PCE3010

Law, society and public order

Proposed to be offered next in 1999

Scott Beattie

8 points
* 3 hours per week

Objectives On completion of this subject, the student will be expected to have gained the ability to understand and analyse the links between law and society, including the nexus between social attitudes and behaviour and the implementation and enforcement of the law; be critically aware of the relationship between law and the parliamentary process; analyse relevant socio-legal and socio-political issues; understand the role and performance of law enforcement agencies in a modern democratic society.

Synopsis The aim of this subject is to develop in students a critical awareness of the relationship among law, political processes and society by particular reference to public order issues. (Public order is considered broadly to encompass the study of the ways in which order in society may be challenged and how order can be sustained). Topics analysed will include the extent to which the law should recognise any cultural, social or religious differences that may exist within a society, the role of the law in relation to personal freedom and privacy; the role of the police in a modern liberal democratic society; public order policing; the issue of private security agencies and their role in law and public order enforcement; security intelligence bodies such as ASIO, political terrorism and the state; the policing of public protests.

Assessment Essay (3000 words): 40%
* Examination (2 hours): 40%
* Tutorial paper (500 words) and participation: 20%

Recommended texts

Cottrell R The sociology of law: An introduction Butterworths, 1992
Hocking J Beyond terrorism: The development of the Australian security state Allen and Unwin, 1993