Introduction to the Criminal Justice System
Overview
- The systems approach to the study of the Canadian Criminal Justice System.
- Sources of law and the role of government
- Criminal law and criminal justice in Canada
- Crime control philosophy and criminal justice policy
- Crime rates, crime trends, and perceptions of crime
- The Criminal Code of Canada and related Statutes
- 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
- 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
- Future Directions
The course will employ a variety of instructional methods to accomplish its objectives, including some of the following: lectures, field trips, guest speakers, audio-visual materials, debates, and research papers.
Evaluation will be based on course objectives and will be carried out in accordance with ÌÇÐÄvlog´«Ã½Evaluation 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 | 10% |
Group presentation (with written outline) | 10% |
Annotated bibliography | 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% |
Instructors may use a student's record of attendance and /or level of active participation in the course as part of the students graded performance. Where this occurs, expectations and grade calculations regarding class attendance and participation will be clearly defined in the Instructor Course Outline.
At the conclusion of the course the successful student will be able to:
- Analyze criminal justice from a systems perspective
- Identify sources of criminal law and explain its relevance to criminal justice in Canada
- Describe crime control philosophy and its influence on criminal justice policy
- Analyze and interpret crime and victimization patterns and trends
- Explain the role of the public and media in criminal justice
- Identify and describe the challenges to operating a criminal justice system for diverse groups
- Describe the progression of an offender through the subcomponents of the Canadian criminal justice system
- Describe the structure and function of the following components of criminal justice:
- the police
- the courts
- corrections
- Identify current criminal justice issues and challenges for reform
- Identify possible and probable future trends in criminal justice in Canada
Textbooks and Materials are to be Purchased by Students. A list of required textbooks and materials is provided for students at the beginning of the semester. Example texts may include:
- Griffiths, C.T. (2024) Canadian Criminal Justice: A Primer (current edition). Toronto: Emond Publications.
- Roberts, J. and Grossman, M. (2024) Criminal Justice in Canada: A Reader (current edition). Toronto:Emond Publications.
Requisites
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Equivalencies
None
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.
Course Transfers
These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see
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 2521 (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
Summer 2025
CRN | Days | Instructor | Status | More details |
---|---|---|---|---|
CRN
22035
|
Wed | Instructor last name
Horton
Instructor first name
Alicia
|
Course status
Open
|
This course will include synchronous on-line activities. Students should plan to be available on-line at scheduled course times. See Legal Studies (LGST) for other university transferable law and legal system courses.
CRN | Days | Instructor | Status | More details |
---|---|---|---|---|
CRN
22187
|
Tue | Instructor last name
Ivers
Instructor first name
Aaren
|
Course status
Open
|
See Legal Studies (LGST) for other university transferable law and legal system courses.
CRN | Days | Instructor | Status | More details |
---|---|---|---|---|
CRN
22237
|
Thu | Instructor last name
Bogden
Instructor first name
Lorree
|
Course status
Open
|
See Legal Studies (LGST) for other university transferable law and legal system courses.