Undergraduate - UnitAZA1282 - Introduction to Criminal Justice

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2014 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

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered, or view unit timetables.

Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Arts
Offered	South Africa Second semester 2014 (Day) South Africa OCT-MSA01 2014 (Day)
Coordinator(s)	Mr Emmanuel Maravanyika

Synopsis

The police, courts, and corrections constitute the Criminal Justice System. The "independence" of these three elements from each other is essential to the civil, political and human rights of a particular society. This unit describes and analyses the crucial functions of each part of the system and of the system as a whole. In so doing it incorporates emerging forms of justice and formal and informal approaches to policing, mediating and punishment.

Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this unit students will be able to demonstrate:

A critical understanding of the functioning of the three elements of the criminal justice system and of the system as a whole;
An understanding of contemporary debates relevant to global criminal justice issues from an African perspective;
The skill to analyse contemporary issues in relation to traditional and alternative forms of policing, sentencing and punishing;
The ability to write an essay based on rational argument;
The skills needed to deliver an oral presentation;
Library and internet based research skills.