Crime: Relevant Syllabus Sections: (1 Viewer)

[goan_crazy]

Focus Study – Crime- Relevant Syllabus Sections

Content
Students learn about:
Key Legal Concepts and Features of the Legal System
•types of crime: offences against persons, economic offences (property/white collar crime), offences against the State, drug offences, public order offences, traffic offences, ‘victimless’ crimes, preliminary crimes (attempts, conspiracy)
•sources: statute law, common law, constitutional separation of powers
•the court structure (role of local court, district court, supreme court, court of criminal appeal and high court in relation to criminal cases)
•factors affecting definition of crime and criminal behaviour: social, economic, genetic, political, self-interest
•elements of crime: mens rea (mental state of offender), actus reus (conduct of offender), causation
•distinguishing summary (minor) and indictable (serious) crimes
•parties: principal in first degree (actual perpetrator), principal in the second degree (person who was present, assisting), accessory before the fact (person who helped to plan), accessory after the fact (person who, knowing about the crime, helped the offender afterwards)
•defences: complete defences (mental illness, self-defence necessity, duress, consent); partial defences to murder (provocation, substantial impairment of responsibility), which reduce murder to manslaughter
•the criminal process and the role of discretion
–reporting crime
–investigation, arrest and charge
–bail
–plea, hearing (evidence, procedure, including the role of juries)
–appeals
–personnel (police, prosecutors, defence lawyers, magistrates, judges)
•the role of legal aid
•types of international crime (crimes committed outside the jurisdiction, transnational crimes, crimes against the international community)
•sources of law for international crimes (treaties)

Legal Issues and Remedies
•creating social order through education, regulation and coercion
•crime prevention (situational, social)
•enforcing the law through punishment
–purposes of punishment: rehabilitation (reform), deterrence (specific and general), retribution, incapacitation, reintegrative shaming
•the sentencing process
–the hearing (evidence, role of prosecutor, defence and victim)
–factors affecting the decision: purposes of punishment (see above): circumstances of the offence (objective features); circumstances of the offender (subjective features); aggravating and mitigating factors; judicial discretion and limits on discretion (eg judicial guidelines, mandatory sentencing, maximum penalties)
•penalties
–types of penalty: fine, bond, probation order, community service order, home detention, periodic detention, imprisonment
–penalties no longer available: capital punishment, corporal punishment
–penalties that infringe human rights laws: cruel and unusual punishment (see International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights)
•post-sentencing decisions: security classification, protective custody, parole
•dealing with international crime (international criminal court, sanctions)
•extradition (dealing with fugitive domestic criminals)
•assessing the efficiency and the effectiveness of various forms of legal measures in achieving justice through researching a current criminal justice issue


Morality, Ethics and Commitment to the Law
•the extent to which law reflects moral and ethical standards
•commitment to the law – the issue of compliance and non-compliance

Effectiveness of the Law
•factors to be considered when evaluating the effectiveness of law in achieving justice:
–for individuals: equality, accessibility, enforceability, resource efficiency, protection and recognition of individual rights
–for society: resource efficiency, law as a reflection of community standards and expectations, opportunities for enforcement, appeals and review, balance of individual rights and values and community rights and values

Law Reform
•The agencies of reform and the conditions which give rise to the need for reform
–law reform commissions, parliament, courts, changing social values and composition of society, new concepts of justice, failure of existing law, international law and new technology.


Key Questions/Issues
•What kinds of behaviour are criminalised? Why?
•How does the practical operation of the criminal process influence enforcement of the law?
•Do people show the same respect for all criminal laws? Why?
•Is the adversary system the best system for achieving justice in criminal trials?
•What international instruments have been developed with respect to international crime?
•What role could be played by an international criminal court?
•What international instruments and regimes have been developed with respect to extradition?
•To what extent is there a proper balance between the rights of the victim and the rights of the community; and between the rights of the victim and the rights of accused people?
•What are the implications of plea bargaining for the notion of justice for the accused, the victim, the community and the efficiency of the court process?
•How effective are the various forms of punishment in achieving their objectives?

 

[mofeesha]

heyy

could you help me with the question:
How does the practical operation of the criminal process influence enforcement of the law?
pls im really struggling with answering this one.

 

[Reanna]

•What kinds of behaviour are criminalised? Why?

is that the eight types eg: against person/state, victimless, public order, economic, drug etc

but why???
protection of individuals and society
social cohesion and order
?
?
?


HELPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

 

[jeff.wong]

Crime is any act or an omission of duty that poses harm to the public welfare, for which punishment is prescribed by law, imposed in a judicial proceeding usually brought in the name of the state. These kinds of behaviour are criminalised because they can upset the social order. They are also seen as harmful to the whole community, not just to the victim of the behaviour. Types of crime can be briefly categorised into:
o Crimes against persons
o Economic crimes
o Crimes against property
o White-collar crime
o Crimes against the state
o Public order offences
o Traffic offences
o Regulatory offences
o Preliminary offences

The practical operation of the criminal process influences enforcement of law in that:
o Limited police resources mean that police cannot pursue every case. Police discretion operates at all stages of the enforcement process because of this practical consideration.
o Police must try and gain evidence to convict criminals in court. This practical consideration means that police will use everything at their disposal to gain evidence. This can sometimes infringe on the rights of suspects and the general community. E.g. use of Computerised Operational Policing System (COPS), informers, the collection of DNA samples and verbals.
o Due to the limited resource plea bargaining is used for the benefit of resource efficiency. This places implication that criminals will get a lighter sentence and victims may not always receive justice (retribution).
o Due to limited resources legal aid is not open to all (apart from juveniles). This would mean that there is no right to legal representation in Australia. The offender must pass a means, merit and jurisdictional test to obtain legal aid.
o All prisoners spend some time in a maximum security prison until they have been classified by the Department of Corrective Services. This has attracted much criticism as it exposes non-violent first time offenders to the most brutal criminals in the system.