Community and Justice Services

Course Code: CJS 101

This course introduces students to the communication processes that characterize the correctional and justice services field. This course focuses on effective verbal, non-verbal and written communication skills, which are essential when working in a correctional or community setting. Focus will be on the factors that influence the ways in which professionals are perceived by clients and colleagues. Topics explored in the course include: boundary issues, anger and conflict resolution, providing and receiving constructive feedback, practicing tolerance and suspending judgment, taking personal responsibility for behaviour, and learning how to express difficult emotions appropriately. In addition, students will have the opportunity to discuss and begin to develop self-reflection skills in order to provide more effective support to clients and gain insights into their own behaviour and attitudes. The impact of cultural and gender issues on interpersonal skills is discussed throughout the course.

Course Code: CJS 102

This course focuses on the dynamics of conflict. Students are introduced to concepts and practices of managing conflict within the community justice and societal context. Students will engage in the application of philosophy, and techniques of addressing and managing conflict on a societal, institutional and individual level.

Course Code: CJS 103

This course will allow students to explore the prevailing philosophy and practices of community capacity building. They will explore, in-depth, the definitions, principles, and paradigms utilized by community capacity building practitioners on a local, national, and international level. A special emphasis will be given to framing matters of criminal and social justice within the community capacity building paradigm.

Course Code: CJS 104

For many students, starting placement in their second year can sometimes be a daunting task. In addition to all of the course work and the various responsibilities that students have at the end of their first year, preparation for placement can also be a source of challenge and confusion. This course is a bi-weekly course intended to help students prepare for their placement in the second year of the program. This course is the first part of the Integrative Seminar (CJS.302) that will be offered in the third semester of the program. The course will focus on issues such as: What is placement? What do I have to have in place to prepare for my placement? What skills and strategies do I need to develop to help me effectively prepare for placement? During this seminar, students will be provided with information relevant to the completion of their health passports, police record check, cover letters and resumés and all other relevant documents. Further to this, the course will also support students in identifying their particular areas of interest in the field and, as such, will provide students opportunities to engage in activities, which promote self-analysis; identify their readiness for placement; and explore specific placement opportunities that are relevant to their areas of interest.

Course Code: CJS 105

This introductory course provides the student with an overview of the Canadian criminal justice system with a particular emphasis on the history, function, role and organization of each of the components of the system. The operation of the criminal justice system will be examined and analyzed in light of contemporary issues affecting the system. Each of the major components from enforcement through the courts and correctional services will be explored.

Course Code: SOCI 110

This course is designed to engage students in major sociological issues, debates, and theoretical perspectives, and to introduce key concepts and sociological research methods. Topics for analysis are wide in scope and are relevant to the everyday lived experiences of students. These include culture, class, race and ethnicity, sex and gender, ability and disability, deviance, education, aging, religion, and health.

An introduction to these basic concepts, theoretical frameworks and social issues will enable students to understand how social structures and cultures shape personal experience, and, how we as individuals may influence those social structures. As opposed to relying on belief, opinion, or ideology, sociology as a discipline attempts to provide reasoned, well-informed, socially scientific explanations for both our individual and collective human behaviours.

Course Code: WRIT 100

College Writing Skills emphasizes elements of the writing process. Although subject matter and format may change from one program to another, the skills necessary for effective writing remain the same, as do the professional standards that all Humber students are expected to attain. Students will practice the reading and writing skills that will be valuable in their college programs and build a strong base for professional business writing. Those students who plan to further their studies will develop the fundamental skills for writing acceptable academic English. To help students reach these goals, the course covers the following: analytical reading and critical thinking; essay organization and development; and the elements of clear writing, including grammar and punctuation skills. To complete WRIT 100 successfully, students must produce writing that meets or surpasses the minimum departmental standards as set out in the attached criterion sheet.

Course Code: CJS 150

This course provides the student with the opportunity to explore issues specifically related to youth in conflict with the law. There will be an emphasis on the formation of perceptions and concepts about youth in society in relation to the experience of conflict. Social attitude and the societal response to youth conflict will be addressed from a historical, contemporary and social structural perspective.

