Introduction to Criminal Justice, 5 cr

The goal of the course Introduction to Criminal Justice is to provide students with means to understand the phenomenon of crime and its control in Finland; we will not delve deeply into any single topic, rather there will be a broad overview of many topics. This will be accomplished through thought-provoking lectures and discussion of the controversies and challenges of crime, some potential solutions and the machinations of justice.

The objective of the course is to provide the student with an understanding of the processes and institutions of criminal justice in the society as well as means to critically to evaluate their roles and functioning. Hence, the course aims to offer a broad foundation of knowledge to pursue more comprehensive and rigorous analysis in advanced courses.

The course is organized as 10 lectures followed by a two days' seminar (10 credit hours) in which the students will present papers on the topics of their own selection. The papers will be commented by the teachers of the course as well as other students.