CJ 460 Community Corrections and Sentencing

Prerequisites: upper-division standing, CJ 300, or consent of instructor.

Description: Deinstitutionalization movement within the prison industry in the U.S. Development of the scale and reach of the prison industry, incarceration rates relative to violent and non-violent offenses, incarceration rates for drug offenses, development of decentralized, community-related sentencing.

Units: 3

Read the Fall 2013 student evaluations of this course >>

Course Outline

Instructor: Daniel Macallair
Email: macallai@sfsu.edu 

Course Purpose

Despite the unprecedented expansion of imprisonment in the United States during the past three decades, community corrections, such as probation and parole, are the largest components of the criminal justice system. Because conditions of probation and parole are normally designed to be offender specific, these community corrections options offer courts and corrections personnel the widest range of discretion available in the criminal justice system. However, the development and application of community corrections remains one of the least understood and underutilized approaches to issues of crime, punishment, and rehabilitation. This course will introduce students to the history and practice of community corrections and its application to criminal justice policy. The course will cover this historical development of community corrections and the emerging trends within the field.

Course Description

The course explores the origins of community corrections and its role in the American criminal justice system. The course covers the major issues and topics associated with community corrections programs within probation and parole. These issues and topics include: 

• History and overview of sentencing and sentencing law
• The evolutions of probation and parole
• Philosophical foundations of community corrections
• Sentencing processes and their impact on community corrections
• Community programming for specific offender populations
• The future of sentencing policy and community corrections

The impact of changes in sentencing policy on community corrections will be examined to determine future directions and historical patterns

Download Course Outline here.

Delancy Street Foundation field trip information here.

Course Format

The primary instructional method is lecture and discussion. Students are expected to read and consider assigned readings prior to each class. Students are encouraged to express their views during class discussions. View the class slides >>

Required Reading

The following are required readings for the class.

• Latessa, and Smith Corrections in the Community
• Hanser, Robert. Special Needs Offenders in the Community. Pearson/Prentice Hall

Additional readings will be provided by the instructor.

Schedule of Readings

Please read the assigned materials prior to the class.  View the reading assignments and topics by date>>

Grading

Grades are based on three exams. View the optional extra credit writing project >>

Office Hours

Instructor office hours are detailed in the course outline. Additional times can be arranged by appointment.