Course Descriptions

AJ 150 - The Correctional Process

• Prerequisite or Corequisite: AJ 101

Provides an overview of the historical development of corrections and the philosophy of punishment. Current correctional institutions such as prisons, detention facilities, and community-based programs and their management and effectiveness will be examined.

3 hrs. lect. per week

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of AJ 150, the student will be able to:

• Define the term corrections, and explain the American Correctional Association's (ACA) five fundamental purposes of corrections;
• Explain the importance of professionalism in the corrections field, and describe the characteristics of a true professional;
• Describe sentencing philosophy and identify the central purposes of criminal punishment;
• List and explain the sentencing options in general use today;
• Describe the nine eras of prison development within the context of its societal environment;
• Define diversion, probation, intermediate sanctions, and parole and understand their respective functions in the criminal justice system;
• Appreciate the complexities and challenges of correctional staff members within the ideal framework of their four main goals;
• Understand the importance of the inmate subculture and the theoretical explanations that attempt to explain its development; and
• Articulate an understanding of the most controversial debates in contemporary corrections that include overcrowding, security, privatization, technology, and accreditation.