Indiana Tech
College of Professional Studies
CJ 4960 Senior Capstone: Comparative Criminal Justice Systems
Online Syllabus Course Content
Instructor Information
Please see the Meet Your Professor area of the Blackboard instructional site.
Course Schedule
Please see the Course Schedule in the Syllabus & Schedule area of the Blackboard instructional
site.
Online Course Policies
Please see the Online Policies area of the Blackboard instructional site.
Textbook
Reichel, P. L. (2013). Comparative criminal justice systems: A topical approach (6th ed.). Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Grading Events & Grading Criteria
Unless otherwise specified, all assignments must be submitted via Blackboard
Course Preparation Quiz 15 Points
Discussion Board (Week 1, 2, 4) 100 Points
Project One (Law Enforcement) 150 Points
Project Two (Criminal Law) 150 Points
Exam One 100 Points
Exam Two 100 Points
Tech Live Weekly Reflections 60 points
Total Points 675 Points
Class Participation/Discussion:
Students are expected to have read the assigned materials prior to the weekly module and be able
to intelligently respond to questions about and discuss the readings. Points will be based on the
following criteria:
1. Response to the posted question/topic within the week of the module keeping in mind
that more than opinion is being solicited. Support your opinions/arguments utilizing
course material and/or other relevant and academically oriented sources.
2. Response to at least two other students’ posts which is designed to foster interaction as
well as designed to challenge one another to potentially look at topics or arguments from
a differing viewpoint. Keep in mind the intent is not to cause argument but rather to
challenge thinking.
Students are encouraged to raise issues and ask questions regarding current or outside the
classroom events that are related to the course. A student MUST have full participation with
responding to all of the posted questions/topics for each module as well as a minimum of at least
two responses to other students’ posts in order to attain the full one hundred (100) points for
class participation.
Projects (2):
Students are required to write two (2) papers describing (2) major components of foreign country
of the students choosing (instructor must approve selection). The assignments will require the
student to research, write a paper, and make a presentation, by means of developing a
PowerPoint presentation covering the material presented in the formal paper describing (1)
Police/Law Enforcement of a foreign country and (2) The Criminal Law Components of a
foreign country. The specific topics and grading criteria for the written assignments and
presentation follow and are incorporated into this syllabus.
Written assignments are to be word processed using Microsoft Word, size 12 New Times Roman
font, double spaced with one (1) inch margins around the page (default), using the American
Psychological Association (APA) citation method. Your research papers and presentations
should be thorough and scholarly. Jargon, lingo, and street language are to be avoided and their
use will decrease your grade. By way of example, and not limitation, “cop” is generally
unacceptable, “police officer” or “law enforcement officers” is preferred. A person may be
“mentally ill” or “legally insane” (they are not the same), not “nuts” or “crazy”.
The material expected to be covered in each written project is covered toward the end of this
syllabus. Keep in mind, the paper should be written as such. In other words, based off the
material list pertaining to information that should be covered, make the information into a
paper—do not simply bullet point answers. Further, ensure that you are crediting the source(s)
used for the information that you are referencing by utilizing the proper APA format. The
written paper must be submitted prior to the date/time due, as noted in the course schedule,
and submitted via Blackboard’s SafeAssign feature.
The PowerPoint portion of the assignment must be submitted via an electronic mail (email)
attachment prior to the due date/time or utilizing the submit feature within the respective module
under the assignment section. If the student runs into problems submitting the email due to size
of the attachment, “note pages” of the presentation would be perfectly acceptable. If questions
arise in regard to how to do so, in advance, ensure that you get with the instructor to work
through PowerPoint to “print” the note pages if necessary.
Information to Cover for Projects:
PROJECT ONE: POLICE/LAW ENFORCEMENT
CLASSIFICATION OR TYPE OF STRUCTURE
NUMBER OF AGENCIES IN THE COUNTRY
OFFICERS PER 1000 POPULATION
ARMED OR UNARMED
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
Centralized or decentralized
National
State or provincial
Local
JURISDICTIONAL STRUCTURE
Overlapping
Coordinated
Uncoordinated
OPERATIONS/DUTIES
Proactive
Reactive
Investigative
CRIME RATE
CORRUPTION AND MISCONDUCT ISSUES
LEVEL OF COOPERATION WITH FOREIGN AGENICES
PROCEDURES, POLICIES, METHODS OR IDEAS THE U.S. SHOULD ADOPT: At
least one (1) procedure, policy, or idea must be described that you feel the U.S. should adopt and
explain why.
