Course results for Griffith University Undergraduate Criminal justice Subjects

Examine crime and the ways it’s defined and explained in contemporary society. Study the relationship between crime and class, youth and crime (and the response), gender and crime, and the over-representation of Indigenous people.

Examine how psychologists use psychological theory and research within the criminal justice setting. Focus on psychological assessments in court, criminal behaviour and responsibility, predicting dangerousness, juries and eyewitness testimony.

Study the ideas and institutions that contribute to law and its production. Examine the relationship between rules, morality, justice and politics. Consider the rule of law, role of judges, human and indigenous rights, democracy and government power. 

Delve into the laws and processes which govern crime investigation, trials and punishment. Consider the principles of responsibility and the functions of criminal law. Examine investigations, suspects' rights, and the importance of admissible evidence.

Focus on the key elements of a crime event through the lens of offenders and victims of violence. Learn how serious violent offences are detected and investigated, then consider how these offences are processed in the courts, via trials and sentencing.

Explore the theories of punishment and the intended and unintended social and psychological consequences of imprisonment. Contrast the individual experience with reference to social relations, gender, race-ethnicity, age and mental health.

Seek to explain the profound differences between genders in crime rates, patterns, victimisation, and criminal justice system experiences and responses. Then consider intersections between gender, Indigeneity, class and sexual orientation.

Commencing with its historical development, including the impact of the English tradition, you’ll analyse a variety of organisational issues and strategies. Understand candidate recruitment and selection practices and the role of private police.

Examine strategies for changing criminal behaviour within the correctional system by drawing on psychological principles and research. Review programs and articulate the rehabilitation ideal in terms of ethical, theoretical and practical concerns.

Study the origins and development of the correctional system in terms of custodial and non-custodial sanctions. Along with privatisation and deaths in custody, you’ll examine special populations such as women, juveniles and Indigenous offenders.