Crime, Justice and Community

Catalog description

This course provides an overview of the role of communities in crime and criminal justice. The course begins by providing a foundation in community theory. Students will gain an understanding of the critical dimensions and attributes that define community. The course will emphasize how these critical community functions and dimensions are related to both crime and justice system responses to crime. The course will involve an examination of community-based theory and research, with a special emphasis on the criminology of place and how crime and justice system response patterns are embedded in particular social structures. Students will study the extent to which structural characteristics and social processes are related to crime. Finally, the course will examine how communities and the justice system can collaborate to promote public safety and produce more equitable justice system responses.