# Administration of Justice (AJ) courses

Allan Hancock College · 2026-2027 Catalog · 17 courses

Source: https://hancockcollege.curriqunet.com/catalog/iq/28544/28854/31335

"Offered" lists sections in this catalog year's class schedules: Summer 2026, Fall 2026, Winter 2027, Spring 2027.

### AJ 101 — Introduction to Criminal Justice

- **Units:** 3
- **Advisory:** Eligibility for ENGL C1000
- **C-ID:** AJ 110
- **Transfers to:** CSU, UC
- **Offered:** Summer 2026, 1 section (/c/allan-hancock-college/schedule/summer-2026/aj.md); Fall 2026, 5 sections (/c/allan-hancock-college/schedule/fall-2026/aj.md); Spring 2027, 6 sections (/c/allan-hancock-college/schedule/spring-2027/aj.md)
- Grading Method: Letter Grade or Pass/No Pass

This course introduces students to the characteristics of the criminal justice system in the United States. Focus is placed on examining crime measurement, theoretical explanations of crime, responses to crime, components of the system, and current challenges to the system. The course examines the evolution of the principles and approaches utilized by the justice system and the evolving forces which have shaped those principles and approaches. Although justice structure and process is examined in a cross cultural context, emphasis is placed on the U.S. justice system, particularly the structure and function of U.S. law enforcement, courts, and corrections. Students are introduced to the origins and development of criminal law, legal process, and sentencing and incarceration policies.

### AJ 102 — Criminal Procedures

- **Units:** 3
- **Advisory:** Eligibility for ENGL C1000
- **C-ID:** AJ 122
- **Transfers to:** CSU
- **Offered:** Fall 2026, 2 sections (/c/allan-hancock-college/schedule/fall-2026/aj.md); Spring 2027, 2 sections (/c/allan-hancock-college/schedule/spring-2027/aj.md)
- Grading Method: Letter Grade or Pass/No Pass

This course provides an examination and analysis of due process in criminal proceedings from pre-arrest through trial and appeal utilizing statutory law and state and constitutional law precedents.

### AJ 103 — Concepts of Criminal Law

- **Units:** 3
- **Advisory:** Eligibility for ENGL C1000
- **C-ID:** AJ 120
- **Transfers to:** CSU
- **Offered:** Fall 2026, 4 sections (/c/allan-hancock-college/schedule/fall-2026/aj.md); Spring 2027, 3 sections (/c/allan-hancock-college/schedule/spring-2027/aj.md)
- Grading Method: Letter Grade or Pass/No Pass

This course offers an analysis of the doctrines of criminal liability in the United States and the classification of crimes against persons, property, morals, and public welfare. Special emphasis is placed on the classification of crime, the general elements of crime, the definitions of common and statutory law, and the nature of acceptable evidence. This course utilizes case law and case studies to introduce students to criminal law. The completion of this course offers a foundation upon which upper-division criminal justice course will build. The course will also include some limited discussion of prosecution and defense decision making, criminal culpability, and defenses to crimes.

### AJ 104 — Legal Aspects of Evidence

- **Units:** 3
- **Advisory:** Eligibility for ENGL C1000
- **C-ID:** AJ 124
- **Transfers to:** CSU
- **Offered:** Fall 2026, 1 section (/c/allan-hancock-college/schedule/fall-2026/aj.md); Spring 2027, 1 section (/c/allan-hancock-college/schedule/spring-2027/aj.md)
- Grading Method: Letter Grade or Pass/No Pass

This course examines categories of evidence and legal rules governing its admission and exclusion in the criminal process. Origin, development, philosophy and constitutional basis of evidence; constitutional and procedural considerations affecting arrest; search and seizure, kinds and degrees of evidence and rules governing admissibility; and judicial decisions interpreting individual rights and case studies.

### AJ 105 — Community Relations

- **Units:** 3
- **C-ID:** AJ 160
- **Transfers to:** CSU, UC
- **Offered:** Fall 2026, 2 sections (/c/allan-hancock-college/schedule/fall-2026/aj.md); Spring 2027, 1 section (/c/allan-hancock-college/schedule/spring-2027/aj.md)
- Grading Method: Letter Grade or Pass/No Pass

This course examines the complex, dynamic relationship between communities and the justice system in addressing crime and conflict with an emphasis on the challenges and prospects of administering justice within a diverse multicultural population. Topics covered may include crime prevention, restorative justice, conflict resolution, and ethics.

