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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Hot Topics in Criminal Justice by Vanderbilt University

4.6
stars
173 ratings

About the Course

The American criminal justice system is in need of reform. We incarcerate too many people. We pay insufficient attention to scientific advances that can help separate out the most and least culpable and dangerous. We grant the police far too much power to use force and technological surveillance. As a way of thinking about dealing with these problems, this course examines two over-arching issues: What should we do with people who have committed crime, and how should we identify who they are? On the first issue, we will look closely at the nature and causes of mass incarceration, the death penalty, the lawfulness and usefulness of preventive detention and risk assessment, and the role of the insanity defense and neuroscience in assessing responsibility for crime. On the second issue, we will explore the laws regulating the police use of force, the growing role of technology and big data in facilitating police surveillance and detection and deterrence of crime, and the remedies for police malfeasance, including the exclusionary rule and damages actions. The overall goal is to help thinking individuals assess today’s criminal justice system and consider ways of making it better. After completing this course, participants should be able to: 1. Describe the mass incarceration problem in the United States and why it might exist; 2. Suggest ways of reducing incarceration; 3. Criticize risk assessment instruments and their use in preventive detention schemes; 4. Discuss the pros and cons of the death penalty, the exclusionary rule, and the insanity defense; 5. Analyze the relevance of neurological evidence in a criminal case; 6. Identify some of the reasons innocent people are wrongly convicted; 7. Elaborate on the role race plays at sentencing and in police use of force, stop and frisk and consent searches and 8. List the types of surveillance technology available to police and the constitutional principles that govern their use....

Top reviews

AS

Jan 23, 2020

Highly engaging and interesting! Absolutely loved learning this :) [although keep in mind if you want to get the certificate, it may take a while due to the need for multiple peer reviews]

MR

Jul 2, 2023

The course was well designed, delivered and included important topics of US Criminal Justice. The learning was enjoyable as well as kind of depressing (because of the subject matter).

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51 - 58 of 58 Reviews for Hot Topics in Criminal Justice

By Ibtissam K

•

Dec 8, 2021

PARFAIT

By Ashok K S

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Jul 28, 2021

Superb

By Kathy A M

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Feb 20, 2023

The course was very interesting but I was unable to access several of the youtube videos. consequently I was not able to complete the course

By Nathan C

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Feb 1, 2024

really hard course to finish

By L A A

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Jan 8, 2025

I think this is for US focussed citizens. I am from the UK and was not particularly interested in the US. Also found the professor difficult to listen to at times and remain focussed.

By Joel E S D

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Jan 10, 2025

Without feed back in the final quiz and can't see the mistakes is nice for coursera keep charge money of my credit card until can't pass

By sumit k b

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Nov 3, 2023

last week quiz is having technical error, everytime i am getting 78% where the passing marks in 80%.

By Varada L

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Mar 16, 2022

hard to follow and unending course test