Crime and Punishment

Description

Crime and Punishment aims to inform students about the origins of the Criminal Justice System. We will look at the concepts of crime and punishment through the ages arriving at our modern-day Justice System. Students will gain an understanding of how laws are made and the role of Parliament and Courts in this process. They will gain an understanding of key terms that underpin the Criminal Justice System and the role of enforcement agencies. They will explore the various sanctions used in both modern and historical contexts in both Australia and overseas and what the purpose of these sanctions are.

Course Aims

By the end of the course, students will have developed an understanding of the historical development of crime and punishment and the reason behind current sanctions. They will have considered some of the current thinking surrounding punishment and the developing landscape around sanctions.

Throughout the course, students will:

• Study the British foundations of (some key elements of) Australian democracy.

• Consider the English origins of Australia’s legal system and the origins of common and statute law. They learn about the purposes of laws and consider examples of the process of making and changing them. They evaluate the merits and successes of the principles in Australia’s legal system such as justice, the presumption of innocence and equality before the law. They identify the requisite conditions for a fair trial, research issues and events of importance to the community, recognise a range of perspectives, and propose possible solutions and actions.

By the end of the course, Students will have developed a broad range of skills, including:

• Collaboration/Communication

• Surveys

• Critical analysis of a range of historical and contemporary sources

• Fieldwork

• Time management and teamwork

• Public speaking/debating

Assessment

• Capital Punishment Debate

• Old Melbourne Gaol fieldwork

• Crime Survey

• Research Journal