This unit provides an examination of research methods in the context of criminology. The relationship between theory and methodology is explored. The production of knowledge about crime is critically assessed. Sources and forms of crime data are discussed and their significance is assessed. Research design, evaluation and analysis are also studied.

This unit examines the relevance of theory to the process of explaining crime as a social phenomenon. It will selectively analyse the history of criminological thought. Special attention will be given to the cross-disciplinary nature of efforts to understand crime, criminality and their causes. A significant section of the unit will deal with contemporary approaches to criminological explanation including the influence of feminism and postmodernism. Contemporary theorists such as Foucault, Garland and Braithwaite will also be considered. The unit will endeavour to make explicit the links between criminological theory and the development of public policy.

This unit examines the relevance of theory to the process of explaining crime as a social phenomenon. It will selectively analyse the history of criminological thought. Special attention will be given to the cross-disciplinary nature of efforts to understand crime, criminality and their causes. A significant section of the unit will deal with contemporary approaches to criminological explanation including the influence of feminism and postmodernism. Contemporary theorists such as Foucault, Garland and Braithwaite will also be considered. The unit will endeavour to make explicit the links between criminological theory and the development of public policy.

This unit provides an examination of research methods in the context of criminology. The relationship between theory and methodology is explored. The production of knowledge about crime is critically assessed. Sources and forms of crime data are discussed and their significance is assessed. Research design, evaluation and analysis are also studied.

In this unit, students will examine the ways in which criminal liability is established, analysing the ingredients of particular personal violence offences (assault, sexual assault, the homicides) and related defences (provocation and self-defence, 'insanity' and substantial impairment, automatism, infanticide, intoxication, necessity and duress) from historical, theoretical and practical context perspectives. In the process, students will gain an appreciation of how gender impacts the ways that the criminal law and justice system contend with accused persons and their victims. The Law's claims to equality and neutrality will be scrutinised, as will perceptions of discrimination based on gender.

This unit looks at the ways in which the exercise of discretionary judgment arises for consideration in the course of the criminal justice process and the ways in which that judgment should be exercised at each step. It deals with each stage from the reporting or observation of crime, through investigation, arrest, charging, bail, plea, hearing, appeal, retrial and publicity. It describes how actors at each step (citizens, police, prosecutors and judges) confront decision making, the laws (legislation, common law) and rules (prosecution guidelines, memoranda and procedures) that apply and provides examples of the exercise of such discretions. It also looks at the place of public commentary (personal, the media and political) in the process. The unit explores nuances in the conduct of any criminal prosecution aside from the application of the letter of the law.

This unit examines responses to crime and crime prevention with reference to shifting notions of crime and responsibility for crime. It encourages a critical appreciation of the limitations of criminal justice system responses to crime and the necessity to develop a broader approach to crime prevention policy which responds to economic, social and cultural issues. The unit examines different ways of thinking about criminal justice, such as a means of order maintenance, dispute resolution, or risk management, and the shifting focus towards the prevention of future harms. Specific topics may include: restorative justice specialist courts, privatisation and contractualism, security, policing, and approaches to crime prevention and community safety.

This unit critically explores the complex cultural, social and popular intersections between media and crime in the broadest sense. Topics covered include news reporting of crime; media constructions of offenders and offences; moral panic and labeling; media and policing; 'reality' crime shows; surveillance and social control, crime, television and film, crime and social media.

This unit critically examines the development of the modern criminal law and process (broadly, since end eighteenth century). In terms of process, topics to be considered may include the development of the adversarial trial system, the decline of capital punishment, the formalization of rules of evidence and proof, the growth of the summary jurisdiction, and the appearance of 'hybrid' civil/criminal procedural forms. In terms of criminal law, topics may include non-fatal offences against the person, sexual offences, possession and 'endangerment' offences. The discussion of these topics is set in the context of legal scholarly discourse (criminal law theory) and the unit provides opportunity for reflection on the contemporary challenges of coordination and legitimation facing the criminal law. This unit adopts an explicitly critical socio-historical approach to the study of law. Discussion of relevant legal theoretical scholarship forms a core part of the subject matter of the unit.

This unit examines various perspectives on the recognition of victims of crime as participants in the criminal justice system. This unit examines the victim of crime as a dynamic agent of justice by considering the role of the victim in the development of criminal law, the removal and exclusion of the victim in criminal justice, the rise of the victim right's movement, the development of victim rights and human rights, and the contemporary relocation of the victim in common law and statute, and as a participant of the criminal trial. It encourages a critical appreciation of the criminal justice system by examining competing theories of victimisation and the attempt to place these theories into a particular policy context. Through a discrete examination of the needs of particular victim groups, law reform inquiries and commissions, and reforms to the criminal trial, this unit will challenge the major assumptions of the removal of the victim from the criminal justice system, and will critically evaluate the often incomplete and fragmented way in which victims are granted a level of recognition in the modern justice system on a domestic and international basis.

This unit aims to introduce you to the diverse range of anti-terrorism laws and policies which have developed at the international, regional and domestic levels, and which proliferated after the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. Laws will be evaluated in the light of their profound and complex political, ideological and ethical implications for political order, legal systems, human rights, and international relations. In essence, the study of terrorism (and the law's response to it) is the study of the timeless philosophical question of when political violence is justified, against whom, and for what purposes - whether it is 'freedom fighters', or 'State terrorism', that is at issue.

