Criminology Program

CRIM 2316 Section 001 (82191)

Corrections
Course Syllabus
Fall Semester 2011
MWF 10:00 am – 10:50 am
Room: GR 2.530
Syllabus revision date: 4/05/2011

I. Professor Contact Information: Dr. O. Elmer Polk, Green Hall, Office #2.408, elmer.polk@utdallas.edu, telephone
972-883-2983. Students are strongly encouraged to use email as the primary method of communication. Your professor
checks email several times per day and you can normally expect a response within 24 hours or sooner.

Office Hours: Students may feel free to contact the professor at any time before or after each class meeting, at the
above telephone number or email address, or at any other time available to both the student and the professor. Posted
office hours for the Fall are 12-1 pm on MWF.

Graduate Teaching Assistant: Your teaching assistant for this class is not assigned at the time of the posting of this
syllabus. Name and contact information for your TA, if any, will be provided during the first week of class.

II. Technical Support: If you experience difficulties with your UTD account you may send an email to
assist@utdallas.edu or call the UTD Computer Helpdesk at 972-883-2911.

III. Course Description: This course introduces students to the history and background of American corrections and the
fundamental theories of punishment and treatment. Emphasis will be placed on the policies, practices, and issues within
the correctional system. The incarceration of criminal populations in jails and prisons, and the expansion of community
based corrections will also be discussed.

IV. Learning Outcomes:

A. Provide an overview of the development of the use of institutions and community reintegration programs as
correctional processes and the philosophies of punishment utilized in their justification.
B. Provide an overview of practices, traditions and instruments used prior to the development of the use of
institutions, probation, and parole.
C. Increase students' ability to critically read corrections literature and differentiate scholarly literature from
practitioner and mass media sources.
D. Introduce students to possible abuses of correctional facilities and processes.
E. Introduce students to contemporary legal requirements in using institutions as a control mechanism and explore
corresponding constitutional rights and their limitations as reflected by their knowledge of leading legal court
opinions and decisions.
F. Differentiate varying types of correctional processes and functions, staffing and organizational variables, and
career opportunities.

V. Required Text and course materials: Corrections in America: An Introduction, 12th edition (2010) by Allen, Harry E.,
Edward J. Latessa & Bruce S. Ponder. Pearson/Prentice Hall Publishing. ISBN# 978-0-13-503439-2. Additionally,
students are required to read appropriate, current criminal justice journal articles and internet materials as assigned.

VI. Grades will be posted based on the following scale: A+=98-100, A=94-97, A-=90-93: B+=87-89, B=84-86, B-=80-83,
C+77-79, C=74-76, C-=70-73, D+=67-69, D=64-66, D-=60-63, F=0-59. Grades are based on the following events (due
dates are in the course calendar and assignment schedule in Section VIII of this syllabus). Please note that there is no
extra credit work available in this class and each student should strive to do his or her best work on each and every

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grading event. The mathematical rule of rounding will apply to the computation of the final grade in the course
based on the grades received in the following events.

1. Examination I (100 points). Questions from textbook, lectures and internet sites
2. Examination 2 (100 points). Questions from textbook, lectures and internet sites
3. Examination 3 Final Examination. (100 points). Questions from textbook, lectures and internet sites.
4. Essays (100 points) Answers to ten Essay questions must be submitted by the due dates in this syllabus in essay
format of 250 words or more per answer with 2 external references and the word count(references for all ten
questions must be in standard APA formatting).
5. Paper

Incomplete Grade Policy: As per university policy, incomplete grades will be granted only for work unavoidably missed
at the semester’s end and only if 70% of the course work has been completed. An incomplete grade must be resolved
within eight (8) weeks from the first day of the subsequent long semester. If the required work to complete the course and
to remove the incomplete grade is not submitted by the specified deadline, the incomplete grade is changed automatically
to a grade of F.