Course Code: CJS 151

This course examines selected topics in community corrections in Canada and elsewhere. Topics studied include probation, parole, conditional release options, conditional sentencing and restorative justice practices. A theoretical analysis of community correctional practices is emphasized.

Course Code: CJS 152

The prison system is widely believed to be an immutable element of contemporary society. Many members of society, politicians, criminologists and sociologists continue to debate the effectiveness of our correctional institutions. This course offers students a critical look at prison populations, treatment programs, progressive reforms, correctional officers, and an opportunity to analyze whether feasible alternatives to correctional institutions exist.

Course Code: CJS 153

This course focuses on the understanding and acquisition of communication skills in interpersonal and counselling contexts. Emphasis will be placed on the identification and development of specific communication skills that are essential for working in helping contexts. The lecture component will develop a theoretical framework for the application of communication skills within the counselling process. The lab component will provide opportunity for skill practice.

Course Code: CJS 154

This course provides an examination of various theoretical explanations of criminal and deviant behaviour including the sociological, biological and psychological perspectives. Criminological theory is related to various types of criminal activity and the reality of crime in Canada is examined through crime statistics and correlates of criminal behaviour. The impact of theory on the development and effectiveness of the criminal justice system is discussed with an emphasis on future trends within the system.

Course Code: WRIT 200

Business Writing Skills introduces students to the strategies of effective written workplace communication. This course is designed to build on and reinforce the writing skills developed in WRIT 100 and requires students to apply these skills to vocationally relevant assignments. Students will learn how to select and organize pertinent information according to purpose and audience and will practise presenting their ideas clearly, precisely, and effectively in various written formats. To complete WRIT 200 successfully, students must produce writing that meets or surpasses the minimum departmental standards as set out in the criterion sheet.

Course Code: CJS 200

This course places the study of criminal justice ethics within the context of the larger field of ethics. The role of the criminal justice professional as a public servant is emphasized. Several key terms in the study of ethics will help students distinguish between ethics and morality and what are considered ethical issues and ethical dilemmas. Students study the primary sources that set out the major schools of ethical thought and moral reasoning. Various models are used to critically analyze Canadian criminal cases and social issues such as euthanasia, abortion, animal rights, capital punishment, racism/ethnocentrism, police/correctional officer misconduct and corruption. In addition, students will have the opportunity to reflect upon their own ethical reasoning and consider alternative approaches.

Course Code: CJS 201

In Field Placement, students will have the opportunity to take part in the day-to-day operations of a social services agency. They will work under the direct supervision of a professional staff person, have the opportunity to observe correctional procedures and practices, and take part in serving clients with direction from agency/institutional staff. Students will also be expected to maintain a record of their placement activities through the submission of a field contract, time sheets and bi-weekly logs. At the end of this field placement, the student will have completed a minimum of 200 hours in the field placement setting.

Course Code: CJS 202

While enrolled in field placement students will have an opportunity to meet in seminar to discuss experiences, issues and expectations.

Course Code: CJS 203

This course will introduce the students to theories and models of restorative justice. Students will examine the models and practices of restorative justice within various criminal justice organizations, as well as contrasting restorative justice practices within a variety of differing cultural contexts.

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Course Code: PSYC 110

How many times in the course of a day do we wonder about human behaviour? We shake our heads and ask why the person in the car ahead of us cut us off. We ask why it is that the person sitting beside us has his/her nose pierced. We try to explain why our boss blew up at a co-worker over an insignificant issue. We question the motives for our own actions. In the course of day it seems that we are challenged over and over again to explain the behaviour of those around us and indeed ourselves. Most often we do so using common sense, based on our limited experience, our socialization and our own biases. Psychology is the field of study that examines human behaviour scientifically. This course will introduce the student to psychological theories and a variety of psychological research topics, including the biological bases of behaviour, learning and memory, psychopathology, social attitudes and behaviour. Students will be encouraged to be introspective and to apply what they learn to their personal behaviour in order to gain a better understanding of themselves and others.

