CCJ 4932 Special Topics: Caribbean Crime and Justice

CCJ 4932 Special Topics: Caribbean Crime and Justice

Spring Term, 2005

Mary Ann Eastep, Ph.D.

Contacting the Instructor
Office Hrs:	MWF, 10:30 A.M. – 3:30 P.M.
Office:	HPA 1, Room 329
Phone	(407) 823-3598
FAX:	(407) 823-5360
E-Mail:	meastep@mail.ucf.edu
Web:	www.geocities.com/easteps/easteps.html

Course Description

This course focuses on Caribbean justices systems, with an emphasis on British-based systems, and examines crime-related issues and concerns of the Caribbean basin.

Course Objectives:

This course is designed to actively involve the student in the learning process through an examination of the roles of the police, prosecutors and judges in Caribbean criminal justice. This will be accomplished by setting forth the following as learning objectives:

to understand the evolution of the Caribbean justice systems from their colonial roots

to enhance awareness of the roles of the various players in the justice systems, including victims

to explore individual criminal justice systems through systematic research

to explore emerging crime concerns in the region, including drug and gun-related violence

to review the issues surrounding the development of the Caribbean Court of Justice and the death penalty in the area

Required Texts

Herriott, A. (2000). Police and crime control in Jamaica. Kingston, Jamaica: The University of West Indies Press.

Tulchin, J. and Espach, R. (2000). Security in the Caribbean Basin: The Challenge of Regional Cooperation. Lynne Rienner Publishers.

Supplemental Texts

No supplemental texts are required; however, each student is required to complete research on a Caribbean nation’s justice system, requiring him or her to contact the embassy, and to use resources that are available through WebLuis and through the ILL system.

Library Resources

http://library.ucf.edu/

http://webct.ucf.edu/SCRIPT/ccj4670/scripts/serve_home

Evaluation Procedures

Grade Categories	Description of the requirements	Weight toward final grade
Online Discussion	Weekly participation; Start one new thread and comment on at least two others. Post a summary of your project.	20%
Project	See criteria below (under Project)	35%
Field Study Experience	Travel abroad to Barbados and write reflective paper	15%
Midterm Exam	Harriott, Section 1, (Context) Chapters 1 and 2 Tulchin and Espach, Chapters 1 and 2	10%
Exam II	Harriott, Section 2 (The Problems) Chapters 3 - 5 Tulchin and Espach, Ch. 4, 5 and 6	10%
Final Exam	Comprehensive	10%

Technology Requirements

Technology	Expectations for Use
E-mail:	Email will be used as part of this course. STUDENTS ARE EXPECTED TO STAY CONNECTED! Check your email often and respond promptly. It is the student’s responsibility to keep email address current at the eCommunity function of the course.
WebCT:	This course is organized on WebCT and we will use it as the virtual classroom. Students are expected to log in regularly and to participate as outlined above. The “materials” segment of the course has notes that you are responsible for reading and studying. In addition, there is a glossary that will help you with some of the terms with which you may not be familiar.

In order to be successful in this course, you need to have access to a functioning computer. Inability or unwillingness to have online access is not a valid excuse for missing assignments or exams. There are computers available at various locations around the UCF campus, including the Library and Classroom I. In addition, most if not all county libraries in Florida permit residents to use the Internet at their facilities.

ALL ASSIGNMENTS MUST BE SUBMITTED VIA COURSE EMAIL. NO ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED ON ANY OF MY OTHER EMAIL ACCOUNTS.

