Criminal Justice (CRJS) 425

Overview

Criminal Justice 425: White–Collar Crime and Investigation, a three–credit, senior–level course that examines the increasing and costly non–violent crimes perpetrated within the Canadian business environment. You will be introduced to the major current perspectives within the field of financial investigations, and the theoretical principles and applications of financial investigative techniques. These discussions will include information on accounting procedures, methods of tracing funds, banking and financial record–keeping, and interviewing as applied to detecting and resolving financial crime.

Criminal Justice 425 begins by examining those activities that are defined as white–collar crime, meaning that they involve intentional deception and are enabled by the occupational status and power of the offender. This type of criminal activity includes the offences of fraud, theft, money laundering, and they can occur in a variety of occupational settings including large corporations, publicly traded companies, or various levels of government. There are often elaborate attempts to avoid detection. Perpetrators are often investigated and prosecuted using similar white-collar crime investigative procedures and legal measures. In this respect, you will be introduced to the white-collar crime investigative process and to the global dimensions of this type of criminal activity.

Outline

Criminal Justice 425: White-Collar Crime and Investigation comprises twelve units as follows:

Unit 1: Defining White-Collar Crime

Unit 2: Studying White–Collar Crime

Unit 3: The Impact of White–Collar Crime

Unit 4: The Law of Fraud in Canada

Unit 5: Money Laundering in Canada

Unit 6: Policing White–Collar Crime

Unit 7: The Fraud Investigation

Unit 8: The Forensic Accountant's Investigation

Unit 9: Contemporary Scams and Frauds

Unit 10: White–Collar Crimes: Case Studies

Unit 11: Forensic Accounting: Methods and Techniques

Unit 12: Challenges, Issues and Opportunities in Responding to White–Collar Crime

Evaluation

To receive credit for CRJS 425, you must achieve a grade of at least 50 percent on the course assignments and a grade of at least 50 percent on the final examination. The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:

Assign. 1	Assign. 2	Assign. 3	Assign. 4 (Essay)	Final Exam	Total
10%	10%	20%	30%	30%	100%

The final examination for this course must be taken online with an AU-approved exam invigilator at an approved invigilation centre. It is your responsibility to ensure your chosen invigilation centre can accommodate online exams. For a list of invigilators who can accommodate online exams, visit the Exam Invigilation Network.

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.

Course Materials

Textbook

Readings

All other readings for this course are available in the Digital Reading Room (DRR). You will be directed to the appropriate readings throughout the course.