The term targeted violence refers to violence that is predatory, goal-directed, and focused on specific victims. Targeted violence research investigates the impact of multiple factors on offenders, including; prior violence, criminality, mental health, environments, and communities Rather than searching for causality in simple terms, targeted violence research analyses seek to explain for whom and under what circumstances targeted violence seems like a viable option.

This course provides students with an overview of scientific perspectives of targeted violence, and outlines how targeted violence research can apply criminology and behavioural science principles to help the detection, assessment, and management of targeted violence.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. source relevant research publications on targeted violence, and interpret that information correctly;
2. use theory and understandings to analyse targeted violence across multiple levels;
3. explain key theoretical and practical issues in countering targeted violence; and
4. demonstrate an understanding of the conceptual and methodological issues involved in studying targeted violence as a concrete scientific subject.

Required Resources

See Weekly Reading List

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• written comments
• verbal comments
• feedback to whole class, groups, individuals, focus group etc

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). The feedback given in these surveys is anonymous and provides the Colleges, University Education Committee and Academic Board with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement. The Surveys and Evaluation website provides more information on student surveys at ANU and reports on the feedback provided on ANU courses.

Other Information

Please note, that when indicated, written assessments which are 10% over/under the word count are penalised by 10% of the possible marks available.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	What is Targeted Violence? This week, students will be introduced to the concept of targeted violence and how it is prevented and mitigated. Required Readings: Borum, Fein, Vossekuil, & Berglund. (1999). Threat assessment: Defining an approach to assessing risk for targeted violence, Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 17, 323-337. Meloy, Hoffman, Guldimann, & James. (2011). The role of warning behaviors in threat assessment: An exploration and suggested typology. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 30(3), 256-279.
2	Introduction to Prevention. This week, the three core prevention approaches will be discussed; policing, community, and academic. Each of these approaches has a unique role in preventing acts of targeted violence, and it is the combination of these approaches that provides the most holistic form of prevention. Required Readings: Douglas, & Skeem. (2005). Violence risk assessment: Getting specific about being dynamic, Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 11(3), 347-383. Hawkins, Catalano, & Arthur. (2002). Promoting science-based prevention in communities, Addictive Behaviors, 27, 951-976. Sparrow. (1991). The application of network analysis to criminal intelligence: An assessment of the prospects, Social Networks, 13, 251-274.
3	Hate Crime. This week, students will be introduced to hate crime as a form of targeted violence. Required Readings: Deloughery, King, & Asal. (2012). Close cousins or distant relatives? The relationship between terrorism and hate crime. Crime & Delinquency, 58(5), 663-688. McDevitt, Levin, & Bennett. (2002). Hate crime offenders: An expanded typology. Journal of Social Issues, 58(2), 303-317.
4	Domestic Violence. This week, students will be introduced to domestic violence as a form of targeted violence. Required Readings: Hayes, Mills, Freilich, & Chermak. (2018). Are honor killings unique? Killings, domestic violence homicides, and hate homicides by far-right extremists, Homicide Studies, 22(1), 70-93. Kelly, & Johnson. (2008). Differentiation among types of intimate partner violence: Research update and implications for interventions. Family Court Review, 46(3), 476-499.
5	Stalking. This week, students will be introduced to stalking as a form of targeted violence. Required Readings: James, McEwan, MacKenzie, Meloy, Mullen, Pathé, Farnham, Preston, & Darnley. (2010). Persistence in stalking: A comparison of associations in general forensic and public figure samples, The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, 21(2), 283-305. Nijdam-Jones, Rosenfeld, Gerbrandij, Quick, & Galietta. (2018). Psychopathology of stalking offenders: Examining the clinical, demographic, and stalking characteristics of a community-based sample, Criminal Justice and Behavior, 45(5), 712-731.	Online Quiz (10%). Due Date: 11:59pm 25th August, 2019. The quiz questions will be centred around course content covered in Weeks 1 – 5 and are equally weighted across lecture material and required readings. Students are only able to make one attempt at the quiz. they cannot retake the quiz. When students have completed the quiz, they will need to make sure to press ‘submit’ to record their answers. Otherwise their answers will not be recorded and will receive no mark. Collusion will result in penalties. Feedback will be provided on return of results.
6	Spree Killing. This week, students will be introduced to spree killing as a form of targeted violence. Required Readings: Böckler, Leuschner, Roth, Zick, & Scheithauer. (2018). Blurred boundaries of lone-actor targeted violence: Similarities in the genesis and performance of terrorist attacks and school shootings, Violence and Gender, 5(2), 70-80. Fridel. (2017). A multivariate comparison of family, felony, and public mass murders in the United States, Journal of Interpersonal Violence,1-27.
7	Fixation. This week, students will be introduced to fixation as a form of targeted violence. Required Readings: Mullen, James, Meloy, Pathé, Farnham, Preston, Darnley, & Berman. (2009). The fixated and the pursuit of public figures, The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, 20(1), 33-47. Pathé, Lowry, Haworth, Webster, Mulderm, Winterbourne, & Briggs. (2015). Assessing and managing the threat posed by fixated persons in Australia, The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, 26(4), 425-438.
8	Lone Actor Terrorism. This week, students will be introduced to lone actor terrorism as a form of targeted violence. Required Readings: Gill, Horgan, & Deckert. (2014). Bombing Alone: Tracing the motivations and antecedent behaviors of lone-actor terrorists. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 59(2), 425-435. Horgan, Gill, Bouhana, Silver, & Corner. (2016). Across the universe? A comparative analysis of violent behaviour and radicalization across three offender types with implications for criminal justice training and education. U.S. Department of Justice.	Written Assessment (40%). Due Date: 11:59pm 23rd September, 2019. Students will be given a choice of four incidents of targeted violence to form their assessment. This assessment will require students to write a literature review (15% of total grade, 1000 words) on a specified type of targeted violence. Students are also required to complete a critical network analysis of an incidence (of their chosen type) of targeted violence with an analysis of the implications for prevention techniques (25% of total grade, 2000 words).
9	Terrorist Groups. This week, students will be introduced to terrorism perpetrated by groups as a form of targeted violence. Required Readings: Drake. (1998). The role of ideology in terrorists’ targeted selection, Terrorism and Political Violence, 10(2), 53-85. Phillips. (2015). What is a terrorist group? Conceptual issues and empirical implications, Terrorism and Political Violence, 27(2), 225-242.
10	Prevention Case Studies. This week, a series of prevention initiatives will be discussed and critically assessed. Required Readings: Hoyle. (2008). Will she be safe? A critical analysis of risk assessment in domestic violence cases. Children and Youth Services Review, 30, 323-337. Pathé, Haworth, Goodwin, Holman, Amos, Winterbourne, & Day. (2018). Establishing a joint response to the threat of lone-actor grievance-fuelled violence, The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, 29(1), 37-52.	Online Contribution (10%). Due Date: 11:59pm 10th October, 2019 (Contribution), 11:59pm 13th October, 2019 (Peer Assessment). The contributions will assess students’ knowledge of subjects presented in Weeks 6– 9. Students will be required to present a case of a successful or unsuccessful prevention initiative, using relevant publications and theory (5%, of total grade, 400 words). Students are also required to critically assess one other student's contribution (5% of total grade, 400 words). Students will be randomly allocated a peer’s contribution to assess.
11	Threat Assessment. This week, students will take part in a threat assessment workshop.
12	Conclusion and Course Review. This week, the exam content and preparation will be discussed and related back to the course content.	Exam (40%). Date: In the examination period. Date TBC. The exam comprises an unseen examination paper of mixed question types, lasting 2 hours and 15 minutes (inclusive of reading time).