Additional Policies

Grading and evaluation	Plus/minus grades are not used in this course. Grades are assigned as follows: 90 – 100 = A 80-89 = B 70-79 = C 60-69=D below 60 = F
Virtual Participation	Participation will be scored based upon the criteria set forth above in the online discussion section of the evaluation criteria section. The criteria outlined above expresses minimum requirements. Quality of discussion will also be evaluated (in addition to the degree to which the minimum standards are met).
Deadlines	All assignment due dates, exam dates and important dates to remember are noted on the course calendar. It is the student’s responsibility to check the calendar and keep attuned to important dates. Missing assignment deadlines and/or exams will be penalized.
Late, make-up and extra credit work	Late work will be accepted for one week past the assigned date. All late work will be assessed a 25% “late fee.” Exam make-ups are generally not permitted unless exigent circumstances (supported by documentation) required the student to miss the exam. Make-up exams are also assessed a 25% “late fee,” regardless of the reason for the missed exam. No extra credit will be given.
Academic integrity	Students are expected to be honest in their submissions. All class work must be original, and may not be shared with other students without prior approval. (Group projects constitute prior approval to share.) Individuals engaging in such sharing or cheating may fail the course. Plagiarism will not be tolerated . Work submitted to fulfill requirements for other courses may not be submitted in this course without prior approval of all instructors.

A Little more about the PROJECTS…

Projects will be required of each student. Proposals must be submitted and approved in advance. Check the calendar for the due date for proposals.

The project proposal must consist of a 1 - 2 paragraph description containing the following: 1. Name of the country you are selecting for your study (any country EXCEPT Barbados), 2. Research plan (how you intend to research your country and its crime issues), 3. The reason for your selection, and 4. a second choice, in the event there are two students who have selected the same country. Please indicate whether you are working alone or collaboratively in your proposal, and if you are working with another student, provide the name of the other student in the proposal. If two students are working together, only one proposal needs to be submitted.

Projects:

You will research the justice system of the Caribbean nation you select. There is a good deal of information available on the Internet, but I would like you to get beyond the CIA information pages. (That is, please use some academic sources as well as other informational sources that are available through either the U.S. or the country under study’s web sites.) In addition to government and academic sources, you should contact the embassy (in the U.S.) for the country you are studying. They will usually provide you with good information regarding the type of justice system that is in place. Don’t expect wonderful crime data from the embassy, but you might get lucky.

The project should include and overview of the crime concerns and the criminal justice system in the nation selected.

In developing your research project, please respond to the following questions:

What is the nature of this country? It is important to put the crime picture into context through the presentation of a picture of the nation. This does not need to be a long section, but it is important to tell something about the country and its population, culture and form of government.

What are the similarities with other Caribbean nations and what are the elements that make it unique? What are some variables that might contribute to crime in this country that might also be relevant in other Caribbean nations and which unique characteristics might contribute to crime in this country that might not be present in other Caribbean nations?

What is the overall crime rate in this nation? What has the trend been? What are some factors that have contributed to the trend, based on your research?

What type of justice system is in place in this country? (What is the basis for the justice system? What is the country of derivation?)

What are the primary similarities and differences that you find when you compare this system with the U.S. justice system?

What are the principle issues that this nation is facing with respect to crime and justice?

What are the major challenges the nation in facing in the justice arena?

Share some of the insights of some of the nation’s leaders regarding crime and justice. (This information can be found in online newspapers available for most Caribbean nations.)

What can we anticipate in the future based upon the current policy and overall findings from your research?

You should at least address the above questions, but you are not limited to those. They will help you in developing a comprehensive picture of the state of crime and criminal justice in the nation selected.

Projects, as all other assignments, are to be submitted via COURSE email, and should be discussed on the discussion forum with the rest of the class. When you summarize your project for the class (on the forum), please give a brief summary and allow questions. DO NOT copy and paste your project to the forum or just attach a copy.

_______________________________________________________________________

The Caribbean Journal of Criminology and Social Psychology and The British Journal of Criminology are good starting points if you are looking for journals, but your best bet is to go to WebLuis and do a search.

The project component is worth 35% of your final grade.

Each project will be graded based upon the criteria of clarity, relevance to the issues learned in the course and depth of analysis. Projects may be collaborative efforts, if two students would like to pool their resources and efforts. If that is the case, the combined total of the project can be somewhat shorter than two single combined papers. I am more interested in quality than quantity. Whereas individual papers should be 15 – 18 pages in length, a project wherein two students work together may be 24 - 28 pages in length. However, it is expected that both students will share equally in the work and that each student will recognize that this is the major component of the course grade.