BakersfieldCollege
Syllabus
Criminal Justice 8
Criminal Investigation
Fall, 2013Instructor: CharlesFeer, JD, MPA
Mondays 6:00pm – 9:10pmOffice Hours: By Appointment
Location: Language Arts 111Telephone: 661-330-2746 (call/text)
Catalog Course Description: Fundamentals of criminal investigation; investigator skill requirements; modus operandi determination; the collection, identification and preservation of physical evidence; crime scene investigation; interviews and interrogations; sources of information; surveillance; field note-taking and report writing; case preparation; and the investigation of specific crimes.
Prerequisites: None. (Reading Level 5 or 6 recommended.)
Text Books: Required Osterburg, Ward7th Edition
(Anderson Publishing) 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4557-3138-1
Class Attendance Policy: Is held in strict observance of the College Attendance policy. If any student misses two weeks of class without explanation, they may be dropped. IT IS THE STUDENT’S RESPONSIBILITY TO DROP THE CLASS. Failure to do so, and if I do not drop you, will result in an “F” for the course.
Academic Honesty Policy: Is per the College Catalog and will be strictly enforced.
Note: There is no class meeting on Sept 2 (Labor Day), Nov 11, (Thank a Veteran!)
FINAL EXAM: December 9th, 2013, 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Grading Policy: Course Grading:
Class Participation = 25%90 – 100% = A
Projects= 25%80 - 89% = B
Tests/Quiz= 25%70 – 79% = C
Final Exam= 25%60 – 69%= D
Course Outline:
Week 1 Introduction - Chapter 1 The Investigator
Week 2 No Class – Labor Day
Week 3 Chapter 2 Physical Evidence & Chapter 3 The Crime Scene
Week 4 Chapter 4 People as a Source of Information & Chapter 5 Records/Files
Week 5 Chapter 6 Interviews & Chapter 7 Informants
Week 6 Chapter 8 Surveillance & Chapter 9 Eyewitness Identification
Week 7 Chapter 10 Interrogation of Suspects and Hostile Witnesses
Week 8 Chapter 11 Technology & Chapter 12 Crime Analysis
Week 9 Chapter 13 Managing Criminal Investigations
Week 10 Chapter 14 Reconstructing the Past (Skip Chap. 15)
Week 11 Chapter 16 Evidence
Week 12 Chapter 17 Homicide, Chapter 18 Robbery, Chapter 19 Sex Crimes
Week 13 No Class – Veterans Day
Week 14 Chap 20 Burglary, Chap 22 Emerging Crimes, Chap 24 Organized
Week 15 Chap 21 Arson & Explosives, Chap 23 Terrorism
Week 16 Final Exam
Notice of Invitation
Students with disabilities who believe they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact Supportive Services (661-395-4334), FACE 16, as soon as possible to better ensure such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion. Please talk with me if I can be of any assistance to facilitate your learning.
Students with disabilities who have been authorized alternate media (Braille, electronic text, etc.) to supplement or in lieu of text books and other printed materials for class may obtain necessary information related to the books that will be used in the classroom. Information needed will include text book information are to provide the name and edition of the text, author, and ISBN, syllabus, handouts, etc. that you will be using for your class. You or I can e-mail the materials to: . The text and other materials will be converted into the student’s preferred format.
Please feel free to contact Supportive Services at 395-4334 for more information or assistance. (If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know.)
INSTRUCTOR EVALUATION
Sometime during the semester, we anticipate a student evaluation of our teaching. This is brought to your attention now so that you can take note and provide honest and helpful evaluation.