### AJ 106 — Police Patrol Procedures

- **Units:** 3
- **C-ID:** N/A
- **Transfers to:** CSU
- **Offered:** Fall 2026, 2 sections (/c/allan-hancock-college/schedule/fall-2026/aj.md); Spring 2027, 1 section (/c/allan-hancock-college/schedule/spring-2027/aj.md)
- Course Offered: Fall
- Grading Method: Letter Grade or Pass/No Pass

A study of policing in our society and the corresponding relationship to the Administration of Justice system. Topics include: policing, homeland security, community policing, patrol preparations, field observations/interviews, police ethics and professionalism, and public service responsibilities.

### AJ 111 — Criminal Investigation

- **Units:** 3
- **Advisory:** eligibility for ENGL C1000
- **C-ID:** AJ 140
- **Transfers to:** CSU
- **Offered:** Fall 2026, 1 section (/c/allan-hancock-college/schedule/fall-2026/aj.md); Spring 2027, 1 section (/c/allan-hancock-college/schedule/spring-2027/aj.md)
- Grading Method: Letter Grade or Pass/No Pass

This course addresses the techniques, procedures, and ethical issues in the investigation of crime, including organization of the investigative process, crime scene searches, interviewing and interrogating, surveillance, source of information, utility of evidence, scientific analysis of evidence and the role of the investigator in the trial process.

### AJ 115 — Introduction to Criminology

- **Units:** 3
- **C-ID:** No
- **Transfers to:** CSU, UC
- **Offered:** Spring 2027, 1 section (/c/allan-hancock-college/schedule/spring-2027/aj.md)
- Course Offered: Fall
- Grading Method: Letter Grade or Pass/No Pass

Theories of the causes of criminal behavior, focusing on the person and the group; criminal behavior systems; the police behavioral response to criminal activity and its nature and causes.

### AJ 120 — Juvenile Law and Procedures

- **Units:** 3
- **Advisory:** Eligibility for ENGL C1000
- **C-ID:** AJ 220
- **Transfers to:** CSU
- **Offered:** Fall 2026, 1 section (/c/allan-hancock-college/schedule/fall-2026/aj.md); Spring 2027, 1 section (/c/allan-hancock-college/schedule/spring-2027/aj.md)
- Grading Method: Letter Grade or Pass/No Pass

This course is an examination of the origin, development, and organization of the Juvenile Justice System as it evolved in the American Justice System. The course explores the theories that focuses on Juvenile Law, courts and processes, and the constitutional protections extended to juveniles administered in the American Justice System.

### AJ 121 — Ethical Reasoning in Criminal Justice

- **Units:** 3
- **Transfers to:** CSU
- **Offered:** Fall 2026, 1 section (/c/allan-hancock-college/schedule/fall-2026/aj.md); Spring 2027, 1 section (/c/allan-hancock-college/schedule/spring-2027/aj.md)
- Course Offered: Spring, Fall
- Grading Method: Letter Grade Only

Students examine concepts and theories related to ethics, moral reasoning, conduct and character, and procedural justice standards specific to U.S. public policy, law, and the criminal justice system. The role of ethics in a pluralistic society, ethical challenges for criminal justice professionals, concepts of leadership, and application of ethical and moral decision-making are explored.

### AJ 130 — Introduction to Corrections

- **Units:** 3
- **Advisory:** Eligibility for ENGL C1000
- **C-ID:** AJ 200
- **Transfers to:** CSU
- **Offered:** Fall 2026, 1 section (/c/allan-hancock-college/schedule/fall-2026/aj.md); Spring 2027, 1 section (/c/allan-hancock-college/schedule/spring-2027/aj.md)
- Grading Method: Letter Grade or Pass/No Pass

This course provides a critical analysis of punishment, the various types of punishment, alternatives to punishment, and the impact of punishment on the Criminal Justice System. A Critical examination of the types of Correctional institutions and the clients housed in each institution.

### AJ 149 — Work Experience Education

- **Units:** 1-8
- **Offered:** not on the Summer 2026, Fall 2026, Winter 2027, Spring 2027 schedules
- Limitation on Enrollment: To participate in Work Experience Education: (1) students must be working at a job within their major, (2) students must be able to become involved in new or expanded responsibilities on the job, (3) the employer must be willing to cooperate with the college in the supervision and evaluation of the student and (4) the student must attend all coordination/consultation meetings in addition to other work and class responsibilities. NUMBER OF TIMES COURSE CAN BE REPEATED: Students enrolled in WEE 149 may earn up to 8 units of credit per semester not to exceed 16 units in total. Any units earned in any other Work Experience Education course will be included in the 16 unit maximum. WEE Units (paid or unpaid): 1 unit per 54 hours up to the maximum allowable units.
- Course Offered: Spring, Summer, Fall
- Grading Method: Letter Grade or Pass/No Pass

Supervised employment extends classroom-based learning through an on-the-job related learning environment toward the student's career and educational goals. In addition, these work experiences improve the student's basic work skills and professional competencies by creating career awareness, improving work habits and fostering positive workplace attitudes.

