units

ATS1284

Faculty of Arts

18 September 2017 22 December 2024
Monash University

Undergraduate - Unit

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2015 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.

LevelUndergraduate
FacultyFaculty of Arts
OfferedGippsland Second semester 2015 (Day)
Gippsland Second semester 2015 (Off-campus)
Coordinator(s)Dr Alistair Harkness

Synopsis

This unit analyses and evaluates some of the challenges confronting the main agencies of criminal justice. Students learn about the various tiers in the criminal justice process, analyse its workings and tensions, and explore community crime prevention alternatives. The unit examines state and federal police agencies, private security, criminal courts, sentencing, punishment and corrections, and diversionary and community-based initiatives. It asks, among other things, whether current approaches to the administration of criminal justice address the needs of various communities (regional, rural, urban), victims of crime and the rehabilitation potential of perpetrators of crime.

Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this unit, students are expected to have developed:

  1. a critical awareness of the functioning of the three major institutions of the criminal justice system
  2. a knowledge of reforms to the criminal justice system and of various diversionary alternatives
  3. the analytical skills needed to think critically and independently about the criminal justice process
  4. the skill to analyse a range of opinions in relation to traditional and alternative forms of policing, sentencing and punishing
  5. an appreciation of contemporary and controversial debates relevant to justice issues in Australia
  6. the ability to compose an essay based on evidence and logical and balanced argument.

Assessment

Within semester assessment: 60%
Exam: 40%

Workload requirements

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. A unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

See also Unit timetable information

Chief examiner(s)

Dr Alistair Harkness

Prohibitions

CRJ1002