CRIM2310: Criminal Punishment and Corrections

This course provides a comprehensive overview of criminal punishment and correctional practices in the United States. Students explore the historical and contemporary purposes of punishment as well as social, ethical, and legal implications. Students then examine the implementation of punishment via the corrections system, studying its history and the goals, methods, and institutions that characterize it today. Specific topics include clients and officers, programs and facilities, life in and after incarceration, community corrections, and reform, including innovation in policy, programs and techniques. Through case studies, policy analysis, and applied exercises, students critically evaluate punishment approaches and correctional practices to identify effective, fair, and humane responses to crime.