Dr. David Kauzlarich
1208 Peck
Phone: (618) 650-2891
Email: dkauzla@siue.edu
Web Page: http://www.siue.edu/~dkauzla/index.html
Office Hours: MWF 11-12
And by appointment
I. Course Information
This course is designed to introduce students to the nature and form of policing in the United States from a sociological perspective. In many ways, the course is about the sociology of formal social control. Topics include the history, role, and functions of the police, as well as police decision-making, procedural law, and police corruption. We will also spend a considerable amount of time discussing multicultural aspects of policing and social control. My goal is to provide you with a deeper understanding of the various dimensions of formal social control and policing society. This will be accomplished through lectures, readings, group discussions, films, and guest speakers.
Although most of the lecture materials for this course are grounded in the assigned readings, the lectures will not duplicate the readings. Therefore, it is imperative that the student reads all of the assigned readings for a particular session prior to the commencement of class.
II. Required Texts
Kappeler, Victor E. (1999). The Police and Society. 2nd Edition. Prospect Heights, Illinois: Waveland Press.
Barlow, David E. and Melissa Hickman Barlow (2000). Police in a Multicultural Society: An American Story. Prospect Heights, Illinois: Waveland Press.
Other readings will be handed out as needed.
III. Course Requirements
A. Three Exams (70%). These will be designed to gauge your understanding of the lectures, discussions, readings, films, and guest speakers. The exams are all essay.
B. One Research Paper on an aspect of policing (20%). See the end of the syllabus for guidelines.
C. Class Attendance and Participation (5%) Active participation is expected. Unannounced, periodic role will be taken. Please be punctual.
D. Presentation of your Research Paper (5%). Plan on providing a 10 minute presentation of your paper to the class. However, the time allotted for presentations may change depending on enrollment.
IV. Point Values and the Determination of the Final Grade
Exam 1...................................................... 56 points
Exam 2...................................................... 56 points
Exam 3..................................................... 56 points
Research Paper........................................ 48 points
Class Attendance and Participation ...... 12 points
Presentation of Paper............................. 12 points
Total...................................................... 240 points
Final grades will be determined by dividing the total amount of points earned by the total amount of points possible. The resulting percentage will be converted into a letter grade according to the following scale:
A 90-100%
B 80-89%
C 70-79%
D 60-69%
E under 60%
V. Tentative Course Outline
1/8 Introduction to the Course
1/10-17 Formal and Informal Social Control
Reading: Barlow and Barlow, Chapter 1
1/15 No Class - Dr. MLK, Jr. Day
1/17-24 A Social History of Policing
Reading: Barlow and Barlow, Chapter 2; Kappeler, Chaps 1, 2, and 4
1/29-2/5 The Police Role and Function
Reading: Kappeler, Chapters 6, 8, and 9; Barlow and Barlow, Chapters 3 and 4.
2/5-7 Discretion and Decision-Making
Reading: Kappeler, Chapter 20; Handouts.
2/12 Exam I
2/14-19 Minorities and Policing
Reading: Barlow and Barlow, Chs. 8 and 9
2/19-21 Minority Police Officers
Reading: Barlow and Barlow, Chs. 10, 11, and 12
2/21-26 Police Subcultures
Reading: Kappeler, Chs. 11 and 15
2/26-3/5 Police Crime, Deviance, and Corruption
Reading: Kappeler Chs. 17 and 19
3/7 Exam II
3/12-14 No Classes -- Spring Break
3/19-21 Community Policing
Reading: Barlow and Barlow, Chapter 5; Kappeler, Chapter 25
3/26-28 Broken Windows
Kappeler, Chs 10 and 3.
4/2-4 The Police in Popular Culture
Film and Discussion; Handouts.
4/4-9 Political and Militaristic Issues in Policing
Reading: Kappeler, Chaps 22, 23, and 27; Barlow and Barlow, Ch. 7
4/11-16 Procedural Law and the Use of Force
Reading: Kappeler, Chs 17 and 18; Handouts.
4/18-25 Paper Presentations (dates may be decreased or increased depending on
enrollment).
4/25 Research Paper Due in Class
5/1 2-3:40 p.m. Final Exam
VI. Research Paper Instructions and Guidelines
Your paper should focus on one of the following topics in a critical fashion. i.e. through careful judgement and exact evaluation:
Minorities and Policing
Police Discretion
Community Policing
Issues in Procedural Law
Police Use of Force
The Exclusionary Rule and the Police
Race, Gender, or Class and Policing
Police Deviance and/or Misconduct
Technology and the Police
Police in Popular Culture
Police in the Media
Other topics/subjects for deliberation must be approved by me.
Although somewhat contingent on the topic chosen, the following outline should be regarded as a generic path for the articulation and/or investigation of your research topic.
I. Goal of the paper and introduction to the problem.
II. How does the topic at hand impact on other aspects of the system or of society at large? Why is it important? Why is it sociologically relevant?
III. Body of Paper. From a literature review, you may explain the phenomenon, describe its nature and characteristics, its manifest and latent functions and/or consequences, consider arguments for and against, identify problems with arguments, review data and research on the assertions, and adjudicate meritorious positions.
IV. Conclusions
Formal Guidelines for the Paper:
Papers must be typewritten and double spaced and from 8-10 pages long, excluding references.
Graduate student papers should be about 12-15 pages in length.
Students must use at least seven references other than the course texts. These are to be primarily professional scholarly journals (i.e. not a reliance on Time, Newsweek, Reader's Digest etc.). I strongly suggest that you use not only book search engines at the library, but the many journal and article databases throughout the SIU library system.
Plagiarism of any nature will result in a score of zero for the paper. If you are unfamiliar with what constitutes plagiarism, consult the library, a bookstore, or me.
Reference format should be standardized. That is, any established scholarly reference format is acceptable, provided that only that style is used throughout the paper.