Subject Code & Title :- 102709 Criminology
Assessment Type :- Assignment
Taking the most frequently asked questions from students and identifying the key themes out lined in the instructions I have compiled the following document that may prove useful to you in crafting your final written assessment.
102709 Criminology Assignment
Question :-
In approaching this case study you are to take on the fictional position of one of the following: a) a defence activist b) a prosecutorial activist c) a police activist d) a court activist or e) a victim activist. Taking on this position you are to analyse one of the following contemporary criminal justice cases from your chosen perspective:
102709 Criminology Assignment
- The conviction of George Pell
- The conviction of Borce Ristevski
- The over-representation of people with acquired brain injury in the CJS
- The over-representation of Indigenous Australians in the CJS
In under taking your case study, you are to provide an overview of your chosen case who what when where and outline various criminal justice issues from your activist position. Provide recommendations as to how the issues you identify can be properly addressed. Use evidence and examples to support your claims.
Approach :-
This is a broad question but it has been crafted deliberately broad to allow you the freedom to pick the topics and issues that are of most interest to you. In crafting your response, you need to select two central tasks: a) the topic (Pell, Ristevski, people with ABI, or Indigenous Australians), and b) your activist position (defence, prosecution, police, court, or victim).
You may choose to structure your case study in accordance with three subheadings:
1. Overview
2.Criminal Justice Issues
3. Recommendations.
102709 Criminology Assignment
When providing an overview it is important that you provide enough information so that an intelligent but unin formed reader will make sense of the case and your arguments. For example your reader may not know anything about the Borce Ristevski case, so you need to provide the necessary information to inform them who what when where. Also make sure that the narrative you provide provides the right context for the issues you then introduce.
In identifying the criminal justice issues this will depend on the activist position you have chosen that’s relevant to your case study. Try to put yourself in the shoes of the activist and think: what would they be concerned with? For example if you select the case of George Pell and adopt a victim activist position you may take issue with the ways in which victims are treated by the criminal justice system you might dislike the burden of proof in child sexual assault cases, you may take issue with the High Court’s interpretation of reasonableness and so on. You may find that the issue you identify may also be an issue that another position might identify the defence for example and that’s perfectly acceptable. It is also a good idea to try and link if possible the concepts you have learnt in this unit to the issues at play in your particular case (e.g. discretion proportionality standard of proof etc.).
Finally in providing recommendations it is important that they be as detailed and specific as possible.
Your recommendations are trying to solve the issues you’ve raised so be specific detailed and practical. Outline clearly how the recommendations can be implemented and ensure that your recommendations actually address the issues you’ve introduced.
102709 Criminology Assignment
Importantly you need to rely on scholarly and academic sources in writing your case study. When you get to the Recommendations section don’t think that’s the time for personal musings – it’s not. All of your information and arguments need to be grounded in scholarly work. If there is not enough scholarly work for example with Pell and Ristevski you can draw upon newspaper articles instead and that’s perfectly legitimate).
Frequently Asked Questions
If I choose George Pell as my case study, do I have to pretend he’s still convicted because that’s what the question says)?
Answer: No. This question was written before the High Court overturned the case and I think it’s important you engage with all relevant and factual details that are available at this point in time.
102709 Criminology Assignment
I want to choose topic 3 or 4. Does that mean I have to find an individual with acquired brain injury or an Indigenous Australian?
Answer: No. You can talk about these populations generally. What are the issues they face when encountering the criminal justice system and what recommendations could fix it?
I’m going to select a police activist or a victim activist. Does that mean they’re a police officer or a victim?
Answer: An activist is just someone who advocates for that group of people. Whether they’re a police officer or victim is irrelevant – they just need to advocate for that group.
More General Comments
Try and remember that every time you take information from somewhere and use it you need to attribute it through paraphrasing citing or quoting. If you don’t then you’re claiming this information as your own original idea.