Handbook : Unit informationEdith Cowan University

School: Arts and Humanities

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

• Unit Title

  Indigenous Offenders and Victims

• Unit Code

  CRI3102

• Year

  2017

• Enrolment Period

  1

• Version

  2

• Credit Points

  15

• Full Year Unit

  N

• Mode of Delivery

  On Campus
  Online

• Unit Coordinator

  Ms Sharan KRAEMER

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Description

This unit examines the position in the Criminal Justice System of Aboriginal people both as victims and offenders. Students will consider family and kinship systems and attachment to country from before colonisation until the present. Students will also study possible reasons for the disparity between the numbers of Aboriginal people in the community and in the Criminal Justice System and will attempt to throw light on this imbalance. They will examine relevant legislation and current thinking and practice within the three arms of the Criminal Justice System: the Police, the Courts and Corrections. Students will also explore the issues surrounding Indigenous customary practices and laws and the possibility of their inclusion into substantive law.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

1. Analyse the effect that peoples status as a group member has on their becoming a victim or an offender in a particular area.
2. Critically discuss legislative provisions for anti-discrimination.
3. Critically examine changes in public perceptions and changes in social attitudes to Indigenous groups.
4. Debate the issues surrounding the inclusion of customary law into substantive law.
5. Describe how legislation translates into the application of policies in the Criminal Justice System.
6. Exercise critical thinking and judgement to recommend appropriate and sustainable solutions for managing Aboriginal people in the Corrections system.
7. Explain how the cultural traditions of Indigenous groups impact on the behaviours of each group.
8. Explain the role played by the Police, the Courts and Corrections in dealing with Indigenous people when they become part of the Criminal Justice System.
9. Identify disparate Indigenous groups and understand the issues surrounding distinct cultural practices and traditions.

Unit Content

1. The currency and prevalence in the twenty first century of ancient cultural traditions and practices and values.
2. The exploration of the changes in the perception by Australian society to Indigenous people.
3. The identification of separate and distinct Indigenous groups.
4. The impact of group behaviour on individuals when they act as members of a minority.
5. The relevant legislation and its application through public policies.
6. The role of customary law in the practices of Indigenous groups and its impact on their behaviours within the Criminal Justice System as both victims and offenders.
7. The role of the media in the public perception of the minority groups.
8. The roles of the Police, the Courts and Corrections, both in theory and in practice.

Additional Learning Experience Information

This unit is conducted in both the on-campus and off-campus modes. On-campus students are required to attend a three-hour seminar each week. The seminars are designed to introduce the core concepts relevant to understanding the experience of Indigenous Australians in the Criminal Justice System. Seminar activities are used to encourage students to improve their critical thinking skills, communication skills and teamwork skills. A prison visit is supported for students both on-campus and off-campus to introduce them to the various prison initiatives that have been developed to address the cultural and rehabilitative needs of Indigenous people. Assessment methods provide students both on-campus and off-campus, the opportunity to demonstrate their content knowledge, critical thinking and further develop their written communication skills by requiring students to analyse relevant media reports and literature. Off-campus students are provided with an electronic recorded seminar each week. All information is delivered to off-campus students via Blackboard. Online activities are delivered via the online modules and the discussion boards and are designed to encourage students to improve their critical thinking skills, communication skills and teamwork skills. For off-campus students, regular online access is essential.

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant Board of Examiners.

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