### AJ 150 — Introduction to Forensics

- **Units:** 3
- **Advisory:** or eligibility for ENGL C1000
- **C-ID:** AJ 150
- **Transfers to:** CSU
- **Offered:** Spring 2027, 1 section (/c/allan-hancock-college/schedule/spring-2027/aj.md)
- Course Offered: Spring, Fall
- Grading Method: Letter Grade or Pass/No Pass

This course provides an introduction to the role of forensics in criminal investigations. It examines the methods utilized in the forensic analysis of crime scenes, pattern evidence, instruments, firearms, questioned documents and controlled substances.

### AJ 160 — Introduction to Cybercrime

- **Units:** 3
- **Transfers to:** CSU
- **Offered:** Fall 2026, 1 section (/c/allan-hancock-college/schedule/fall-2026/aj.md); Spring 2027, 1 section (/c/allan-hancock-college/schedule/spring-2027/aj.md)
- Course Offered: Spring, Fall
- Grading Method: Letter Grade or Pass/No Pass

This introductory course provides students with the fundamental knowledge in Information Technology and Cybersecurity. Topics address cybercrime and cybersecurity, including the internet and communication technologies, addressing how they present new challenges to collective safety, social order and stability, economic prosperity and political liberty. Cybersecurity essentials, OS installation and hardening, Windows and Linux administration, networking fundamentals and basics of cloud computing.

### AJ 162 — Ethical Hacking

- **Units:** 3
- **Transfers to:** CSU
- **Offered:** Fall 2026, 1 section (/c/allan-hancock-college/schedule/fall-2026/aj.md); Spring 2027, 1 section (/c/allan-hancock-college/schedule/spring-2027/aj.md)
- Course Offered: Spring, Summer, Fall
- Grading Method: Letter Grade or Pass/No Pass

This course provides students with basic offensive operations, penetration testing, risk assessment and management, incident response, security controls, and enterprise network security concepts. Hands on, technical skills will be emphasized. Defense in depth topics such as network and computer attacks, digital fingerprinting, port scanning, enumeration, forensics, cryptography and operating systems vulnerabilities and hardening are covered. This course also prepares students for the CompTIA Pentest+ certificate.

### AJ 165 — Introduction to Digital Forensics

- **Units:** 3
- **Transfers to:** CSU
- **Offered:** Fall 2026, 1 section (/c/allan-hancock-college/schedule/fall-2026/aj.md); Spring 2027, 1 section (/c/allan-hancock-college/schedule/spring-2027/aj.md)
- Course Offered: Spring, Fall
- Grading Method: Letter Grade or Pass/No Pass

This course is an introduction to the methods used to properly conduct a computer forensics investigation, beginning with a discussion of ethics. Topics covered include an overview of computer forensics as a profession, the computer investigation process, an understanding of operating systems, disk structures, data acquisition and analysis, technical writing, and computer forensics tools.

### AJ 189 — Independent Projects

- **Units:** 1-3
- **Transfers to:** CSU, UC (with credit limitation)
- **Offered:** not on the Summer 2026, Fall 2026, Winter 2027, Spring 2027 schedules
- Transfer: Transfers to CSU, limited to UC/crd detrmd aftr trnsfr
- Grading Method: Letter Grade or Pass/No Pass

Courses for students capable of independent work who demonstrate the need or desire for additional study beyond the regular curriculum. Enrollment allows students to pursue activities such as directed field experience, research, or development of skills and competencies under faculty advisement and supervision. Independent projects may be earned in most disciplines. Students wishing to enroll in Independent Projects should contact the appropriate instructor identified in the class schedule. If the project proposed is acceptable to that instructor, a contract will be developed. All contracts for these classes must be completed and submitted to the Records Office no later than the end of the second week of the semester. Students may enroll for any combination (unit value) of Independent Projects 189 and/or 389 for a total of four semesters in a specific discipline. Units are awarded depending upon satisfactory performance and the amount of time committed by the student to the course. Allowable units vary according to discipline, and are based on the following formula: 1 unit - 48 hours per semester 2 units - 96 hours per semester 3 units - 144 hours per semester