Young People, Crime and Justice

This subject charts young people’s experiences as subjects and resistors of social control, victims of crime and young ‘offenders’. These experiences are contextualised by an appreciation of youth crime and justice as products of historical, theoretical and political junctures that have variously sought to protect, treat and punish. The first part of the subject critically explores young people and social control, considering the boundaries between rights and responsibilities, anti-social behaviour and offending, and adolescence and adulthood. The second part of the subject considers young people in relation to crime, as victims and ‘offenders’, and how these categories blur. The third part of the subject analyses systems and processes of youth justice in Australia.

• 1Demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of youth as a site of risk, resilience and control
• 2Explain political and theoretical shifts in constructing and responding to young people, crime and justice
• 3Identify and critically engage with contemporary debates about young people, crime and justice
• 4Communicate effectively in oral and written formats.