Course

Introduction to the Criminal Justice System

Faculty
Humanities & Social Sciences
Department
Criminology
Course Code
CRIM 1100
Credits
3.00
Semester Length
15
Max Class Size
35
Typically Offered
To be determined

Overview

Course Description
This course examines the Canadian Criminal Justice System from a systems approach. A criminal incident will be followed through the system from detection to apprehension of the offender to the end of any formal or informal disposition. The factors involved in the discretion, decisions and practices of the system, including statutory and voluntary agencies will be studied. The functions and dysfunctions of the system will be analyzed and current issues and reform initiatives will be reviewed.
Course Content
  1. The systems approach to the study of the Canadian Criminal Justice System.
  2. Sources of law and the role of government
  3. Criminal law and criminal justice in Canada
  4. Crime control philosophy and criminal justice policy
  5. Crime rates, crime trends, and perceptions of crime
  6. The Criminal Code of Canada and related Statutes
  7. The various parts of the Canadian Criminal Justice System and the impact these parts have on the cases passing through the system.
    • services for victims
    • the police
    •              policing roles, styles, and functions
    •              police powers and legal protection
    • the courts
    •              court role and structure
    •              major actors in the Canadian system
    •              sentencing
    • corrections
    •              probation and community corrections
    •              jails and penitentiaries
    •              conditional release
    •              parole (federal and provincial)
  8. Current issues and challenges for reform such as:
    • criminal justice for youth
    • mental health
    • Indigenous justice
    • restorative justice
    • diversity
    • fear of crime
    • community-based policing
    • sentencing
    • community court
    • crime prevention
  9. Future Directions
Learning Activities

The course will employ a variety of instructional methods to accomplish its objectives, including some of the following:  lectures, and may include field trips, guest speakers, audio-visual presentations, debates, and individual readings by students.

Means of Assessment

Evaluation will be based on course objectives and will be carried out in accordance with Douglas College policy. The course will include multiple methods of evaluation including at least one written component. The instructor will provide a written course outline with specific criteria during the first week of classes.

An example of a possible evaluation scheme would be: 

    

Attendance and participation tasks 10%
Group presentation (with written outline) 10%
Annotated biolography 15%
Term paper (e.g. argumentative essay, policy development, case analysis, journal, blogs, reflective essay) 20%
Midterm (contains writing component such as short or long essay, critique, case analysis) 20%
Final (contains writing component such as short or long essay, critique, case analysis) 25%
Total 100%
Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of the course the successful student will be able to:

  1. Analyze criminal justice from a systems perspective
  2. Identify sources of criminal law and explain its relevance to criminal justice in Canada
  3. Describe crime control philosophy and its influence on criminal justice policy
  4. Analyze and interpret crime and victimization patterns and trends
  5. Explain the role of the public and media in criminal justice
  6. Describe the progression of an offender through the subcomponents of the Canadian criminal justice system
  7. Describe the structure and function of the following components of criminal justice:
    • the police
    • the courts
    • corrections
  8. Identify current criminal justice issues and challenges for reform.
Textbook Materials

Texts will be updated periodically. Typical examples are:

  • Curt T. Griffiths, 2015. Canadian Criminal Justice: A Primer, 5th Ed. Scarborough: Thomson Nelson.
  • Goff, Colin, 2016.  Criminal Justice in Canada , 7th Edition.  Scarborough: Thomson Nelson.
  • Roberts, Julian and Grossman, Michelle, 2016. Criminal Justice in Canada: A Reader, 5th Ed. Scarborough: Thomson Nelson.

 

Requisites

Prerequisites

No prerequisite courses.

Corequisites

No corequisite courses.

Equivalencies

No equivalent courses.

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

(Current)

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca

Institution Transfer Details for CRIM 1100
Alexander College (ALEX) ALEX SOSC 1XX (3)
Camosun College (CAMO) CAMO CRIM 154 (3)
College of the Rockies (COTR) COTR CRIM 131 (3)
Justice Institute of BC (JIBC) JIBC INVE 1000 (1) or JIBC LAWS 1202 (3)
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) KPU CRIM 1101 (3)
Langara College (LANG) LANG CRIM 1115 (3)
North Island College (NIC) NIC CRM 131 (3)
Okanagan College (OC) OC CRIM 121 (3)
Simon Fraser University (SFU) SFU CRIM 131 (3)
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) TRU CRIM 1161 (3)
Trinity Western University (TWU) TWU HUMA 1XX (3)
University of British Columbia - Okanagan (UBCO) UBCO SOCI_O 249 (3)
University of British Columbia - Vancouver (UBCV) UBCV SOCI_V 2nd (3)
University of Northern BC (UNBC) UNBC SOSC 1XX (3)
University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) UFV CRIM 103 (3)
University of Victoria (UVIC) UVIC SOCI 1XX (1.5)
Vancouver Island University (VIU) VIU CRIM 131 (3)

Course Offerings

Winter 2025

CRN Days Instructor Status
Maximum Seats
35
Currently Enrolled
34
Remaining Seats:
1
On Waitlist
51
Building
New Westminster - South Bldg.
Room
S1715
Times:
Start Time
15:30
-
End Time
18:20
Section Notes

See Legal Studies (LGST) for other university transferable law and legal system courses.

CRN Days Instructor Status
Maximum Seats
35
Currently Enrolled
35
Remaining Seats:
0
On Waitlist
16
Building
New Westminster - North Bldg.
Room
N3410
Times:
Start Time
15:30
-
End Time
18:20
Section Notes

See Legal Studies (LGST) for other university transferable law and legal system courses.

CRN Days Instructor Status
Maximum Seats
35
Currently Enrolled
34
Remaining Seats:
1
On Waitlist
15
Building
New Westminster - North Bldg.
Room
N4312
Times:
Start Time
9:30
-
End Time
12:20
Section Notes

See Legal Studies (LGST) for other university transferable law and legal system courses.

CRN Days Instructor Status
Maximum Seats
35
Currently Enrolled
35
Remaining Seats:
0
On Waitlist
38
Building
Online
Room
ONLINE
Times:
Start Time
12:30
-
End Time
15:20
Section Notes

See Legal Studies (LGST) for other university transferable law and legal system courses.

CRN Days Instructor Status
Maximum Seats
35
Currently Enrolled
35
Remaining Seats:
0
On Waitlist
7
Building
Coquitlam - Bldg. D
Room
D1020
Times:
Start Time
18:30
-
End Time
21:20
Section Notes

See Legal Studies (LGST) for other university transferable law and legal system courses.

CRN Days Instructor Status
Maximum Seats
35
Currently Enrolled
34
Remaining Seats:
1
On Waitlist
66
Building
Online
Room
ONLINE
Times:
-
Section Notes

See Legal Studies (LGST) for other university transferable law and legal system courses.

CRN Days Instructor Status
Maximum Seats
35
Currently Enrolled
35
Remaining Seats:
0
On Waitlist
9
Building
New Westminster - North Bldg.
Room
N4306
Times:
Start Time
18:30
-
End Time
21:20
Section Notes

See Legal Studies (LGST) for other university transferable law and legal system courses.