Master of Arts in Criminal Justice-Capstone Option

This course is an examination of issues of professional and ethical behavior within the criminal justice system. Key issues examined include professional behavior of the individual and the agency. Current topics such as sexual harassment, accreditation and maintenance standards, and community relations are discussed.

This course will review and describe the various theories and implications of criminal acts in relation to behavior discipline, causative and scientific aspects. Analysis of criminal and non-criminal behavior is addressed regarding certain causes, controls, and legal aspects. Crime is analyzed from an interdisciplinary study of social problems and social responsibility perspectives. Distinctions are addressed regarding criminal behavior of perpetrators of serious criminal acts and the concept of social relativity to the study of criminality.

This course focuses on research design for criminological studies or security principles depending on the major selected. There is an emphasis on data collection methods and measurements of validity and reliability. The successful student will be able to gather and develop criminal justice/security research material into analytic data that can be easily interpreted. Students will learn the appropriate methods of assessing quantitative and qualitative data. Additionally students will learn the proper citation methods in APA. This course should be taken as one of the student’s first three courses.

The student will develop and evaluate policies and procedures in all phases of police administration. These include judicial decisions, which impact the legal status of the operation of police agencies. Additionally, administrative issues inherent in both large and small police organizations are assessed including: the history and context of police administration, police organizational tasks, leadership in the police organization, the role of the police manager, and the role of citizen oversight. Oversight committees addressing police accountability for community enforcement services are analyzed.

This course focuses on the fundamental principals, concepts, and development of criminal law and the constitutional provisions which govern it. The course further discusses the relationship of the individual to the state and includes an examination of the general framework of criminal law as a means of social control.

This course addresses the specific constitutional rights, including the fourth, fifth and sixth amendments as those that have a direct impact on the defendant and prosecution in the judicial process. The course will review issues of the pre-arrest stage to post conviction remedies, as well as the procedural laws in the criminal justice process and their limits. The parameters of these limits will be analyzed by studying various court decisions.

A survey of the rapidly developing and increasingly relevant discipline of forensic accounting with emphasis on such topics as identifying fraudulent financial statements, skimming, cash larceny, check tampering, billing schemes, payroll and expense reimbursement irregularities, non-cash misappropriations, corruption, and interviewing witnesses; emphasis on the techniques for detecting, measuring and preventing fraud from an analysis of organizations such as WorldCom, Enron, Cendant, Adelphia, Freddie Mac, Fanny Mae and others. Students must have access to Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel software. (Prerequisite: ACCT610).

Pre Reqs: Advanced Accounting(ACCT610)

This course will discuss the role in establishing alcohol and other drug policies and the development of regulations for the implementation of federal policy. In addition, this course will focus on federal, state, and local agencies effects on addressing the drug problem and examine the impact of federal policy at the local level.

This graduate course examines and compares the legal and criminal justice systems of different nations. It focuses on historical, political and social factors, and explains their influence on legal institutions and systems of justice with a particular focus on the nations of Europe, South America, Asia and the Middle East. The course will place particular emphasis on law enforcement, courts and corrections across the globe. Students will focus on criminal justice systems across the globe in order to help enhance the understanding of how the criminal justice system of the United States functions within the community of nations.

This course will discuss the social and legal problems involved with sexual exploitation of children. Major issues that will be examined in this course will be child pornography, prostitution, pedophiles, law enforcement sexual offender databases, and victimization.

This course addresses the definitions of deviant behavior and the causes and roots of violent behavior. It identifies what social deviance is and who is considered to be deviant in today’s society. The sociological and psychological issues are reviewed as they pertain to the methods of sentencing and the criminal justice system's approach to violence. In addition, the theory of prevention and treatment methods are studied as they relate to the criminal justice system.

Students will examine the role of forensic science in the investigation of crime by introducing the non-scientific student to the field. Through applications to criminal investigations, clear explanations of the techniques, and the abilities and limitations of modern crime labs, the course covers the realm of forensics. The various types of physical evidence normally encountered in criminal investigations will be studied with regard to collection and packaging techniques. Combining case stories with applicable technology, this course serves as an introduction to the field of forensic science investigations.