Course Code: CJS 250

Integrative Seminar provides students with an opportunity to reflect and to discuss problems, issues, situations, and developments that occur in field practice with colleagues and faculty supervisor. Discussions will focus around how students are integrating learning acquired from academic courses with practical experiences in the field. In a peer setting, students are able to share experiences, problem solve, and provide each other with feedback and support.

Course Code: CJS 251

This course provides students with opportunities to develop their communication, critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. Students will also be introduced to various lifestyle topics, stress management and fitness activities in preparing them for the challenges of postsecondary learning, as well as their chosen career paths. At the conclusion of this course, students should have a greater awareness of their future role within the broader context of the criminal justice system.

Course Code: CJS 252

This course will examine the concept of diversity as it applies, mainly, to the large metropolitan centers in Canada like Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. This course introduces students to the issues related to diversity and social justice in the field of community justice and focuses on providing students with the theoretical grounding to enable them to understand the various aspects of diversity and justice, as well as the development and application of the skills that will enhance their ability to work with and support diverse clients and personnel in the field. The understanding of diversity and the values surrounding the concept and the debate engendered by activists, academics, writers, critics and artists will be placed within the framework of social justice discourse and human rights ideology. In this course students will address specific aspects of diversity including gender, race, sexual orientation, ability, class, etc., as well as the ways in which the intersections of these sites of difference affect people?s lived realty in society and also affect their experiences in the justice system. The course will support students? development of skills that will facilitate a critical engagement with these issues, develop a clear understanding of the impacted groups and potential strategies of community empowerment. Further, this course will provide students with opportunities to explore and critically examine their personal identity locations and the ways in which those identities inform ones understanding of diversity and difference. Self-awareness and sensitivity are essential skills when providing justice based services to diverse populations and can guard against unnecessary bias and stereotyping that emerges from lack of knowledge and understanding of these differences. The course will demonstrate by way of lectures, small group discussions, activities, critical reviews, readings and examination of policy issues, ways of experiencing and understanding diversity as it relates to the voice and status of the other when compared to the mainstream or dominant culture. A practical method of applying the concepts will be reached by drawing from literature, language, oral traditions, contemporary art and music to discussions surrounding the issues of national identity, migration, multiculturalism, indigenous rights, anti-racist education and the cultural politics of race, class, sexual orientation and gender.

Course Code: CJS 253

This course will explore topics, which reflect current issues and trends in the area of community and institutional corrections.

Course Code: CJS 254

The purpose of field practice is for students to apply their academic learning in an institutional or agency setting, while under the direct supervision of a qualified supervisor. It is vital that students perform according to the professional standards set out by legislation and institutional and/or agency policies and procedures. Students on placement are considered professionals in training. It is therefore very important that agency field supervisors discuss with them, on a regular basis, both their strengths and areas that require improvement. In order to provide a comprehensive field placement component, students complete one eight-month placement at one location in their second year. Second year students are on placement during their third (mid-September through mid-December) and fourth (January through April) semesters for a total of 400 hours. They attend their placements on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Course Code: GNED 101

The humanities course focuses on fundamental questions individuals ask of themselves as they proceed through life. Why are we the way we are? Do we have free will or are we prisoners of our past experience or our biological inheritance? What motivates societies to change? Why do societal changes so often divide people into opposing camps? Why do so many people find contemporary life at home, at work, and in the community unfulfilling? What constitutes good government? How should injustice be fought? Can nations successfully deal with global problems? What is science and how does it differ from other kinds of inquiry? Can scientists provide solutions to the problems we face? What is art and does it offer answers of its own? What is its relationship to beauty, to knowledge, and to ethics? Is objectivity about art (or anything) possible? These questions are organized into units that begin with issues concerning the nature of the individual and then extend outward to various social, cultural and physical contexts.

The issues explored in this course are too complex to have any one right answer. Rather, individuals must search for answers that make sense of their experiences via various theoretical perspectives. The humanities course supports this endeavour through study of different thinkers presented in the readings and exploration of different points of view explored in class discussions.