Examinations: There are three examinations that will consist of 50-75 objective items each with a maximum score of 100
points on each exam. Questions are taken from your textbook, lectures, and the internet sites identified in the course
outline section of this syllabus. Your score will be posted in percentage scores in your gradebook with a maximum score
of 100% on each. The professor will manually curve the class scores depending upon the highest grade made on each
exam. The manual adjustments will be entered into your gradebook within one week of the due date for each exam.

Essay Questions: Ten of the twenty essay items must be submitted during the semester pursuant to the due dates in
Section VIII. Each item is worth 10 points for a cumulative score of 100 on the essay grade. Questions not submitted by
the due dates will be reduced in grade 10 points per calendar day. Any questions not received by the last day of regular
class will receive a score of zero. Essay question answers must be the student’s own original work and must be
250 words or longer and each answer must be followed by the bibliographic information on two sources of
information in addition to the textbook or internet site and the word count. Cites must be formatted pursuant to
APA style of writing. In other words, please treat each discussion question as a mini-paper with three references
including your textbook and two additional sources. Answers that are simply blocked and moved from any other site that
are not the original work of the student posting the answer will receive a grade of zero unless properly cited and the
student will be referred for disciplinary action by the university.

Each essay weekly submission should answer one and only one question and must have the following format:
1. Essay #
2. Repeat question verbatim.
3. Provide answer of 250 words or more
4. Bibliography containing three references (one of which may be your textbook) for each and every essay.
5. Word count = ___.

Attention to proper writing and correct spelling is expected in the essays and is a part of the grade received for the
assignment. Use proper grammar and spelling and do not use any type of abbreviations or jargon not found in a
commonly accepted, standardized English dictionary.

Required paper: The topic paper will be graded on a100 point scale with a zero score if no paper is submitted. The
paper, like the discussion questions, can be submitted early if the student wishes and papers not submitted by the due
date will receive a penalty of 10 points per day for each calendar day that it is late. Early submission is encouraged.
Attention to proper writing composition and correct spelling is expected and is a part of the grade received for the
assignment. Your topic may be selected from anything you read in the course from the textbook, chapter outlines,
PowerPoints, or the internet sites. If you need help picking a topic or would like to get your topic approved before
proceeding, simply email me and I can provide a list of topics or the approval of your topic. A short list of possible topics is
also available on your course homepage. The paper should address the history and emergence of the topic selected as
well as the current state of the topic and future trends or implications. The paper must be between six and eight pages
and must have a properly formatted bibliography containing at least six references, which may include books (including
your textbook), scholarly journal articles, newspaper articles (no more than 2), government reports, or scholarly internet
articles that have a known author and date of publication. Students who are uncertain about whether a journal article is
scholarly or not should ask the professor via email at the course email site or elmer.polk@utdallas.edu. The paper must
be printed, double-spaced, with one-inch margins at top, bottom, and both sides. Font size must be 11 or 12 and the
paper should not contain any pictures, charts, diagrams, tables, etc.
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VII. Students wishing information on the following topics and policies should visit the website following the list. Student
Conduct & Discipline, Student Grievance Procedures, Incomplete Grade Policy, Disability Services, Religious Holy Days,
Academic Integrity, Copyright Notice, Email Use, Withdrawal from Class, and Off-Campus Instruction and Course
Activities: http://go.utdallas.edu/syllabus-policies.

VIII. COURSE CALENDAR AND ASSIGNMENT SCHEDULE

Please note that all chapter reading assignments made in this assignment schedule refer to readings in the required
textbook entitled, Corrections in America: An Introduction, 12th edition (2010). Additional readings are required in the
internet sites identified in the following assignment schedule.

As per the UTD Academic Calendar, fall semester classes begin on August 24, 2011 and end on Dec.5, 2011 with a Final
Exam as per the university’s official schedule. Each week in the following schedule is composed of a seven day period
with week one beginning on August 24.

First Week of Class (Aug. 24-26): Read chapters 1 & 2 in the text as well as the entire class syllabus available on the
course website. Welcome to the class! These readings will introduce you to the course, the professor, and the
expectations of you in the course. The topic this week is the history and development of human behaviors and the
corresponding development of social sanctions, precursors of prisons, and prisons.