Tutorial Registration

Please register for tutorials on Wattle

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Online Quiz	10 %	25/08/2019	02/09/2019	1,2,3,4
Online Contribution	10 %	13/10/2019	21/10/2019	1,2,3,4
Written Assessment	40 %	23/09/2019	18/10/2019	1,2,3,4
Final Exam	40 %	25/10/2019	28/11/2019	1,2,3,4

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Misconduct Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Policy and General Information 
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website. In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Wattle’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Examination(s)

The final examination comprises an unseen examination paper lasting 2 hours and 15 minutes (inclusive of reading time). 

The exam will run in the final examination period (TBC).

Assessment Task 1

Online Quiz

The quiz questions will be centred around course content covered in Weeks 1 – 5 and are equally weighted across lecture material and required readings.

Students are only able to make one attempt at the quiz. they cannot retake the quiz.

When students have completed the quiz, they will need to make sure to press ‘submit’ to record their answers. Otherwise their answers will not be recorded and will receive no mark.

Collusion will result in penalties.

Feedback will be provided on return of results.

Assessment Task 2

Online Contribution

Students are required to submit contributions to the submission area on Wattle.

The contributions will assess students’ knowledge of subjects presented in Weeks 6-9.

Students will be required to present a successful or unsuccessful prevention initiative, using relevant publications and theory (5% of total course grade). 

