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CRIM 100-401 |
Criminology |
Charles E. Loeffler |
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MW 02:00 PM-03:30 PM |
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This introductory course examines the multi-disciplinary science of law-making, law-breaking, and law-enforcing. It reviews theories and data predicting where, when, by whom and against whom crimes happen. It also addresses the prevention of different offense types by different kinds of offenders against different kinds of people. Police, courts, prisons, and other institutions are critically examined as both preventing and causing crime. This course meets the general distribution requirement. |
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SOCI233401 |
Society sector (all classes) |
<span class="penncourse-course-notes">Course is available to Freshmen and Upperclassmen.</span> |
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CRIM 240-301 |
Forensic Analysis |
Maria Cuellar |
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TR 09:00 AM-10:30 AM |
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This course discusses the need for stronger scientific foundations in the analysis of forensic evidence from a scientific and a policy perspective. Forensic evidence, such as fingerprints, firearms, and hair, has been analyzed for hundreds of years to inform crime investigations and prosecutions. However, recent advances, especially the use of DNA technology, have revealed that a faulty forensic analyses may have contributed to wrongful convictions. These advances have demonstrated the potential danger of information and testimony derived from imperfect analysis, which can result not just in wrongful convictions but also in errors of impunity. In this course, students learn about the history of forensics, as well as about the recent advances that aim to improve current practices. It is an interdisciplinary course, but it focuses mostly on the statistical and scientific aspects of testing in forensics. Students discuss recent solutions that quantify the uncertainty, limitations, and errors associated with human factors, pattern evidence, and digital evidence. No prior statistical or forensic knowledge is expected. The course will be useful for students who wish to become forensic practitioners, law enforcement officers, lawyers, judges, researchers, or simply informed citizens. |
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CRIM 250-001 |
Statistics For the Social Sciences I |
Aaron J. Chalfin |
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TR 01:30 PM-03:00 PM |
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Statistical techniques and quantitative reasoning are essential tools for properly examing questions in the social sciences. This course introduces students to the concepts of probability, estimation, confidence intervals, and how to use the statistical concepts and methods to answer social science questions. The course will require the use of R, a free, open source statistical analysis program. This course has been approved for the quantitative data analysis requirement (QDA). |
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CRIM 270-001 |
Biopsychosocial Crim |
Adrian Raine |
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TR 10:30 AM-12:00 PM |
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Is there a "natural-born killer"? Why don't psychopaths have a conscience? And is it morally wrong for us to punish those who are biologically-wired for a life of crime? This interdisciplinary biosocial course argues that answers to these inscrutable questions can be found in the fledging field of "neurocriminology". This new sub-discipline brings together the social, clinical, and neurosciences to help us better understand, predict, and prevent future crime. We will explore the biosocial bases to crime and violence, analyze controversial neuroethical, legal and philosophical issues surrounding neurocriminology, and take a field trip to prison. This interdisciplinary course presents perspectives from the fields of psychology, neuroscience, criminology, sociology, law, business, public health, psychiatry, anthropology, neuroimaging, neuroendocrinology, forensics, nutrition, and pediatrics. It is suitable for those without a background in biology or criminology. It is particularly relevant for majors in Criminology, Psychology, Nursing, and Biological Basis of Behavior. |
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CRIM 290-001 |
Wrongful Convictions |
Charles E. Loeffler |
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MW 03:30 PM-05:00 PM |
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This course explores wrongful convictions from an interdisciplinary perspective. Using research from the disciplines of law, criminology, psychology and sociology, this course explores how legal errors occur and how they might be prevented in the future. Connections to quality control research and practice in other industries will also be examined. No prerequisites are required. |
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CRIM 402-401 |
Data Analytics in R |
Gregory Ridgeway |
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TR 12:00 PM-01:30 PM |
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This course covers the tools and techniques to acquire, organize, link and visualize complex data in order to answer questions about crime and the criminal justice system. The course is organized around key questions about police shootings, victimization rates, identifying crime hotspots, calculating the cost of crime, and finding out what happens to crime when it rains. On the way to answer these questions, the course will cover topics including data sources, basic programming techniques, SQL, regular expressions, webscraping, and working with geographic data. The course will use R, an open-source, object oriented scripting language with a large set of available add-on packages. |
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CRIM602401 |
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CRIM 410-401 |
Research Seminar in Experiments in Crime and Justice |
Aurelie Ouss |
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W 02:00 PM-05:00 PM |
