishonesty subject to sanction final grades if you want your final grade sooner than the college will provide it please provide me with a self addressed and stamped envelope at final time and i will mail your grade as soon as it is available in the alternative you may e-mail me a grade request and i can send you a reply egress if you are tardy or must leave class early please let me know as soon as you enter the class or when you have to leave recordings all lectures presented on wimba will be recorded for students view at a later time .

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cj211 introduction to law enforcement 9 syllabus information disclaimer i reserve the right to change any information contained in this document when necessary with adequate notice given to the student notice shall be given in the classroom during class no other notice is required it is the students responsibility to keep up with any changes modifications adjustments or amendments that are made to this document course feedback policy i actively seek and highly encourage any feedback about this course at any time you wish to offer it i want to try to help you learn the material as best as i can and if i can improve my teaching or the learning environment i really truly sincerely honestly would like you to let me know if you feel uncomfortable telling me in person you can leave me an anonymous feedback letter in an unmarked envelope at my office all i ask is that you try to be polite in offering your criticism and that you try to offer constructive advice on how i can best respond to the feedback in other words tell me your suggested improvements for the course my teaching or anything else about the learning environment e-mail my office hours are posted on at the head of this syllabus however i am also available for questions and consultations by telephone and e-mail i regularly check and answer my e-mail e-mail is the most reliable and efficient way of contacting me if you do not have an e-mail account you should get one it is an important communication tool and it is free if you don t have internet access at home student computer labs are connected to the internet and a web based e-mail account can readily be established equipment students should purchase and take to class or have access to the following items 1 textbooks and course materials including assignments/projects 2 access to a computer equipped with microsoft office word internet access and a web browser such as internet explorer or netscape and an e-mail address accommodations for students with special needs according to the americans with disabilities act it is the responsibility of each student with a disability to notify the college of his/her disability and to request accommodation if a member of the class has a documented earning disability or physical disability and needs special accommodation he/she should contact student support services which is located in the student union bibliography schmalleger frank and john l worrall policing today prentice hall upper saddle river new jersey columbus ohio speakers handouts videotapes transparencies internet resources journal articles interactive computer simulations and supplemental materials.

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