Online Courses in Criminal Justice

The following individual classes in Criminal Justice are offered by University of Phoenix Online. Each class takes between five and six weeks to complete, and all material is presented over the Internet, making it easy to schedule your time to take each class.

These courses are ideal for professional development, or to earn credit towards a degree you may be taking at another college or university.

Introduction to Criminal Justice

This course is a survey of the criminal justice system, including the agencies and processes involved in the administration of criminal justice. It provides an overview of police, prosecution, courts, and the correctional system. The problems of the administration of justice in a democratic society are also discussed. Learn More...

Ethics in Criminal Justice

This course explores the standards and codes of professional responsibility in criminal justice professions (e.g., Law Enforcement Code of Ethics, ABA Standards of Professional Responsibility, American Jail Association Code of Ethics for Jail Officers, and the American Correctional Association Code of Ethics). It also explores roles of professional organizations and agencies, ethics and community relations, and civil liability in law enforcement and correctional environments. Learn More...

Cultural Diversity in Criminal Justice

This course prepares the student for conducting and managing law enforcement in a pluralistic society. It provides a basis for tolerance and better law enforcement through the understanding of the history, law and public opinion relating to conducting police operations in a multicultural environment. Learn More...

Research Methods in Criminal Justice

Students learn and demonstrate knowledge of research methodology within the criminal justice system and become acquainted with the range and scope of quantitative and qualitative tools available to the criminal justice researcher. Learn More...

Contemporary Issues in Criminal Justice

This course examines the problems faced by the criminal justice system in the 21st Century. How well is the system able to adapt to this new millennium? We know that law enforcement and judicial agencies need to safeguard the legal rights of both the accused and crime victims. How well is the current criminal justice system prepared to balance the rights of the accused with those of innocent victims? Learn More...

Criminal Justice Administration

This course applies management and financial principles to criminal justice organizations. Emphasis is placed on budgets, financial accounting principles and assessing the effectiveness of the activities of criminal justice organizations. Constitutional requirements, court decisions, and legislation (such as EEOC requirements) as they impact management in criminal justice organizations are discussed. Basic accounting and financial terminology, and purposes and formats of financial statements are introduced: depreciation of assets, capital budgeting, cash management, lease versus purchase, and inventory management. Learn More...

Criminal Justice Policy Analysis

This course examines the history of federal- and state-level crime control initiatives and explores the development of effective anticrime policies. The analysis of contemporary crime control policies is included. Learn More...

Managing Criminal Justice Personnel

This course is a survey of important personnel issues inherent to organizations and especially to Criminal Justice organizations. Problems, procedures and solutions to common personnel issues will be explored. Learn More...

Organizational Behavior and Management

This course explores the rich field of management in theory and practice, and as both a science and an art. The course also addresses the role of managers in the current world of rapid change, increased competitive forces, and increased expectations for the successful performance of employees and organizations. The focus is on some of the ways and means of achieving desired goals. The student will leave this course with a solid background in the nature and work of management and managers. Applications of concepts to criminal justice organizations will be stressed. Learn More...

Interpersonal Communication

This course prepares the student to communicate effectively in both written and verbal form. It covers best practices in investigative reporting, written reports and memos, and interpersonal verbal communication with victims, suspects, and civilians. Learn More...

Futures of Criminal Justice

This course examines possible criminal justice futures. Issues that police, corrections, and courts are likely to confront in the 21st century and beyond will be researched and discussed, along with established predictive techniques in the field of futures research. This is a capstone course requiring students to apply all they have learned throughout the program to the issues that will define possible criminal justice futures. Learn More...

Criminology

Criminology is an introductory course in the study of crime and criminal behavior, focusing on the various theories of crime causation. This course highlights the causes of crime, criminal behavior systems, societal reaction to crime, and criminological methods of inquiry. Learn More...

Criminal Law

This is an introductory course in the study of criminal law, general legal principles, and how the criminal law functions in and affects modern society. This course highlights a variety of key topics, including the concept of crime and the development of criminal law, defenses to criminal charges, and a number of specific types of crimes, including personal crimes, property crimes, public order crimes, and offenses against public morality. Legal issues affecting punishment will also be discussed, as will ways the criminal law impacts victims of crime. Learn More...

Criminal Procedure

This course explores the basic procedural aspects of criminal trials and addresses current significant issues. Emphasis is placed on the significance of recent judicial decisions to both law enforcement and corrections. In addition, the relationship between the judiciary and the other segments of the criminal justice system are examined. Learn More...

Introduction to Policing

This course is designed to provide students the opportunity to gain a better understanding of policing in the United States. As an introductory course, it offers the foundations of policing, from police roles to the issues that police officers are facing today. Learn More...

Criminal Court Systems

An overview of American court history, including the development of state and federal courts. Court administration, the roles of professional and nonprofessional courtroom participants, and stages in the process are discussed. Learn More...

Introduction to Corrections

An introduction to the various aspects of the corrections system. The historical development of corrections is discussed, along with the goals of criminal sentencing, jails, prisons, alternative sentencing, prisoner rights, rehabilitation, and parole and probation. Learn More...

Juvenile Justice

A general orientation to the field of juvenile delinquency, including causation and the development of delinquent behavior. The problems facing juveniles today are addressed, and adult and juvenile justice systems are compared, including initial apprehension, referral, and preventive techniques. Specific issues examined include chemical dependency, mental illness, and compulsive and habitual offenders. Special attention is given to the problems inherent in the police handling of juveniles and the function of juvenile courts. Learn More...

Organized Crime

This course is a survey of the origins and development of organized crime in the United States. It examines the structure and activities of organized criminal enterprises, considers different models that have been employed to describe organized crime groups, and explores theories that have been advanced to explain the phenomenon. Major investigations of organized crime and legal strategies that have been developed to combat it are also considered. Learn More...