Available in 2024
Course code

CRIM2020

Units

10 units

Level

2000 level

Course handbook

Description

This course introduces students to the key concepts and principles that underpin criminal laws in NSW. Students examine the way criminal responsibility a) attaches to certain behaviours, b) is processed via the agencies of the State, and, finally, c) the disposition of offences by way of sentencing, bail, and parole. These issues are examined by highlighting certain criminal laws in NSW and Australia that demonstrate challenges in how we criminalise behaviour and conduct and how people are processed through the criminal justice system. Utilising case studies of specific criminal offences, students develop an understanding of the political and social forces that influence criminal law, procedure, and sentencing. The course examines how criminalisation affects fundamental human rights, social justice, and disparities in the criminal justice system.


Availability2024 Course Timetables

Online

  • Semester 1 - 2024

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of the course students will be able to:

1. Interpret the psychological, biological, and environmental factors that lead to criminal and anti-social behaviour

2. Compare the key causes of criminal victimisation

3. Explain the fundamental principles involved in understanding threat

4. Evaluate violence intervention strategies

5. Apply the core criminal psychological elements in a criminal profiling case study


Content

  • Criminalisation
  • Fair Trial Rights
  • Law and Order Politics
  • Sources of Criminal Law
  • Criminal Procedure
  • Substantive Offences (selected)
  • Defences to Criminal Liability (selected)
  • Sentencing and Punishment

Assumed knowledge

20 units of CRIM or PSYC coded courses at 1000 level


Assessment items

Quiz: Quiz

Essay: Essay

Case Study / Problem Based Learning: Case study: Criminal profiling


Contact hours

Semester 1 - 2024 - Online

Self-Directed Learning-1
  • Online 10 hour(s) per week(s) for 12 week(s) starting in week 1

Course outline