Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2020 - CRIM 314 J100

Mental Disorder, Criminality and the Law (3)

Class Number: 5261

Delivery Method: Remote

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 9 – Dec 8, 2020: Tue, 5:30–8:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    CRIM 101. Recommended: CRIM 131.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Critical examination of the impact of psychiatry and related clinical professions on the criminal justice system. Relationship between institutions of mental health and legal control. The relevance of psychiatric theory and decision-making for the processing of mentally disordered offenders. The role of forensic clinicians in the courts, prisons, mental hospitals and related agencies. Specific issues addressed in this course will include psychiatric assessment, criminal responsibility, fitness to stand trial, prediction of dangerousness, treatment of mentally ill criminals and the penal and therapeutic commitment of the insane.

COURSE DETAILS:

This course will examine the relationship between mental disorder, violence, and crime, and legislation and policies that apply to people with mental disorders who come into contact with the criminal justice system. The course will involve a critical exploration of police interactions with people who have mental disorders, mental disorder in the courts, and the treatment of people with mental illnesses in the correctional and forensic mental health systems. This course is designed also to introduce students to the study of the sociological, criminological, and socio-legal theories of mental health and its relations to criminal punishment. The course will also study the effects of psychological phenomena on actors in the criminal justice system. The course will examine public perceptions of mental disorder and initiatives that address the social and structural stigma associated with mental disorder and criminality.

Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, instruction (which is normally offered “face to face” on campus) will be presented “remotely” via interactive Zoom lectures/tutorials/office hours, Canvas and email. There will be no in-person meetings/ lectures/tutorials/office hours during the entire Fall 2020 semester.  Please see the Canvas course container for details starting the first week of classes.

REQUIRED TECHNOLOGIES:
Since the course is being offered remotely via Zoom due to COVID, please ensure you have a stable Internet connection and a functional webcam, since there will be times in lecture, tutorial and office hours when we will be speaking with each other using our webcams.

Most of this course content in the Fall 2020 semester will be offered synchronously (about 90%), i.e., I will be conducting the lecture live at 5:30 pm on Tuesdays from my office or my home via an interactive Zoom call (with my webcam). This option allows students to speak up and have me answer questions live. I will be posting lecture notes after each class to Canvas. Tutorials will also be conducted live during the allocated time. Some components of selected lectures will be asynchronous (about 10%), e.g., watching the assigned videos that illustrate a specific theory and discussing it in the tutorials.

Grading

  • Seminar Participation 20%
  • Midterm 30%
  • The end of term exam 20%
  • Term Paper 30%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

There is no textbook or reader for this course. Instead, you will access all of the course materials online. You will be able to read all the assigned journal articles, legal cases and reports through the SFU Library website or the World Wide Web.

Department Undergraduate Notes:

If you have any Criminology course enrollment requests (course adds, course swaps), please contact a Criminology advisor. Please do not contact instructors for enrollment assistance as they will ultimately refer you to a Criminology advisor.

Criminology course enrollment requests should be sent to a Criminology advisor no later than the last day of the Second week of classes. Late enrollment requests are subject to approval and are not guaranteed. 

Enrollment requests for non-Crim courses should be directed to the advisor for the program offering the course. 


ATTENTION: STUDENTS WITH A DISABILITY: Please contact the Center for Accessible Learning, (MBC 1250 or Phone 778-782-3112) if you need or require assistance, not your individual instructors.  
  • A student must complete ALL aspects of a course (including assignments, exams, class participation, presentations, chat room components of Distance Education courses and other), otherwise he/she will receive a grade of N. 
  • The University has formal policies regarding academic dishonesty and grade appeals. Students are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves with policy S 10.01, the Code of Academic Integrity and Good Conduct, available on the University’s website. Information about grade appeals may be obtained from the General Office of the School of Criminology.
  • Under GP18, the University has policies and procedures which respond to our obligations under the BC Human Rights Code to provide a harassment and discrimination free environment for the students, staff and faculty of this institution.  Members of this community have an affirmative obligation to safeguard the human rights of others.
UNIVERSITY POLICY FORBIDS FINAL EXAMINATIONS WHILE CLASSES ARE STILL IN SESSION.

Please note that all teaching at SFU in fall term 2020 will be conducted through remote methods. Enrollment in this course acknowledges that remote study may entail different modes of learning, interaction with your instructor, and ways of getting feedback on your work than may be the case for in-person classes.

Students with hidden or visible disabilities who believe they may need class or exam accommodations, including in the current context of remote learning, are encouraged to register with the SFU Centre for Accessible Learning (caladmin@sfu.ca or 778-782-3112) as soon as possible to ensure that they are eligible and that approved accommodations and services are implemented in a timely fashion.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

TEACHING AT SFU IN FALL 2020

Teaching at SFU in fall 2020 will be conducted primarily through remote methods. There will be in-person course components in a few exceptional cases where this is fundamental to the educational goals of the course. Such course components will be clearly identified at registration, as will course components that will be “live” (synchronous) vs. at your own pace (asynchronous). Enrollment acknowledges that remote study may entail different modes of learning, interaction with your instructor, and ways of getting feedback on your work than may be the case for in-person classes. To ensure you can access all course materials, we recommend you have access to a computer with a microphone and camera, and the internet. In some cases your instructor may use Zoom or other means requiring a camera and microphone to invigilate exams. If proctoring software will be used, this will be confirmed in the first week of class.

Students with hidden or visible disabilities who believe they may need class or exam accommodations, including in the current context of remote learning, are encouraged to register with the SFU Centre for Accessible Learning (caladmin@sfu.ca or 778-782-3112).