Week 2 (Aug. 29-Sept. 2): Read chapter 3 in the text. Topic: Why we punish offenders and the five ideologies of
punishment. Discussion of retribution & just deserts, deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation & the medical model, and
restoration.

Week 3 (Sept. 5-9): Read chapter 4 in the text. Topic: Sentencing categories. Indeterminate, determinate, mandatory,
presumptive. Influence of the three branches of government. The presentence investigation. Felonies and misdemeanors.
Essay #1 due on 9/9 at the beginning of the class period. Late papers are reduced in grade by 10 points per day.

Week 4 (Sept. 12-16): Read chapter 5 in the text. Topic: Appellate court review and probation.

Suggested Internet Site: LexisNexis Academic. Go to The UT Dallas Library page and click on databases and find the
LexisNexis Academic database. Log in and then click on Legal Research at menu on left and then click on Law Reviews.
Practice pulling up law review articles by typing in the subject you are planning to do your class paper on such as: death
penalty, prisons, corporal punishment, etc. Review at least two articles.

Required Internet Site #1: Go to the FBI’S Uniform Crime Report at http://www.fbi.gov and click on the reports and
publications link at the left of page. Then click on Crime in the U.S. link at bottom of page. What are the primary four
crimes of violence reported? What are the primary four property crimes? Which property crime happens the most often?

Sept. 16, 2011 FRIDAY  EXAMINATION 1 ON CHAPTERS 1-4, AND THE ACCOMPANYING CHAPTER OUTLINES,
INTERNET SITES AND POWERPOINTS.

Week 5: (Sept. 19-23): Read chapter 6 in the text. Topic: Diversion and intermediate sanctions.
Essay #2 due on 9/23 at the beginning of the class period.

Week 6 (Sept. 26-30): Read chapters 7& 8 in text. Topic: Custody, management, and treatment.
Essay #3 due on 9/30 at the beginning of the class period.

Week 7 (Oct. 3-7): Read chapters 9 in the text. Topic: jails and detention facilities

Oct. 7, 2011 FRIDAY EXAMINATION 2 ON CHAPTERS 5-9 AND ACCOMPANYING CHAPTER OUTLINES AND
POWERPOINTS

Week 8 (Oct. 10-14): Read chapters 10 & 11 in the text. Topics: State and local prison systems & The Federal System.
Organization of correctional institutions. Are they cruel and unusual punishment?
Essay #4 due on 10/14 at the beginning of the class period.

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Required Internet Site #2: Go to http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/cid/cid_prison_jail_mgt.htm and scroll down and note the
number of regions in the state of Texas and the number of prisons in each. What is the difference between a state jail and
a prison?

Required Internet Site #3: Federal Bureau of Prisons. Go to http://www.bop.gov and click on the South Central Service
Region of the U.S. From the list, how many federal institutions are in the Ft. Worth, Bryan, Bastrop area?

Week 9 (Oct. 17-21): Read chapter 12. Topic: Private sector prisons
Essay # 5 due on 10/21 at the beginning of the class period.

Week 10 (Oct. 24-28): Read chapters 13. Topics: Parole and re-entry.
Essay # 6 due on 10/28 at the beginning of the class period.

Week 11 (Oct. 31-Nov.4): Read chapters 14. The death penalty.

Essay # 7 due on 11/4 at the beginning of the class period.

Nov. 4, 2011 FRIDAY EXAMINATION 3 ON CHAPTERS 10-14 AND ACCOMPANYING CHAPTER OUTLINES,
INTERNET SITES, AND POWERPOINTS.

Week 12 (Nov. 7-11): Read chapter 15 in the text. Topic: the inmate and ex-offender rights.
Essay # 8 due on 11/11 at the beginning of the class period.

Week 13 (Nov. 14-18: Read chapter 16 in the text. Topic: Male offenders.
Essay # 9 due on 11/18 at the beginning of the class period.