PROCEDURES, POLICIES, METHODS OR IDEAS THE U.S. COULD NOT OR
SHOULD NOT ADOPT: At least one (1) procedure, policy, or idea must be described that the
U.S should not or could not adopt and explain why.
PROJECT TWO: CRIMINAL LAW
BACKGROUND OF COUNTRY
Location on map
Demographics
Population
Racial, ethnic, and/or religious population percentages
Method by which sovereignty was attained
ECONOMIC STRUCTURE
Centralized
Socialist
Capitalist
Mixed
GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE
Type of government
Monarchy
Dictatorship
Republic
Democratic
Constitution
Common Law
Written
Other
Branches
Executive
Legislative
Judicial
Method of selecting officials in branches
LEGAL TRADITION
Common
Civil
Islamic
Eastern Asia
Combination
SOURCE OF:
Substantive Criminal Law
Procedural Criminal Law
DESCRIBE PROCEDURAL PROTECTIONS
PROJECT GRADING CRITERIA
150 points possible per project
Grading areas
for Paper
Portion
Length/Grammar
20 points
possible
Theoretical
Sourcework
15 points possible
Critical Thought
50 points possible
Fits
Parameters
of
Assignment
15 points
possible
Paper Portion:
100 Points
Possible
-Less than 700
words, poor
grammatical
usage, poor
document
construction 0-11
points
-700+ words,
many
grammatical
problems,
moderate
construction 12-
17 points
-700+ words, few
grammatical
problems, good
construction 18-
20 points
-No theoretical
component,
insufficient cites, no
bibliography/refere
nce list, uses same
citation repeatedly
0-5 points
-Theoretical
substance lacking,
information
referenced but not
explained, mistakes
with citations,
references not
clearly marked,
some overlap of
citations used 6-10
points
-Well cited,
thorough
application of
course
content/theoretical
components, well
documented
bibliography 11-15
points
-No expansion of
material/insight, does not
relate own
observations/experience to
paper 0-15 points
-Some expansion of
material/insight, shows
some understanding and
application of course
material, relates some
experience/observations to
paper 16-30 points
-Expands material/insight
to own experiences and
observations, shows full
understanding and
application of course
material, questions and
confirms course material
with own insight and
support of other
documentation 31-50
points
-Assignment
not
followed/doe
s not address
topics as
noted 0-5
points
-Follows
some aspects
of
assignment
but does not
fully address
all topics 6-
10 points
-Addresses
all aspects of
assignment
and fully
covers all
topics 11-15
points
PowerPoint
Presentation
50 Points
Possible
-Student’s
presentation is
inconsistent,
unclear or not
cohesive failing
to fully
cover/address
areas listed in
requirements
and doesn’t
match material in
paper 0-15 points
-Presentation is
fairly clear and
cohesive while
covering most but
not all of the areas
listed in
requirements and
somewhat matches
material covered in
paper 16-34 points
-Presentation is well
organized and fully covers
all areas listed in
requirements and matches
material presented in paper
35-50 points
Examinations:
Examinations will consist of fifty (50) questions in a multiple choice, true/false, and fill-in the
blank format. Each response has a value of two (2) points towards a student’s grade.
Examinations must be completed by the date/time listed in the course syllabus and may have
time restrictions.
Grading Scale
The following grading scale will be used to assign a grade at the end of the course:
Late Assignments
Please see the Online Policies area of the Blackboard instructional site.
Incompletes
Please see the Online Policies area of the Blackboard instructional site.
Course Related Communication
Please see the Online Policies area of the Blackboard instructional site.
A 90-100%
B 80-89.99%
C 70-79.99%
D 60-69.99%
F 59.99% or below
