Year
2024Credit points
10Campus offering
Prerequisites
Nil
Incompatible
LCRM106 Introduction to Criminal Justice System and Policy
Unit rationale, description and aim
Criminal justice is administered within a legal system comprised of institutions with particular roles and purposes. Having a knowledge and understanding of these institutions, roles and purposes, and the system as a whole, is needed to be effective in employment contexts involving any aspect of criminal justice.
This unit begins by helping students to identify and describe the key institutions and policies in the criminal justice system. Students will then develop their understanding of these institutions and policies, with a particular emphasis on the ways they help to support human dignity, recognise and accommodate diversity, and promote the common good. As students progress, this unit will help them develop a broader understanding of the criminal justice system as a whole, rather than only the component parts. This is reflected in an understanding of emerging philosophies and trends within the criminal justice system, the efficacy of particular component parts as well as their co-dependencies on other parts.
The aim of the unit is to develop students' knowledge and understanding of the institutions, roles and policies of the criminal justice system.
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.
| Learning Outcome Number | Learning Outcome Description | Relevant Graduate Capabilities |
|---|---|---|
| LO1 | Identify and describe key institutions and policies in the criminal justice system | GC1, GC9, GC11 |
| LO2 | Explain the different roles of different institutions and policies of the criminal justice system, having regard to the dignity of the individual, human diversity, the common good and the need for a sustainable environment | GC2, GC3, GC9 |
| LO3 | Evaluate emerging philosophies, policies and trends in the criminal justice system | GC2, GC7, GC8 |
Content
Topics will include:
- The role of the legislature in developing criminal justice policy
- The role of the courts in developing criminal justice policy
- Law reform commissions and royal commissions
- Police policy development
- Prosecutions policy discretion and development
- Corrections policy development
- Justice, health and disability (including the role of the NDIS)
- Punishment, deterrence and retribution
- The role and operation of corrections and community corrections
- The reintegration puzzle
- Policies that reduce re-offending
- Leading good lives
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.
This unit begins by introducing students to the key institutions and roles of the criminal justice system. This is the basic knowledge of the system they need. It then helps students to develop their understanding of these institutions and their policies. When doing this, particular emphasis will be placed on examining the ways they help to support human dignity, recognise and accommodate diversity, promote the common good, and the need for a sustainable environment. In the later parts of the unit, the different institutions and roles of the criminal justice system are viewed more as a system of complimentary parts, operating through the application of different philosophies. As a consequence, students will develop their understanding of trends in the criminal justice system, and emerging philosophies. Each of these topics is developed further in other units through the course.
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 has three assessment tasks that are designed to scaffold learning, as well as to determine learning outcomes.
The first assessment task is a multiple-choice quiz that will cover basic knowledge about the different police services in Australia. This aligns with the first learning outcome. A multiple-choice quiz (or similar) for example.
The second assessment task will be the production of a case note. This kind of task involves evaluation of the performance of a State corrective services department through analysis of case studies.
The third assessment task will be a report or similar. It involves students explaining the ways in which the criminal justice system as a whole works in ways that aim to reintegrate offenders and reduce recidivism. When doing this kind of assessment, students would include consideration of the different and emerging philosophies operating within the system.
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
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes | Graduate Capabilities |
|---|---|---|---|
Assessment 1: Multiple choice quiz This assessment assists students in developing their ability to identify and demonstrate awareness of key ideas and institutions in the criminal justice system. | 20% | LO1 | GC1, GC9, GC11 |
Assessment 2: Research essay Students will be required to write an essay demonstrating critical thinking skills. | 30% | LO1, LO2 | GC1, GC2, GC3, GC9, GC11 |
Assessment 3: Case study Case study evaluation: students are to explain and evaluate competing perspectives on criminal justice in scenario-based circumstances. | 50% | LO1, LO2, LO3 | GC1, GC2, GC3, GC7, GC8, GC9, GC11 |
Representative texts and references
Dalton, D., De Lint, W., & Palmer, D. (Eds.). (2021). Crime and justice: a guide to criminology. Lawbook Co.
Dammer, H. R., & Albanese, J. S. (2014). Comparative criminal justice systems (5th ed.). Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Findlay, M., Odgers, S., & Yeo, S. (2014). Australian criminal justice (5th ed.). Oxford University Press.
Hughes, G. (2007). The politics of crime and community. Palgrave Macmillan.
Waldron, R. J., Quarles, C. L., McElreath, D., Waldron, M. E., & Milstein, D. (2010). The criminal justice system: an introduction (5th ed.). CRC Press.
Welsh, W. N., & Harris, P. W. (2016). Criminal justice policy and planning: planned change (5th ed.). Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
White, R. D., & Habibis, D. (2005). Crime and society. Oxford University Press.
White, R., Perrone, S. & Howes, L. (2019). Crime, criminality, and criminal justice. (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.