Hate crime has emerged as a global problem in the last few decades. Yet the concept itself is controversial. This unit aims to trace the development of the socio-legal concept of hate crime, causal explanations for hate crime and the different ways in which it is regulated. The unit will examine some the major forms of hate crime, including racist, ethno-religious and homophobic violence, with a focus on contemporary debates, such as: is violence against women a form of hate crime; should paedophiles be a protected category; should hate crimes attract higher punishment than other crimes? The unit will critically assess the international geography of hate crime law, making comparisons between Australia, the UK and the US. The unit will seek to provoke debate about how we should define and combat the problem of hate crime.

This unit deals with the law relating to mental health issues in Australia including human rights principles. Background material on the nature and incidence of mental illness, psychiatric and medical issues, as well criminological and public policy literature will be considered where relevant. The unit covers substantive issues from civil treatment, welfare law, and criminal law. Topics covered will include: the social context of mental illness and the current and historical approaches to treatment of the mentally ill; contemporary State, Territorial and Federal involvement in mental health policy and legislation; the present framework of NSW mental health law and related welfare law including the Mental Health Act, Guardianship Act, Protected Estates Act and Mental Health (Criminal Procedure) Act; the process of scheduling persons with a mental illness; review mechanisms including the roles of the medical superintendent, magistrates, the mental health review tribunal and the Supreme Court; longer term detention of the mentally ill; community treatment and community counselling orders; protected estates and guardianship orders; electroconvulsive therapy; consent to surgery and special medical treatment; the defence of not guilty on the grounds of mental illness, the review of forensic patients and the exercise of the executive discretion; the issue of unfitness to be tried; the involuntary treatment of prisoners in the correctional system; and proposals and options for reform.

Western attitudes toward death have undergone a remarkable transformation in the last century. For many, death now takes place in the hospital or the hospice following the decision of a doctor to cease providing treatment. As the management of death has passed from the family to health care professionals, it now makes sense to regard the moment and circumstances of death as largely medical phenomena. Moreover, as 'autonomy' has taken a dominant place amongst ethical values, it also makes sense to describe and measure death in terms of its 'acceptability' both to the dying person and his or her survivors. In tandem with these changes, technological innovations have transformed the dead or dying body into a potential source of valuable (and recyclable) biological material. These developments have thrown up new and urgent challenges for legal understandings about the timing of, and criminal responsibility for causing, death both within and outside medical settings. These developments have also disturbed conventional understandings of the corpse as sacred. Topics to be covered may include: death in contemporary Australia, the legal definition of life and death, medical futility and the concept of 'lives not worth living', euthanasia (with and without request), physician-assisted suicide, refusing and withholding life-prolonging treatment in adults and children, the Shipman/Patel scandals, ownership of the corpse and body parts, dead donor organ transplantation, organ sale and theft, posthumous reproduction, 'mercy' killing outside medical settings and the jurisdiction of the Coroner. The unit will interrogate these and other contemporary challenges for the law relating to death and dying both within Australia and, where appropriate, other selected comparator jurisdictions (US, UK and Canada). These will be mapped against socio-historical understandings of the changing meaning of death, dying and serious disability in Western societies, and students will be encouraged to reflect on the broader legal implications of these developments.

The unit examines traditions of criminological theorising, research and public intervention that focus on the socio-spatial context(s) and determinants of crime and its governance. It explores the principal sources of data collection, the methodologies and theoretical underpinnings concerned with the spatial and social ecological dispersion of crime and deviance and its techniques of management and control. It also explores the relationship of public safety and crime prevention to public policy/interventions in areas such as urban and regional planning, housing, local government and community services.

This Unit will provide a comparative and critical investigation of the conceptualisation and operation of criminal law and criminal justice both within Australia and internationally. It will compare and examine how and why different jurisdictions criminalise and punish certain behaviours. For instance, it will explore the categorisation and response to various forms of homicides, including unlawful assault causing death. These comparative investigations will enhance the ability to view law and criminal justice from wider, comparative, theoretical and sociological perspectives and inform criminal law reform in a global context.

Forensic psychology is the application of psychological knowledge and theories to all aspects of the criminal and civil justice systems. It is currently one of the fastest developing and most popular aspects of psychology. In this unit we will draw upon psychological evidence to explain and understand some of the people and processes involved in the legal system. Through a series of interactive seminars we will discuss topics such as lie detection, profiling, interviewing, jury deliberation, eyewitness memory, criminal offenders, victims of crime, and police officers.

The Criminal Justice Internship provides an opportunity to experience the working environment of criminal justice agencies. Experience gained through placement with a relevant agency will be complemented by attendance at intensive seminars. These seminars will provide opportunities to reflect on the role of the host agency, the policy context within which the host agency operates, the ethical challenges associated with the work of the agency and the specific skills and knowledge gained through the Internship. The Internship will be especially beneficial to those students with limited work experience or those pursuing or contemplating a career change.

The goal of this unit of study is to provide Master of Criminology students with an opportunity to pursue advanced research in an area of their choosing, under the limited supervision of a School member. The unit is only available in special circumstances, and with the approval of the Program Coordinator. Please refer to the Sydney Law School website for details on eligibility criteria and application material.

Please refer to LAWS6233 Criminology Research Project A.