CJFS 1600 - Scientific Investigation of Crime

Goals: In this class students will use writing as the primary mechanism to articulate their critical thinking about investigative challenges. We will collectively conduct brainstorming sessions and develop mind maps which will provide the analytical level to be conveyed through their writing.

Content: Crime investigation is, in other than its routine aspects, a high-grade intellectual pursuit. This course will focus on the systematic scientific inquiry needed for modern criminal investigations. The detection, reconstruction, and solution of a criminal event occurs through the interpretation of clues ascertained by investigators. Students will also study how physical evidence can be material in a variety of forms, which in some way is associated with the commission of a crime, and how that item can be of value in the investigation and subsequent adjudication of that crime. Students will apply scientific principles to the recognition, documentation, preservation, and analysis of physical evidence from investigations. Furthermore, students will employ critical thinking processes through writing and reflection to the intellectual endeavor of scientific problem solving. You will be expected to increase your knowledge by analyzing available literature resources; including both assigned articles and through your own research.

Taught: Alternate years

Credits: 4