Contributions are to be composed of a real-life prevention initiative used in the targeted violence space. Cases can be drawn from lecture-based materials, as well as online/physical sources.

Discussions are to be 400 words long (no upper 10% leeway) and present an overview of the prevention initiative under scrutiny.

Contributions are to be submitted by 11:59 pm on the 10th October, 2019.

Students are also required to critically assess one other student's contribution (5% of total course grade). Students will be randomly allocated a peer’s contribution to assess.

Peer Assessments will open on 11th October, 2019.

Peer assessments are to be 400 words long (no upper 10% leeway). These assessments are to critique the effectiveness of the prevention initiative presented by your allocated peer, not the allocated peer’s analysis of the initiative. Critical assessments which critique their allocated peer’s analysis will receive 0%.

Peer assessments are to be structured as below:

A descriptive overview of the allocated peer’s prevention initiative.

A critical assessment of the effectiveness of the prevention initiative.

A suggestion of two alternative prevention initiatives (and a brief description of the initiatives and their applicability to the case).

Peer assessments are to be submitted by 11:59 pm on 13th October, 2019.

Marking Rubric will be available on the course Wattle site.

Assessment Task 3

Written Assessment

This assignment will require students to write a literature review (1000 words) on a specific type of targeted violence and complete a network analysis of an incidence of targeted violence with a discussion of the implications of the analysis for prevention techniques (2000 words).

Literature Review (15% of total course grade)

Select one of the four presented case studies of targeted violence and write a 1000-word literature review on the type of violence of your chosen case study. The literature review should also include an assessment of the effectiveness of applying current prevention approaches to the reduction/prevention of the crime problem. 

You should use a variety of sources to back up your argument.

Critical Network Analysis (25% of total course grade)

Using your chosen case study, investigate the corresponding report. The reports include timelines of the case, offender and victim contact with services, and details of the violent act. 

You are to use your report to formulate;

• a network analysis of the offender’s network prior to their offence,
• a brief timeline (500 words) of the case under scrutiny,
• a (1500 word) critical analysis of the prevention initiatives used in your case study.

Please note, that written assessments which are 10% over/under the word count are penalised by 10% of the possible marks available (i.e. literature review submissions which are below 900 and above 1100 words and critical network analysis submissions which are below 1800 and above 2200 words will incur a 10% penalty).

Further information and marking rubric will be available on course Wattle site.

Assessment Task 4

Final Exam

The final examination comprises an unseen examination paper lasting 2 hours and 15 minutes (inclusive of reading time). 

The exam is comprised of a mix of question types.

The exam is designed to assess students understanding of knowledge, critical thinking, and application of theory.

The following includes a list of examination rules:

1.     No electronic aids (e.g. laptops, smartphones, Internet-enabled devices, etc.) are permitted in the exam.

2.     No materials (e.g. books, notes, etc.) are permitted.

3.     Use of an unannotated paper-based dictionary is permitted for candidates with prior written approval from the Convenor. 

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically, committing to honest and responsible scholarly practice and upholding these values with respect and fairness.

The ANU commits to assisting all members of our community to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. The ANU expects staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle and Academic Misconduct Rule, uphold high standards of academic integrity and act ethically and honestly, to ensure the quality and value of the qualification that you will graduate with.

The Academic Misconduct Rule is in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. Very minor breaches of the academic integrity principle may result in a reduction of marks of up to 10% of the total marks available for the assessment. The ANU offers a number of online and in person services to assist students with their assignments, examinations, and other learning activities. Visit the Academic Skills website for more information about academic integrity, your responsibilities and for assistance with your assignments, writing skills and study.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Individual assessment tasks may or may not allow for late submission. Policy regarding late submission is detailed below:

• Late submission permitted. Late submission of assessment tasks without an extension are penalised at the rate of 5% of the possible marks available per working day or part thereof. Late submission of assessment tasks is not accepted after 10 working days after the due date, or on or after the date specified in the course outline for the return of the assessment item. Late submission is not accepted for take-home examinations.

Referencing Requirements

Accepted academic practice for referencing sources that you use in presentations can be found via the links on the Wattle site, under the file named “ANU and College Policies, Program Information, Student Support Services and Assessment”. Alternatively, you can seek help through the Students Learning Development website.

Returning Assignments

Assignments will be returned on dates indicated. Delays may occur in exceptional circumstances.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. The Course Convener may grant extensions for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Resubmission of Assignments

Not Applicable.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Diversity and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students