Youth Justice

Learning Outcomes

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• distinguish relevant from irrelevant materials;
• manage your time effectively.
• identify and analyse key policy issues;
• locate and analyse relevant legal, political and other primary and secondary source materials;
• think critically, develop coherent arguments orally and/or in writing, communicate arguments to a group of peers and defend your position under challenge;

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• the concepts of youth and childhood in historical, sociological and legal discourse;
• the role of the personnel within the youth justice process;
• the historical background to and political foundations of contemporary youth justice policy, and the popular and media discussion of that policy;
• the nature, extent and aetiological theory in relation to youth crime;
• the roles of non-legal or non-criminal agencies in dealing with youth crime.
• the key legislative provisions governing the response to youth crime within the youth justice process;

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• critically evaluate law, policy and procedure and appraise the impact of new law on the working practice of practitioners;
• assess the importance of political principles and values and the relationship between law and policy;
• demonstrate independence of mind in the presentation and defence of an argument, both orally and in writing.
• construct arguments clearly and coherently in writing and/or orally through seminar discussion;

• The nature and extent of youth crime
• The aetiological explanations for youth crime
• Historical, sociological and legal conceptions of childhood
• Doli Incapax
• Approaches to youth justice policy
• The law and practice of diversion
• The structure, personnel and legal powers of youth courts and Crown Courts in dealing with young offenders
• Community sentences
• Custodial sentences
• Restorative Justice
• Approaches to youth crime in comparative jurisdictions

This module is taught through weekly two-hour seminars. The emphasis in these seminars is on reflective and critical analysis and discussion of policy, law and practice in relation to each topic covered on the syllabus. This may take the form of small group discussions, as well as structured and guided open forum discussion. Where appropriate you are required to engage in role play exercises in order to appraise existing law and policy and design new proposals from a variety of political, policy-maker and practitioner perspectives.

You are provided with module materials using Blackboard. These materials include a module outline, a statement of the learning outcomes, a summary of recent year's results and a statement explaining and responding to the feedback from the previous year's students.

In addition each weekly seminar has a document explaining the topic to be discussed, a brief outline of the critical issues that arise within that topic and a set of questions to consider on the topic and discussion or role play tasks that you should prepare for, to be completed in the seminar. You are required to research the topic using a variety of authoritative academic and official sources from both the library and the internet. Prescribed reading lists are not provided but a core text is recommended which you are advised to use as a starting point for their research.

Preparation for and participation in seminars will develop:

• Your knowledge, understanding and critical evaluation of law, policy and theoretical principles in the field of youth crime and youth justice
• Your ability to construct arguments clearly and coherently orally through seminar discussion
• Your ability to demonstrate independence of mind in the oral presentation and defence of an argument
• Your ability to work in groups as a participant who contributes effectively to the group's task.
• Your ability to effectively manage your time

Formative

This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.

Feedback

• Assessment Type: Formative
• Feedback:
• Final Assessment: No
• Group Work: No

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.