CRIM13007 - Crimes of the Powerful

General Information

Unit Synopsis

While much of the criminal justice system is oriented toward street crime there are important mechanisms that seek to regulate the crimes of the powerful including white collar crime, organised crime, institutional crime and corruption. In this unit you will examine the distinctive position of each of these forms of crime and the major hurdles they present for law enforcement and the courts. You will critically examine the different institutional responses to crimes of the powerful particularly in structures of accountability and the creation of regulatory agencies. You will also discuss emerging areas of study such as systemic inequality and generational crime. This knowledge will be applied through the development of an organisational audit or compliance plan that regulates illegal behaviour.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 3
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 4
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites There are no pre-requisites for the unit.

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 3 - 2024

Term 2 - 2025 Profile
Online

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Written Assessment 50%
3. Online Quiz(zes) 20%
4. Learning logs / diaries / Journal / log books 30%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 2 - 2023 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 100.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 33.33% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: Survey
Feedback
Encouraged my critical thinking and passion for crimes of the powerful, giving real-world perspectives and engaging in productive conversations.
Recommendation
Further develop content and activities that encourage critical thinking and analysis, and practice applying concepts and theories to concrete situations. Maintain focus on contemporary real-world events and exploring possibilities for reform and change.
Action Taken
Additional real-world scenarios were incorporated into the materials and workshops.
Source: Survey
Feedback
This unit has been so much fun to study, and really enjoyed the teaching style.
Recommendation
Continue with approach to teaching and activities that encourage exploration, curiosity and open conversation.
Action Taken
Workshop activities were adjusted slightly to reinforce the importance of open conversation.
Source: Survey
Feedback
Improve clarity of expectations and feedback.
Recommendation
Ensure that expectations for assessments are clear, and encourage questions and discussion of requirements. Notify students of feedback and where to access it.
Action Taken
Students were given additional notices and alerts regarding unit events.
Source: Student conversations
Feedback
Students want more socially critical content in other criminology units.
Recommendation
This feedback has been passed on to the course coordinator and the criminology team.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Debate the underlying social factors that shape crimes of the powerful in Australia and internationally
  2. Develop an accountability-based organisational audit or compliance plan
  3. Discuss different regulatory approaches to crimes of the powerful
  4. Identify the organisational factors and structures that underpin white collar, organised and institutional crime
  5. Use criminology theory to evaluate the success of anti-corruption programs.

No external accreditation is relevant to this award.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Written Assessment • • • •
3 - Online Quiz(zes) • •
4 - Learning logs / diaries / Journal / log books • • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Communication •
2 - Problem Solving • •
3 - Critical Thinking • • • •
4 - Information Literacy • • • •
7 - Cross Cultural Competence •
8 - Ethical practice •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10