Topics include sources of legal tradition, the impact of law on society, judicial decision-making, and legal restraints and impediments. The course will familiarize the student with electronic legal sources. Includes the historical development of law and constitutional provisions, legal definitions, classification of crime, case law and methodology of the study of law. The student will be introduced to measures of central tendency and variation, tests of significance, measures of association, analysis of variance, correlation and regression - both bivariate and multivariate analysis. The course will make substantial use of the computer and statistical software.
Students analyze contemporary research as related to the police role.
The analysis of the nature, causes and distribution of crime, with an emphasis on the relationship between theoretical explanations of crime and contemporary social responses. There is specific focus on the victims of violent crimes such as spousal abuse, workplace violence, rape and predatory crime. 341 Criminal Psychology Students examine theory, research, law and case studies to gain an understanding of the behavior of violent offenders. Research into biological, psychological and social causes is examined and evaluated. Additional topics include the role of the forensic psychologist, the science of profiling, and the definitions and use of the insanity defense.