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This seminar focuses on examining data from experiments in criminology including: randomized controlled trials of criminal justice policies, "natural" experiments in crime, and other quasi-experimental studies. A series of experiments conducted by Penn scholars and elsewhere will be examined. This seminar also guides criminology majors in writing a research proposal for their thesis. Students will learn about how to formulate a research question, develop a review of the literature, and how to apply necessary empirical methods. The final paper for this course will be a research proposal that can serve as the basis for the student's senior thesis and to satisfy the senior capstone requirement. Readings will come from the disciplines of criminology, sociology, psychology, economics, and urban planning. |
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SOCI410401 |
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CRIM 535-001 |
Introduction To Quantitative Methods For Policy Analysis |
Aaron J. Chalfin |
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R 03:30 PM-06:30 PM |
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This course provides an introduction to applied statistical techniques in the social sciences and is tailored, in particular, to students pursuing the master of science degree in the Depsartment of Criminology. It is taught as a basic course in statistics and presumes minimal mathematical or statistical background. We'll begin with a brief introduction to the research process. We'll then cover the computation, interpretation and understanding of basic descriptive statistics, distribution, hypothesis testing, measures of association and finally regression analysis. Depending on how much time we have, we will cover several more advanced topics in regression analysis at the end of the semester. |
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<span class="penncourse-course-notes">Undergraduates Need Permission</span><br /><span class="penncourse-course-notes">Registration also required for Laboratory (see below)</span> |
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CRIM 535-101 |
Introduction To Quantitative Methods For Policy Analysis |
Yuhao Wu |
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F 10:00 AM-11:00 AM |
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This course provides an introduction to applied statistical techniques in the social sciences and is tailored, in particular, to students pursuing the master of science degree in the Depsartment of Criminology. It is taught as a basic course in statistics and presumes minimal mathematical or statistical background. We'll begin with a brief introduction to the research process. We'll then cover the computation, interpretation and understanding of basic descriptive statistics, distribution, hypothesis testing, measures of association and finally regression analysis. Depending on how much time we have, we will cover several more advanced topics in regression analysis at the end of the semester. |
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<span class="penncourse-course-notes">Undergraduates Need Permission</span><br /><span class="penncourse-course-notes">Registration also required for Lecture (see below)</span> |
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CRIM 600-301 |
Pro-Sem in Criminology |
Charles E. Loeffler |
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M 09:00 AM-12:00 PM |
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This course provides an overview of the leading criminological theories of crime. The central focus is on the major theories of crime developed over the past century from the disciplines of economics, psychology, and sociology. The course will focus on the application of social science research as a way to evaluate theories of crime. Special attention is devoted to the issues of measurement of crime and what is known from the available empirical data. In addition, the course will focus on how these theoretical perspectives relate to public policy responses to crime. |
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<span class="penncourse-course-notes">Undergraduates Need Permission</span> |
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CRIM 604-301 |
Criminology in Practice |
Gregory Ridgeway |
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T 04:00 PM-06:00 PM |
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In this capstone course, students will meet weekly with guests who work on or close to the front line of the criminal justice system. Past guests have included police chiefs, forensic scientists, lobbyists for gun rights and lobbyist for gun control, formerly incarcerated individuals, crime analysts, directors of sentencing commissions, prosecutors and defenders, politicians, and researchers at research organizations working closely with criminal justice agencies. Guests share their career paths, the roles of their organizations in the justice system, and key justice system challenges. Students interact with all guest speakers. |
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<span class="penncourse-course-notes">Undergraduates Need Permission</span><br /><span class="penncourse-course-notes">Non-Majors Need Permission From Department</span><br /><span class="penncourse-course-notes">Majors Only</span> |
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CRIM 634-001 |
Evidence-Based Crim Prev |
Aurelie Ouss |
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W 09:00 AM-12:00 PM |
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This course considers the use of evidence to identify effective crime prevention policies. The course will teach students to think critically about what constitutes convincing evidence, use benefit-cost analysis in comparing policy alternatives, and write effective policy memos that can translate research into practice. We will develop these skills by studying the effects of different policy approaches to crime prevention including incarceration, policing, gun control, drug regulation, and place-based interventions, as well as education, social programs, and labor market policies. Emphasis will be on the methodological challenges to identifying "what works" and the empirical methods to overcome those challenges. |
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