Please note I reserve the right to make changes to the schedule as necessary. In the event that in-person classes get cancelled (e.g., inclement weather, power outages), you will be notified of the instructional continuity plan for this class by email through Canvas.
Semester Overview
Week 1: Introduction
1⁄25: Introductions and Review of Syllabus
1⁄27: A Brief Overview of Policing Today
Week 2: Origins and Evolution of American Policing
2⁄1: W&S Chapter 1
2⁄3: W&S Chapter 1
Week 3: Policing in the American Context
2⁄8: W&S Chapter 2; Kids’ perceptions of police fall as they age – for Black children the decline starts earlier and is constant
2⁄10: W&S Chapter 2
Week 4: Police Organizations
2⁄15: W&S Chapter 3
2⁄17: W&S Chapter 3
Week 5: Becoming a Cop
2⁄22: W&S Chapter 4; Arresting the Recruitment Crisis
2⁄24: EXAM 1
Week 6: Police Subculture
3⁄1: W&S Chapter 5; Danger and “Officer Safety” Shape Police Socialization, Practice and Policy
3⁄3: W&S Chapter 5; Criminal Injustice Podcast, Ep. 138 - Rosa Brooks
Week 7: Police Discretion & Behavior
3⁄8: W&S Chapter 6; Probable Causation Podcast, Ep. 44 - Arianna Ornaghi
3⁄10: W&S Chapter 6
Week 8: Spring Break & ACJS Conference
3⁄15: Spring Break - No class
3⁄17: ACJS Conference - No class
Week 9: Policing in the Modern Era
3⁄22: W&S Chapter 8; Biden’s plan to spend billions on community policing is bad policy
3⁄24: W&S Chapter 9; Necessary but Not Sufficient: The Police Role in Reducing Violence
Week 10: Policing in the Modern Era
3⁄29: W&S Chapter 9; When cities add cops, Black residents could have the most to gain – and the most to lose
3⁄31: EXAM 2
Week 11: Policing and the Law
4⁄5: W&S Chapter 10
4⁄7: W&S Chapter 10; Kansas v. Glover, 589 U.S. ___ (2020)
Week 12: Civil Liability and Accountability
4⁄12: W&S Chapter 11; How to Actually Fix America’s Police
4⁄14: W&S Chapter 11; The concrete effects of body-worn cameras on police accountability
Week 13: Deviance, Ethics, and Professionalism
4⁄19: W&S Chapter 12
4⁄21: W&S Chapter 12
Week 14: Police Use of Force
4⁄26: W&S Chapter 13; Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1 (1985)
4⁄28: W&S Chapter 13; Graham v. Connor et al., 490 U.S. 386 (1989) - Oral Argument
Week 15: Police Use of Force
5⁄3: W&S Chapter 13; Kisela v. Hughes, 584 U.S. ___ (2018)
5⁄5: Study Day - No class
Week 16: Final Exam
- 5⁄12: EXAM 3
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