Delinquency and Crime Prevention – CJUS 323

CG • Section 8WK • 11/08/2019 to 04/16/2020 • Modified 09/05/2023

Course Description

Explores various strategies for prevention of adult and juvenile crime with particular attention to the theoretical and empirical bases for these approaches. Students will develop a crime prevention plan.

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.

Rationale

Almost everyone in the field of juvenile justice feels that much more can be done to control delinquency. Yet, the questions are often asked: How can delinquency be controlled or prevented? What is currently being done to control delinquency? To what extent do these agencies violate the rights of individuals and groups in their efforts to control delinquency? How effective are these agencies and what can they do to be more effective? In order to answer some of these questions, more questions need to be asked such as what is probably the most frequently asked question about delinquency: What causes juveniles to break the law? The four major sociological theories or explanations of delinquency will be examined: strain, social learning, control, and labeling theories. This requires that research is explored which examines the extent to which delinquency is caused by individual traits (e.g., low intelligence, negative emotionality), family factors (e.g., broken homes, poor discipline), school factors, delinquent peer groups and gangs, and other factors. The role of different social and criminal justice agencies—such as the media, school, neighborhood and police—in crime and delinquency prevention will be addressed. Successful prevention initiatives employed in other countries will also be examined in this course.

Course Assignment

Textbook readings and lecture presentations

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the candidate will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions (4)

The student will take part in 4 Discussions in this course. Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student is required to create a thread in response to the provided prompt for each Discussion. Each thread must be 500–700 words with at least 2 citations in current APA format to support the student’s opinions and assertions on the topic. The student will then reply to at least 2 other classmates in at least 200–300 words. The thread and 2 replies must be in current APA format.

Short Paper: Article Review Assignment 

The student will select a peer-reviewed journal article that assesses a crime prevention program or method. If there is a particular crime prevention method discussed in the text that interests the student, they are encouraged to choose an article related to this topic. The student will read the article and write a 2-page review that includes a brief description of what the article addresses, a summary of what the article is trying to accomplish (what hypothesis the article is testing), the major findings of the article, and whether the findings show that the hypothesis is correct, incorrect, or inconclusive. The assignment must follow current APA format.

Short Paper: Policy Proposal Project Assignment

The purpose of this project is to analyze all the methods of crime prevention reviewed in this course and design a policy proposal that will holistically address crime. The paper must be 3–5 pages and include a title page, in-text citations, and a reference section at the end of the paper using current APA format. The crime prevention policy proposal must come from a biblical perspective incorporated throughout the paper, rather than simply citing Scripture references at the end.

Short Paper: Reflection Paper Assignment  

The purpose of this paper is to present a well-articulated perspective based on the selected crime prevention programs described in the course text. The 3–5-page paper must include 5–10 sources, a title page, and a reference section. The student must support the assertions made in the paper with proper in-text citations in current APA format and include the reference section at the end of the paper. Academic peer-reviewed journal articles, relevant news articles, the course textbook, and the Bible are all appropriate sources.

Quizzes (2)

Quiz: Primary Prevention will cover material from Module 1: Week 1 – Module 4: Week 4. Quiz: Tertiary Prevention will cover material from Module 5: Week 5 – Module 8: Week 8. Each quiz will be open-book/open-notes (but the student cannot collaborate with anyone) and have a 2-hour time limit.