| Semester 2, 2020 Online | |
| Short Description: | Race Diversity Crime Justice |
| Units : | 1 |
| Faculty or Section : | Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts |
| School or Department : | School of Law and Justice |
| Student contribution band : | Band 1 |
| ASCED code : | 099903 - Criminology |
| Grading basis : | Graded |
Staffing
Examiner:
Rationale
The overrepresentation of racial and ethnic minorities within the criminal justice system has broad social and justice implications for those within these minority groups in terms of criminal justice responses, public perceptions and exacerbated marginalisation from the community. Understanding these implications and the associated challenges in addressing them is important for students who wish to pursue a career in the criminal justice sector, law, victim services, and community services. This course may also benefit students anticipating a career in areas such as education, social justice, psychology, and human services, where the effects and challenges attached with the criminal justice involvement of racial and ethnic minorities may also be present.
Synopsis
In a number of countries throughout the world, racial and ethnic minorities are overrepresented among the victims and perpetrators of crime. They are also more likely than members of corresponding majority populations to be arrested, detained, convicted, and receive harsher sentences. They are also less likely to utilise the criminal justice system as a complainant. The course will explore the context and some of the challenges associated with racial and ethnic minorities in connection with crime and criminal justice through a comparative perspective. This course aims to describe these patterns of overrepresentation and to challenge students to critically evaluate some of the major perceptions and explanations.
Objectives
On successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
- define key concepts such as race, ethnicity, ethnocentricity and minority status;
- describe the main trends and patterns with respect to ethnicity and crime and the criminal justice system in Australia and other western democratic nations;
- describe the main theoretical explanations for the overrepresentation of ethnic and racial minorities in the criminal justice system;
- explain the meaning of discrimination, the forms it can take, and how best to evaluate claims about racial and/or ethnic discrimination in the criminal justice system;
- discuss the challenges associated with the intervention and prevention, and in responding to crime and victimisation in ethnically diverse communities.
Topics
| Description | Weighting(%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Race, ethnicity and diversity in western democratic societies | 10.00 |
| 2. | Group differences in criminality | 30.00 |
| 3. | Racial and ethnic groups and the criminal justice system | 20.00 |
| 4. | Engaging racial and ethnic groups with the criminal justice system | 20.00 |
| 5. | Ethnocentricity and alternative solutions to criminal justice | 20.00 |
Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed
ALL textbooks and materials available to be purchased can be sourced from (unless otherwise stated). (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/textbooks/?year=2020&sem=02&subject1=CRI1122)
Please for alternative purchase options from USQ Bookshop. (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/info/contact/)
Reference materials
Student workload expectations
| Activity | Hours |
|---|---|
| Assessments | 65.00 |
| Directed 精东传媒app | 39.00 |
| Private 精东传媒app | 61.00 |
Assessment details
| Description | Marks out of | Wtg (%) | Due Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reflective Paper | 20 | 20 | 20 Aug 2020 | |
| Written Essay | 30 | 30 | 17 Sep 2020 | |
| Online Exam | 50 | 50 | End S2 | (see note 1) |
Notes
- This will be an online exam. Students will be provided further instruction regarding the exam by their course examiner via 精东传媒appDesk. The examination date will be available via UConnect when the Alternate Assessment Schedule has been released.
Important assessment information
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Attendance requirements:
It is the students' responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in all activities scheduled for them, and to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them, to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration. -
Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks for that item. -
Penalties for late submission of required work:
Students should refer to the Assessment Procedure (point 4.2.4) -
Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course. -
Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative items for the course. -
Examination information:
Candidates are allowed to bring only writing and drawing instruments into a closed examination. -
Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
Any Deferred or Supplementary examinations for this course will be held during the next examination period. -
精东传媒app Student Policies:
Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene 精东传媒app policies and practices. These policies can be found at .
Assessment notes
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Referencing in assignments must comply with the APA referencing system. This system should be used by students to format details of the information sources they have cited in their work. The APA style to be used is defined by the USQ library's referencing guide. These guides can be found at
Evaluation and benchmarking
In meeting the 精东传媒app鈥檚 aims to establish quality learning and teaching for all programs, this course monitors and ensures quality assurance and improvements in at least two ways. This course and is benchmarked against the internal USQ accreditation/reaccreditation processes which include (i) stringent standards in the independent accreditation of its academic programs, (ii) close integration between business and academic planning, and (iii) regular and rigorous review.