Nov. 18, 2011 FRIDAY. LIBRARY RESEARCH PAPER IS DUE. LATE PAPERS WILL BE REDUCED IN GRADE 10
POINTS FOR EACH DAY IT IS LATE.

Week 14 (Nov. 21-25): Read and chapter 17 in the text. Topic: Female prisoners and issues.

Week 15 (Nov. 28-Dec. 2): Read chapter 18 in the text. Topic: Juvenile offenders.
Essay # 10 due on 12/2 at the beginning of the class period.

Required site #4: Each student must go to http://www.tyc.state.tx.us/research/cost_per_day.html then review the differences
in cost between TYC institutions and parole. What is the cost per day in institutions? on parole?

Week 16 (Dec. 5): Last day of class. Read chapter 19 in the text. Topic: special category offenders. Review chapters 14-
19 in the text to prepare for final examination.

Final Exam per registrar’s official schedule: EXAMINATION 4 ON CHAPTERS 15-19 AND RELATED CHAPTER
OULTINES, INTERNET SITES, AND POWERPOINTS.

Selected References

Allen, H.E., Latessa, E.J., & Ponder (2010). Corrections in America, 12th ed., Upper

Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson/Prentice Hall Publishing.

Champion, D.J. (2001). Corrections in the United States: A Contemporary Perspective, 3rd. ed., Upper

Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, Inc.

Champion, D.J. (2002) Probation, Parole, and Community Corrections, 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.:

Prentice Hall, Inc.

Cromwell, P.E., R.V. del Carmen, & L.F. Alarid. (2002). Community-Based Corrections. Belmont, CA:

Wadsworth – Thomson Learning.

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Del Carmen, A. (2000). Corrections. Madison, WI: Coursewise Publishing.

Del Carmen, R.V. (1987). Criminal Procedure for Law Enforcement Personnel. Pacific Grove, CA:

Brooks/Cole Publishers.

DiIulio, J.J., Jr. (1987) Governing Prisons. New York: McMillan Publishing.

Gido, R.L. & T. Alleman. (2002) Turnstile Justice: Issues in American Corrections, 2nd ed., Upper Saddle

River, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc.

Marquart, J.W. & Sorenson, J.R. (1997) Correctional contexts, Los Angeles: Roxbury Publishing Co.

Mauer, Marc. (1999). Race to Incarcerate: The Sentencing Project. New York: The New Press.

Mays, G.L. & Winfree, L.T. Jr. (2005). Essentials of Corrections. Thomson/Wadsworth Publishing.

Palmer, J.W. (1997). Constitutional Rights of Prisoners, 5th. ed. Cincinnati, Ohio: Anderson Publishing Co.

Reichel, P.L. (1997). Corrections. Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Company.

Schwartz, M.D. & Travis, L.F. (1997). Corrections: An Issues Approach, Cincinnati: Anderson Publishing.

Seiter, R.S. (2005). Corrections: An Introduction. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education,

Inc.

Roth, M. P. (2005). Crime and Punishment: A History of the Criminal Justice System. Thomson/

Wadsworth Publishing.

Rush, G. (1992). Dict. of Criminal Justice, 3rd ed., Dushkin Publishing.

Silverman, Ira J. (2001) Corrections: A Comprehensive View, 2nd ed., Wadsworth Publishing.

List of Authorities

Kent v. United States, 383 U.S. 541 (1966).

In Re Gault, 87 U.S.1 (1967).
In Re Winship, 397 U.S. 358 (1970).
Jackson v. Bishop, 268 F. Supp. 804 (1968).

Johnson v. Avery, 393 U.S. 483 (1969).

Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S.97 (1976).
Marbury v. Madison, 1 Cr. 137 (1803).

Morrissey v. Brewer, 408 U.S.471 (1972).

Wolff v. McDonnell, 418 U.S. 539 (1974).
Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972).
Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 154 (1976).
Ruffin v. Commonwealth, 62 Va.(21 Gratt.) 790 (1871).
Holt v. Sarver, 300 F.Supp. 825 (1969).
Roper v. Simmons, 125 S. Ct. 1183 (2005)