Unit Synopsis
This unit offers a critical exploration of policing and investigative practices within Australian and global contexts. You will examine the historical foundations of policing in Australia, with particular attention to colonial and postcolonial legacies that continue to shape contemporary law enforcement. The unit encourages you to engage with complex debates surrounding the role of police in diverse, democratic societies, including tensions between public safety, civil liberties, and the discretionary powers of law enforcement. Through analysis of various policing and investigative models and agencies, you will gain insight into the diverse structures, functions, and jurisdictions that underpin the modern law enforcement ecosystem. Investigative strategies will be explored through case studies and practical scenarios, enabling you to critically assess their purpose, application, and effectiveness in addressing different types of crime.
Details
| Level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 1 |
| 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 1 - 2026
Term 1 - 2026 Profile
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).
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 | 20% |
| 2. Written Assessment | 40% |
| 3. Written Assessment | 40% |
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%).
Past Exams
All University policies are available on the Policy web site, however you may wish to directly view the following policies below.
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of policies are available on the Policy web site .
Term 1 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 84.62% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 11.02% 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: Students feedback - email, in class and in formal feedback.
Students appreciated the evening class to allow for better study life balance.
Continue offering evening workshops where possible.
Class scheduling was not offered for evening classes due to staff workload. Instead, lectures are pre-recorded, live workshops are recorded for students who cannot attend, and Teams spaces where activities and discussion points were provided for students to engage with when they could. Care is taken to acknowledge and address students who will be watching the recording.
Source: SUTE
Students indicated assessment feedback was not useful.
The Unit Coordinator will review assessment instructions to improve students' understanding of what is required. A review of the marking guidance will be carried out to improve the usefulness of assessment feedback.
In Progress
Source: SUTE
Students noted assessment expectations could be clearer.
The unit will review assessments to ensure clearer instructions are provided to help students know what is expected. The Unit Coordinator will run dedicated assessment sessions to explain assessment expectations.
In Progress
Source: SUTE
Students appreciated the study guides and additional resources.
The study guides will continue to improve and be engaging, and efforts will be made to enhance and maintain additional resources.
In Progress
Source: SUTE
Students appreciated the teaching style and subject passion of the Unit Coordinator.
The Unit Coordinator will continue to provide an engaging learning space and deep connections between the teacher, learner, and topics.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Explain the historical development and impacts of policing in Australian society, considering colonial and post-colonial contexts.
- Identify and describe different approaches to contemporary policing and investigative practice.
- Critically reflect on the balance between public safety, civil liberties, and police discretion in a diverse and democratic state.
- Critically assess the purpose and effectiveness of different policing and investigative strategies.
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment | • | • | ||
| 2 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | |
| 3 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | |
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Communication | • | • | • | |
| 2 - Problem Solving | • | |||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | • | • | • | |
| 4 - Information Literacy | • | |||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | • | |||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | • | |||
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |