This course provides a topic-specific understanding of responses to crime and deviance by a range of government and non-government agencies - for example: criminal justice, academia and business and industry. Our aim is to focus on crimes of contemporary national interest and the list of topics will vary each year depending on current political and criminal justice priorities. Students will be exposed to some of the factors that influence responses to crime such as official statistics and a discussion regarding the use, abuse and misuse of data. Finally, students are expected to engage critically with a range of contemporary techniques employed to respond to serious crime, including police practices and current techniques to control crime.

Learning Outcomes

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

1. explain the main approaches to understanding and responding to serious crimes of national interest;
2. identify the main theoretical approaches to the study of crime and deviance;
3. demonstrate the ability to investigate the literature and apply a problem-solving approach to a highly publicized crime event;
4. compare the main assumptions about offenders in serious and repeated crimes;
5. respond to and critique peer work.

Required Resources

All readings for the course will be provided via Canvas.

Recommended Resources

Whether you are on campus or studying remotely, there are a variety of online platforms you will use to participate in your study program. These could include videos for lectures and other instruction, two-way video conferencing for interactive learning, email and other messaging tools for communication, interactive web apps for formative and collaborative activities, print and/or photo/scan for handwritten work and drawings, and home-based assessment.

ANU outlines recommended student system requirements to ensure you are able to participate fully in your learning. Other information is also available about the various Learning Platforms you may use.

Staff Feedback

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

• written comments
• verbal comments
• feedback to whole class, groups, individuals 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). Feedback can also be provided to Course Conveners and teachers via the Student Experience of Learning & Teaching (SELT) feedback program. SELT surveys are confidential and also provide the Colleges and ANU Executive with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Introduction and overview of 'professional perspectives'
2	Using criminal justice data: The uses and misuses of official data sources
3	Police and surveillance
4	Victims, offenders and lived experience	In class article analysis assessment
5	Indigenous justice: Part 1
6	Indigenous justice: Part 2
7	Working with government: perspectives from academia
8	Practitioner and government perspectives	In class reflection assessment
9	Technology and justice
10	International dimensions
11	Crimes of the powerful
12	Where to next?	In class quiz

Tutorial Registration

ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Learning Outcomes
Class participation	10 %	1,2,3,4,5
In-class reflection	25 %	1,2,3,4
Quiz	20 %	1,2,3,4
Critical perspective analysis	45 %	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 Integrity Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Extenuating Circumstances Application
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure
• Code of practice for teaching and learning

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 Academic Skills 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 ‘Canvas’ 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.

Assessment Task 1

Class participation

Participation is more than just showing up to class.

Below are the key expectations for participation in CRIM3001:

• Students are expected to demonstrate that they have read/watched/listened to and understood the required materials for each class.
• Students are expected to work collaboratively in both small groups and participate in whole-class discussions.
• Students are also expected to listen attentively to guest lecturers and ask relevant and thoughtful questions of them.

Students are encouraged to discuss how their participation is progressing with the course convenor.

Assessment Task 2

In-class reflection

Word limit: 500 words

The reflection can be submitted via Turnitin at the end of the class.

Objectives

Reflecting on learning helps us to reinforce newly gained knowledge and place it in the context of contemporary phenomena and experience. Reflective practice is a habit of lifelong learning and development that helps anyone engaged in a professional endeavour, where relationships are paramount, to remain focused on relevant issues in a wide range of circumstances.

This task is an opportunity to reflect on what you saw/heard and how that links to the relevant materials. It requires you to think about and express your own ideas and insights on the topic, including any new understandings, changes in your ideas and the directions of any new thinking.

Instructions

Choose a topic that you have learnt about so far in the course and write a 500-word reflection on this based on the objectives above.

High-quality reflection focuses not just on what you learned, but how your thinking changed, why it changed, and what this means for how you now understand crime, justice, or social responses to harm. Below are some tips on how to write a good reflection:

1. Strong reflections focus on how your understanding developed over time. This might include what you thought about the topic before studying it, what challenged or unsettled you, and where your thinking sits now.
2. Reflection does not require you to “get it right.” In fact, the strongest reflections often show moments of confusion, discomfort, or uncertainty, and explain how these moments contributed to deeper learning.
3. Rather than simply stating that your thinking changed, explain what triggered that change. This might be a theory, reading, lecture, case study, class discussion, or assessment task that caused you to rethink your assumptions.
4. Strong reflections connect personal insights to wider criminological, social, or justice-related questions. For example: How does this change how you now think about crime policy, punishment, harm, or justice?
5. You can write in the first person, but your reflection should still be thoughtful, structured, and analytical. The goal is to demonstrate learning and critical thinking, not simply to express opinion.

Important note on standpoint and First Nations content

If you choose a topic that relates to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, communities, or justice issues, your reflection must include consideration of your own standpoint. This means reflecting on who you are, the position from which you are learning, and how this shapes your understanding of the topic.

You are also expected to engage with appropriate sources, including privileging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander scholarship, voices, and knowledge where relevant. This is part of ethical and respectful engagement in criminology and is essential to demonstrating depth of reflection on learning.

The reflection will be marked on the basis of:

1.    Depth of thought (i.e. you should express your reflections in more than merely a descriptive manner, and volunteer insights into the development of your own thinking and understanding of the topic) (70%)

2.    Ability to link your reflections back to other material covered in class (and providing relevant citations) (30%)

Assessment Task 3

Quiz

There will be one quiz available via Canvas to test your understanding of the content covered in the course. This quiz will take place in-class in Week 12.

Assessment Task 4

Critical perspective analysis

Word Limit: 1,800 words (+/- 10%)

Due Date: Thursday, 29 October 2026 11:59pm

Objectives

This task invites you to critically explore how crime is represented through different perspectives—such as media, policy, lived experience, or academic discourse—and reflect on how these representations shape public understanding and criminological knowledge.

You will create a Critical Perspective Analysis that brings together personal reflection, theory, and real-world representations of crime. You will analyse how one crime-related issue is portrayed differently depending on the perspective or lens applied and reflect on how this influences what is ‘known’ about crime.

Instructions

Your Critical Perspective Analysis must include the following components:

1. Personal Lens (300 words)

Reflect on your own perspective in relation to crime. Consider:

• How your background, identity, and experiences shape your assumptions about crime and justice.
• What sources have influenced your thinking (e.g., media, family, schooling)?
• What biases or blind spots might this produce?

(Please note—the personal lens does not need to include citations).

2. Analysis (1500 words)

Choose one contemporary crime-related issue (e.g., youth crime, domestic violence, violent extremism, illegal logging, etc.) and critically analyse three different representations of it. These must include:

• One mainstream media source (e.g., news article, documentary clip, podcast).
• One government/policy source (e.g., policy paper, government report, public campaign).
• One source of lived experience (e.g., a podcast by people with lived experience, a community-led blog, community run organisation representing people with lived experience, or interview).

Your analysis should:

• Identify the assumptions, values, and perspectives embedded in each representation.
• Use at least two theories (e.g., labelling theory, feminist criminology, Indigenous standpoint theory, penal populism, moral panic, etc.) to unpack these representations.
• Reflect on which voices are amplified or silenced, and what the implications are for justice and public understanding of crime.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. The University’s students are an integral part of that community. The academic integrity principle commits all students to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support, academic integrity, and to uphold this commitment by behaving honestly, responsibly and ethically, and with respect and fairness, in scholarly practice.

The University expects all staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle, the Academic Integrity Rule 2021, the Policy: Student Academic Integrity and Procedure: Student Academic Integrity, and to uphold high standards of academic integrity to ensure the quality and value of our qualifications.

The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 is a legal document that the University uses to promote academic integrity, and manage breaches of the academic integrity principle. The Policy and Procedure support the Rule by outlining overarching principles, responsibilities and processes. The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 commences on 1 December 2021 and applies to courses commencing on or after that date, as well as to research conduct occurring on or after that date. Prior to this, the Academic Misconduct Rule 2015 applies.

 

The University commits to assisting all students to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. All coursework students must complete the online Academic Integrity Module (Epigeum), and Higher Degree Research (HDR) students are required to complete research integrity training. The Academic Integrity website provides information about services available to assist students with their assignments, examinations and other learning activities, as well as understanding and upholding academic integrity.

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

No hard copy submission for CRIM3001.

Late Submission

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

• Late submission not permitted. If submission of assessment tasks without an extension after the due date is not permitted, a mark of 0 will be awarded.

Referencing Requirements

The Academic Skills website has information to assist you with your writing and assessments. The website includes information about Academic Integrity including referencing requirements for different disciplines. There is also information on Plagiarism and different ways to use source material. Any use of artificial intelligence must be properly referenced. Failure to properly cite use of Generative AI will be considered a breach of academic integrity.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted 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.

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 Accessibility 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 supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents all ANU students