Crisis Intervention: The Criminal Justice Response to Chaos, Mayhem, and Disorder

3 units

This course explores the nature and psychology of the major types of crises criminal justice professionals confront on a daily basis, including domestic violence, terrorism, riots and post-disaster panic, cults, threatened suicide, and active shooters, among others. Students will explore these topics against the backdrop of actual case examples like hurricane Katrina, the attacks of 9/11, the shooting at Columbine High School, and the Branch Davidian standoff at Waco. Major theories and typology schemes that attempt to account for these behaviors will be explored, as well as the emotional impact of crisis response on police, correctional officers, and other first responders. .