CULT1024 Introduction To Criminal Justice Project

Format

In Assessment 2, students selected a contemporary criminal justice problem in Australia, and identified 3 causes to that problem. In this assessment, you need to identity one criminal justice solution to each problem (i.e. 1 solution to each problem = 3 solutions overall). The assessment should comprise three parts.

Part 1 - Introduction and Context (around 150 words)

This section should provide a brief introduction and contextual overview of the project’s topic, focus, and content.

Part 2 - Identification of Causes (around 350 words)

This section should be a brief summary of the 3 causes you identified in Assessment 2.

Part 3 - Solutions (around 1,000 words)

This section should introduce the solutions to the causes. Importantly, the solutions should ’fall from’ the causes you identified, and you must engage in academic material in crafting the solutions (i.e. rely on the support of expert commentary on this topic). The solutions should not be based on personal musings, but rather stem from your engagement with the topic and literature.

Resources

Students should engage with the learning materials and their own independent research. A minimum 10 academic texts must be cited in the Assessment item.

Instructions

1. Review the feedback you received for Assessment 2. Ensure your topic is relevant and feasible. Attend Workshop 5 and 6 to receive feedback from fellow students and tutors about the appropriateness of your topic and planned direction.
2. Craft your introduction/context section. This section should introduce and define your criminal justice problem. Information should be provided that convinces your reader that your proposed topic is a contemporary criminal justice problem.
3. Craft your ‘Identification of Causes’ section. This section should briefly outline the three causes to your chosen problem (i.e. what three things cause your chosen problem to occur?). Each cause should clearly articulate how it contributes to your chosen problem, and academic literature should be used to support your argument. You should spend around 110-115 words discussing each cause (roughly totalling 350 words overall).
4. Craft your ‘Solutions’ section. One solution should be identified and discussed for each cause, and students should write about 330 words for each solution (roughly totaling 1,000 words overall). Importantly, students should use academic literature to identify and discuss their solution – the solution shouldn’t just come from nowhere. The solution needs to be directly related to addressing your identified cause.

   Example

   Topic	Cause 1	Solution 1
   Over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in detention – including data about rates of detention for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (to convince your reader you have selected a contemporary criminal justice problem)	The age of criminal responsibility is too low – including academic literature that illustrates how the age of criminal responsibility is creating your problem (e.g. including data that illustrates that young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples aged between 10 and 14 are over-policed and over criminalised)	Increasing the age of criminal responsibility to 14 years – students should rely upon academic literature when making this argument. Students should articulate how the adoption of their solution will help address their cause.