Credit Points 10

Legacy Code 201068

Coordinator Rossi Kotsis Opens in new window

Description This unit introduces candidates to the criminal justice system through a critical review of justifications for punishment and the policy and practice of various criminal justice agencies. Attention is paid to the significance of race, class and gender, and how these variables impact upon justice within the criminal justice system. Students will engage with contemporary issues and ongoing debates in criminal justice. Where possible, visits to criminal justice agencies and a prison are organised, and practitioners are invited to seminars to enable candidates to gain a more practical understanding of the criminal justice system.

School Law

Discipline Legal Studies

Student Contribution Band HECS Band 4 10cp

Check your HECS Band contribution amount via the Fees page.

Level Postgraduate Coursework Level 7 subject

Restrictions

Students must be enrolled in a postgraduate program.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:

1. Critically review current approaches to crime and criminal justice;
2. Evaluate the dynamic nature of criminal justice and the social, political and legal factors which contribute to this dynamism;
3. Critically analyse the impact of the criminal justice system on different social groups;
4. Demonstrate advanced oral communication and collaboration skills.

Subject Content

The following topics comprise the list from which each semester's content will be based. However depending on guest speakers and student interest not every topic is necessarily covered.
- themes in criminal justice
- criminal legal theory
- Crime and indigenous Australians
- Crime and statistics
- The jury
- Victims of Crime
- Sentencing
- Prisons and penalty
- Restorative justice
- Victim-offender conferencing
- Terrorism
- history of criminal Law and procedure
- international Crime and tribunals
- Psychology and Crime
- public order
- police practices