This course examines the historical roots of organized criminality. Structural models are compared for understanding emerging groups. Special attention is paid to dependencies and cooperation among ethnicities. Additionally, there will be a review of the activities associated with organized strategic aspects (i.e. profit-oriented ventures such as extortion, credit card fraud, counterfeiting, prostitution, drug trafficking, smuggling) and tactical issues (i.e. activities that support the criminal organization such as money laundering, violence, corruption, recruitment).

An examination of how to effectively manage critical incidents and hostage situations in law enforcement and corrections. Combining principles and applications from criminal justice, psychology, sociology, communications, business and other disciplines, this course presents an effective conceptual framework students can apply in high-pressure situations.

This course covers the development of the cartels and their organization, production, and distribution networks. It also provides an overview of U.S. counter-drug efforts and basic information on illicit drugs.

This course will examine in detail crimes such as murder, serial killing, rape, and related crimes of violence from a sociopsychological profiling perspective. Topics covered will include the foundations of criminal profiling, the elements and goals of criminal profiling, multidisciplinary theory, victimology, geographic profiling, the scientific method as applied to behavioral theories, and ethical considerations. Modus Operandi and Signature behaviors will be analyzed, and inductive and deductive profiling methods will be assessed.

This course is a study in the major decisions made by law enforcement executives from a variety of levels and locales. These decisions include issues in crisis management as well as inter-relationships among community leaders with police executives. Management styles are addressed to determine the most effective methods of implementing solutions to macro social community problems. Additionally, strategic decision-making processes are assessed to evaluate fairness and the aspects of voluntary cooperation and attitudes of all parties. The intent of the course is to provide a thorough analysis of executive decision making from which the student can appreciate the strengths and weaknesses executive decisions while reflecting on the student’s own style and approach to decision making.

This Independent Study is an opportunity for Criminal Justice or Security Management graduate students to pursue an independent research project under the mentorship of a single professor. Students must complete 24 credits of study before taking this course. Participation is at the discretion of the faculty member. The course requires a major research paper; there will be no examination. Students will submit a request to take the independent study to the Registrar and will include the name of a faculty with whom they have coordinated. Prior to registering, students should first contact the professor with whom they wish to mentor their independent study, coordinate an agreement on the grading requirements, and then NOTIFY their academic advisor with the name of their professor. The final approval to take the independent study will be made by the Program Director.

This course deals with the casualty consequences of large scale emergency, disaster, and/or destruction. Public health, emergency casualty services, mortuary, and other issues are addressed using case examples, theory, and principles that have been researched, studied, and documented in international, national, and local settings.

This course provides an overview of HUMINT operations include mission-target analysis, operational planning, execution and evaluation, cover, security and communications, collection and reporting, and financial management. Students will be expected to demonstrate the ability to assess, articulate and defend the soundness of operational concepts, plans and budgets.

This course provides the student with an introduction to the methods and techniques of criminal intelligence analysis and strategic organized crime. The rapid increase in multinational analysis and transnational organized crime, corporate drug trafficking organizations, and the impact of crime on national and international policy has created a critical need for law enforcement intelligence experts in the relatively new field of criminal intelligence. The course shows how to use criminal intelligence analysis to predict trends, weaknesses, capabilities, intentions, changes, and warnings needed to dismantle criminal organizations. This course provides knowledge needed by law enforcement professionals at the federal, state, and local level, by criminal intelligence analysts working in private industry, and by military intelligence personnel making a transition from a military to a law enforcement career. The course provides a background of the use of intelligence to dismantle criminal organizations and businesses. This course emphasizes criminal/law enforcement intelligence, as opposed to criminal investigation.

This course is a study of the evolution of intelligence and counterterrorism while analyzing U.S. and international policies for combating terrorism, terrorist tactics worldwide, and the scope of terrorism in the twenty-first century. The course focuses on the problems presented by terrorism to U.S. national security, suggested political solutions, and alternatives to the current counterterrorism policy.

This graduate course will explore advanced principles, doctrines and controversies regarding the structure of and division of powers in American government. Specific topics include judicial review, jurisdiction, standing to sue, federalism, federal and state powers and immunities, the separation of powers among the branches of the federal government, the First Amendment, and the Equal Protection Clause.

