LCRD101 - Introduction to Criminology

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Nil

Incompatible

LCRM101 Introduction to Criminology

Unit rationale, description and aim

To be effective in the field of Criminology, students will need to know, understand and be able to apply the fundamental concepts and theories of Criminology. These are necessary because they are the foundation stone upon which the understanding of criminal behaviour is founded. To start the students' learning journey, this unit is concerned with developing students' knowledge and understanding of the fundamental concepts and theories of the discipline of criminology. This will be further developed in other units alongside their development of skills to apply this understanding in practice.

The unit uses case studies to introduce students to these concepts and theories, and to paint a picture of crime and crime trends in Australia. This approach will help students to develop their knowledge and understanding in a way that links the concepts and theory to actual criminal activity. Through these case studies, students will engage with crime data, statistics and fundamentals of crime prevention. The unit is not therefore just an abstract theory unit, but a window into the minds and behaviours of criminals, and the ways these behaviours are discovered, predicted, portrayed, prevented and punished.

The aim of the unit is to equip students with the conceptual and theoretical lenses they will use to view the content within future units of study.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

Content

Topics will include:

• Introduction: fact and fiction in criminology and criminal justice
• How do we find out about crime? The role of media
• Media framing of crime
• Varieties of crime: definition and measurement
• Psychological explanations of crime
• Social explanations of crime
• Interactionist explanations of crime
• Institutional responses: criminal justice system and policy
• First Nations justice
• Prevention: law, policy and practice
• Victims: law, policy and practice

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This unit will be delivered using a combination of lectures and workshops. Other study components might include on-line webinars, podcasts, readings, discussion forums etc. The balance of the hours is comprised of self-directed study.

The teaching strategy is to encourage students to actively engage with unit content and their peers; to provide a clear link between lecture content and workshop practicum to develop an authentic, case-based understanding (of principles and theory) that (in combination with learning from other units) bridges the gap between theory and practice. Thus, the learning and teaching strategy extends from within this unit, to integrate with other units in the course. Within an integrated learning framework, lectures will provide core content relating to the topics identified above and begin a process of active, engaged, exploration, which will be deepened by detailed explanation and further investigation in workshops. Through direct interaction between students and teachers, students active, engaged exploration of the foundational knowledge they acquire supports its assimilation in the form of comprehension of concepts and theory. Students are then encouraged to test that evolving understanding by applying it to factual situations, to produce solutions supported by legal authorities and arguments; and to reflect on their learning. Each component is intended to build on knowledge, understanding and skills to progressively scaffold student learning. 

Further to this, to ensure students are ready to transition from the Diploma and articulate into the second year of undergraduate study, transition pedagogies will be incorporated into the unit as the key point of differentiation from the standard unit. This focuses on an active and engaging approach to learning and teaching practices, and a scaffolded approach to the delivery of curriculum to enhance student learning in a supportive environment. This will ensure that students develop foundation level discipline-based knowledge, skills and attributes, and simultaneously the academic competencies required of students to succeed in this unit.

Assessment strategy and rationale

This unit is assessed by three assessments used deliberately as an integral part of the learning process to guide and scaffold learning, as well as to determine the achievement of learning outcomes. First, a basic content knowledge assessment (e.g. via a quiz) provides early feedback on knowledge acquisition. Second, a case-study based assessment that challenges students to explain how particular concepts and theories illuminate particular criminal behaviours illustrated by the case study. This is structured as a short-answer paper, with particular criminal behaviours the focus of each short answer. Third, an assessment requiring longer answers from students that extends the second assessment task. For example: based on three case-studies, students would be asked to (a) list the fundamental concepts and theory at play (b) explain how these explain/illuminate the criminal behaviour shown, and finally, to highlight the differences and similarities between the ways the concepts and theories apply across the three case studies.

Strategies aligned with transition pedagogies will be utilised to facilitate successful completion of the unit assessment tasks. For each assessment, there will be the incorporation of developmentally staged tasks with a focus on a progressive approach to learning. This will be achieved through activities, including regular feedback, particularly early in the unit of study to support their learning; strategies to develop and understand discipline-specific concepts and terminology; in-class practice tasks with integrated feedback; and greater peer-to-peer collaboration. 

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Bernard, T. J., Snipes, J. B., & Gerould, A. L. (2019). Vold’s theoretical criminology (8th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Dalton, D., De Lint, W., & Palmer, D. (Eds.). (2021). Crime and justice : a guide to criminology (6th ed.). Lawbook Co. 

Graycar, A., & Grabosky, P. (2002). The Cambridge handbook of Australian criminology. Cambridge University Press.

Joyce P. (2018). Criminology and criminal justice: a study guide (2nd ed.). Routledge.

Mears, D. P., & Cochran, J. C. (2019). Fundamentals of criminological and criminal justice inquiry: the science and art of conducting, evaluating, and using research. Cambridge University Press.

Newburn, T. (2017). Criminology (3rd ed.). Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.

Newburn T. (Ed.). (2009). Key readings in criminology. Willan.

Prenzler, T., & Hayes, H. (Eds.). (2020). An introduction to crime and criminology (5th ed.). Pearson Australia.