Undergraduate - UnitAZA2463 - Criminal behaviour in South Africa: A psychosocial approach

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2013 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

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Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Arts
Organisational Unit	School of Social Science, South Africa
Offered	South Africa First semester 2013 (Day)
Coordinator(s)	Ms Tara Harris

Synopsis

The offender is analysed as influenced by multiple systems. Analyses refer to the bio- and psychosocial aetiology of criminal behaviour, classification systems, intervention measures and crime reduction. Attention is paid to life-span development, behavioural disorders, learning and situational risk factors. The relationship between crime and mental disorders are explored, focusing on mentally disordered defendants and offenders, criminal responsibility and risk assessments. The course concludes with psychosocial analyses of specific types of criminal behaviour, for instance, serial murder, pyromania, hostage-taking, domestic violence, sexual offences, substance abuse, and witch-purging.

Outcomes

The objectives lie within five inter-related bands. These concern factual information, sources and resources, conceptual definitions, academic debates, and analytic communication skills.

Upon successful completion of this unit, learners will be able to demonstrate knowledge of and familiarity with the following types of information, academic perspectives and skills:

understand the study field of criminal behaviour in South Africa
apply knowledge of criminal behaviour to particular contexts
demonstrate the ability to critically assess criminal behaviour risks
critically appraise the impact of criminal behaviour on the rights of individuals and that of a just society
demonstrate an understanding of the world as a set of related systems by recognising that problem-solving contexts do not exist in isolation when studying criminal behaviour
use appropriate science and technology ethically, effectively and responsibly when dealing with criminal behaviour without harming society, the environment or individuals
work and communicate with others as a member of a multi-disciplinary team to deal effectively with criminal behaviour.

Assessment

Assignment (2000 words): 35%
Two class presentations: (1000 words each): 30%
Exam (two hours): 35%

Chief examiner(s)

Ms Tara Harris

Contact hours

One 2-hour lecture and one 1-hour tutorial per week

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

Criminology and criminal justice

Prohibitions

ATS2463, ATS3463, AZA3463