This graduate course focuses on the procedural and substantive law that influences the media field. Recent developments in this area will be addressed. Emphasis is given to constitutional issues such as privacy and freedom of speech, as well as regulation of the industry and intellectual property rights. It provides students with an overview of problems affecting speech across the print, broadcast, cable and Internet media. Important topics such as defamation, invasion of privacy, copyright and the Freedom of Information act will also be explored.

This course is an interactive course designed to help students achieve a greater understanding of the statistical methods and models available to analyze and solve business management problems. The course is designed for students majoring in a business administration or management course of study. Topics covered include inferential statistics, averages, measures of variation, the Normal distribution and its uses, sampling distributions, hypothesis testing for large and small samples, regression and correlation, and Chi-Square distributions The skills, tools and methodologies needed to analyze systems and to make decisions are provided. State of the art analytical tools and quantitative methods, including computer-based solutions are discussed. The emphasis of the course will be on the proper use of statistical techniques and their implementation rather than on mathematical proofs. However, some mathematics is necessary in order to understand the proper application of the techniques. This course will use Microsoft Excel for some of the work. Students should have a basic familiarity with Excel and have access to this software application.

This is an introductory course that focuses on the concepts and methods of managing an organization. The overall course objective is to identify, apply, and evaluate techniques for structuring and resolving managerial problems in public and private organizations. The main educational tool used in the course is the analysis and class discussion of case studies. Readings and lectures are used to supplement the case analyses. Topics include: culture and change; managing globally and ethically; strategic planning and implementation; organization structure; human resource management; groups, teams and motivation; leadership; and operational management.

This course covers the elements of contemporary leadership and delineates the principles that are important in the development of a leader for the 21st century. Discussion of the role and function of leadership will include an in-depth analysis and study of needs impacting individuals, organizations and society. The course provides students with a set of leadership skills and competencies on which to build an individual model for effective leadership that can be tested over time.

This course examines the way government policies emerge from the political process and are implemented through participating institutions. In this class students will investigate how good analysis can contribute to informed policy-making and review the factors that go into developing effective implementation strategies. In addition, today’s need for enhanced public accountability and the challenging problems of measuring program performance are examined.

This course focuses on financial issues in the public sector. It is designed as an overview of key elements in public budgeting, public finance, and public financial management. Various government activities with respect to government spending and taxation are analyzed by applying basic principles and quantitative models of finance. Decisions about public spending, raising revenue, borrowing, and managing public debt are studied extensively in this course.

This course examines the global terrorism phenomenon and the social, economic, political, and religious conditions of select states, groups, and individuals that influence the terrorist mindset. Students examine the definitions, origins and development of terror as a means of influencing public policy decisions and in fostering transitions in public power to promote group goals. Specific historical instances of the use of terror are evaluated, assessed, and analyzed. Examples of groups such as the Al-Qaeda terrorist network are assessed including focused discussions on current events. Topics include: geography and geopolitics of terrorism, origins and history of terrorism, characteristics and goals of terrorism, role of politics and religion in terrorism, media impact on terrorism recruiting, and Al-Qaeda in Iraq organization.

This course will examine cybercrime and the legal, social and technical issues cybercrime presents. With a multi-disciplinary perspective, we will focus on ways information technology is used to commit crimes, investigative techniques used to discover the crimes, and the challenges involved in prosecuting cybercrimes These challenges include jurisdictional issues, application of traditional laws to cybercrimes, and privacy issues encountered during prevention, investigation and prosecution.

Preparation for the Criminal Justice research seminar begins on day one of a student's graduate program of study. The theories, research methods and analytical skills, and substantive knowledge obtained through their master's curriculum provide the basis for the research seminar project. Students will support the thesis effort, including gathering bibliographic and reference materials on the research seminar topic including developing individual course research papers that may become sections of the final research seminar. Students will address the requirements as described in the syllabus and classroom assignments. The research seminar proposal shall be prepared in accordance with the standards of the academic discipline. The research seminar proposal must provide a clear and lucid description of a question or problem and a proposed method of answering the question or solving the problem. Guidance on the format of the research seminar proposal and a sample proposal are contained in the APUS Thesis Manual. Students may take the research seminar after all other course completions. It is an option in lieu of the Comprehensive Exam.