Maricopa Community Colleges  AJS225   19946-19955 
Official Course Description: MCCCD Approval: 05/24/94
AJS225 19946-19955 LEC 3 Credit(s) 3 Period(s)
Criminology
Study of deviance, society's role in defining behavior; theories of criminality and the economic, social, and psychological impact of crime; relationships between statistics and crime trends. Examines crime victimization and the various types of crime and categories of offenders. Required in the AJS curriculum. Prerequisites: None.
Go to Competencies    Go to Outline
 
MCCCD Official Course Competencies:
 
AJS225   19946-19955 Criminology
1. Describe the relationships between deviance, social control, criminality, and the juvenile offenders. (I)
2. Distinguish the crimes and characteristics of known offenders, limitations of statistics, and the factors that contribute to an increase in crime. (II)
3. Evaluate crimes of violence, their cultural context, and typology of violent offenders. (III)
4. Describe the categories of sex offenses and sexual offenders as well as the public views and misconceptions. (IV)
5. Describe the various characteristics of occasional, professional, and career patterns of property offenders. (V)
6. Describe organized criminal enterprises and their penetration into legitimate businesses. (VI)
7. Describe white collar/economic crimes. (VII)
8. Describe offenders which fall into the special category. (VIII)
9. Describe the various biological, sociological, and psychological theories of criminality. (IX)
10. Describe the criminal/victim relationship and bystander response. (X)
11. Describe the impact of crime on society. (XI)
Go to Description    Go to top of Competencies
 
MCCCD Official Course Outline:
 
AJS225   19946-19955 Criminology
    I. Deviance, social control, and criminality
        A. Definitions of terms, norms, and sanctions
        B. Relationships between norms and socialization
        C. Society's role in defining behavior as deviant
        D. Law as a means of social control
        E. Origins of law
        F. Basic premises of criminal law
        G. Classifications of crime
        H. Relationship of juvenile offender to society, including status offenders and delinquents
      II. Epidemiology of crime
          A. Uniform crime report
          B. Distinguishing between the extent of known crimes
          C. Characteristics of known offenders in relation to age, sex, and race
          D. Limitations of official statistics
          E. Relationships between statistics and crime trends
          F. Contributing factors in the increase of crime
          G. Perspectives of crime from point of view of victim, offender, judge, and criminal justice petitioner
        III. Crimes of violence
            A. Frequency and distribution of violent crime
            B. Cultural context of violent crime
            C. Typology of violent offenders
          IV. Sexual offenses
              A. Categories of sex offenses
              B. Public views and misconceptions of sex offender
              C. Varieties of sexual offenses and sexual offenders
            V. Conventional property offenses
                A. Characteristics of career criminals and patterns
                  1. Occasional property offenders
                  2. Professional offenders
                B. Types of property offenses
              VI. Organized crime
                  A. Definition and description of organized crime
                  B. History and development of syndicated crime
                  C. Structure of syndicated crime
                  D. Criminal enterprises
                  E. Penetration of legitimate business by organized crime
                VII. White collar/economic crimes
                    A. Categories of economic crime
                    B. Impact of economic crime
                    C. The control of economic crime
                  VIII. Special category offenders
                      A. Description of substance abuse
                        1. Relationship to crime
                        2. Patterns of use
                        3. Treatment approaches
                      B. Psychotic, retarded, and psychopathic offender
                      C. Female offender
                    IX. Theories of criminality
                        A. Biological theories of criminality
                        B. Sociological theories of criminality
                        C. Psychological theories of criminality
                      X. Victims and bystanders
                          A. Criminal/victim relationship as a factor in crime
                          B. Bystander response and the law
                        XI. The impact of crime on society
                            A. Economic impact of crime
                              1. Crimes against person
                              2. Crimes against property
                              3. Illegal goods and services
                              4. Public expenditures for criminal justice
                              5. Private costs related to crime
                            B. Psychological and social impact of crime
                              1. On the victim
                              2. Fear and its consequences
                              3. Individual defensive reactions to crime
                              4. Collective reactions to crimes
                        Go to Description    Go to top of Competencies    Go to top of Outline