Overview

In this course, students explore the evolution of policing to the present day. Community policing is compared and contrasted with traditional policing styles: considerable time is spent studying changes in policing orientation to an approach that is anticipatory and problem solving in nature.

CRJS 350 examines community policing theory and proactive community based policing in the context of changes within communities and police organizations. The identification of problems, which underlie the crimes committed in certain communities, will be examined to develop both the process of change and the development of a change strategy.

This course will review problem-solving models developed by various police forces to examine the multitude of effective policing models and the solutions offered by those models. Students explore case histories and learn to develop creative solutions for simulated and current community problems.

Through these studies, students will learn about the failures and successes of the community policing approach; students will be encouraged to develop and apply their knowledge to the identification of a community problem and the development of a solution.

The course concludes with the evaluation of the effectiveness of community policing as a law enforcement strategy.

Outline

CRJS 350 comprises six units as follows:

Evaluation

To receive credit for CRJS 350, you must achieve a grade of at least 50 percent on the course assignments and a grade of at least 50 percent on the final examination. The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.

Course Materials

Textbook

Peak, K., & Glensor, R. (2004). Community policing and problem solving: Strategies and practices (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Other materials

The course materials also include a student manual and a reading file.