Unit Synopsis
Systems of social control can possess a different character depending on whether you are a proponent of regulation or the subject of it. In this unit you will explore the ideas of conformity and delinquency through the lens of regulatory and systems theories in order to understand the impact of the criminal justice system on non-conforming members of society. Regulatory standards change over time and you will consider the history of moral and social regulation and achieve an appreciation of the influence of changing social mores on the criminal justice system, on outsiders and on marginalised communities. These mechanisms of control, both formal and informal, involve an intersection of criminal justice with other disciplines and agencies such as mental health or public planning. In contrast you will also examine the role of other regulatory systems, such as human rights and civil liberties, in protecting individuals from authoritarian control. During this unit you will debate a gamut of different issues including regulation of sexuality, drug use (illicit and legal drugs), control of youth cultures, hate crime, causing offense and supporting terrorism.
Details
| Level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 2 |
| 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 2 - 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. Case Study | 40% |
| 2. Online Quiz(zes) | 20% |
| 3. Learning logs / diaries / Journal / log books | 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 2 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 90.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 15.87% 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: Student correspondence
Students enjoyed the guest lectures throughout the Unit and found them beneficial for their learning
A range of guest lectures from industry experts including criminologists, psychologists, practitioners and activists will be included in the Unit in order to present a diverse array of voices and perspectives.
The guest lectures were maintained for 2025, and were well received.
Source: SUTE
Students found the UC's teaching style to be inclusive and engaging
The UC will maintain their open and engaging teaching style in future iterations of the unit.
The UC maintained an inclusive teaching style and encouraged open communication and collaboration in the unit.
Source: SUTE
Students found the Unit content engaging and interesting
The contemporary criminological topics will be reviewed and updated where necessary to maintain the cutting edge and engaging content of the unit.
Currency and contemporariness were maintained with updated materials and references to current news/social topics happening in real time.
Source: SUTE, Student communication
The UC was commended by students for allowing and exploring expression of differing viewpoints and encouraging open communication during workshops
The UC will maintain the open style of workshops and continue to encourage the sharing of viewpoints in relation to unit content and relevant current affairs.
In Progress
Source: Student communication
Students enjoyed the guest lectures and found them beneficial for their learning and application of knowledge to real world contexts.
The UC will maintain the guest lecture series for 2026.
In Progress
Source: SUTE
Students found the Unit content engaging and interesting
The contemporary criminological topics will be reviewed and updated where necessary to maintain the cutting edge and engaging content of the unit.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Analyse how different concepts of delinquency and social order define the regulatory role of the criminal justice system
- Appraise the situation of socially marginalised people who are subject to systems of authoritarian control
- Explain the social, historical and cultural intersection of systems of control originating in different disciplines and institutions
- Identify cases of social control and critically examine the regulatory foundation and assessment of risk
- Use regulatory theory to examine the methods by which societies seek to control behaviour through criminal law and consider balancing protections such as human rights.
No external accreditation is relevant to this award.
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Case Study | • | • | • | • | |
| 2 - Online Quiz(zes) | • | • | |||
| 3 - Learning logs / diaries / Journal / log books | • | • | • | • | |
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 3 - Critical Thinking | • | • | • | • | • |
| 4 - Information Literacy | • | • | • | • | • |
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | • | • | • | • | • |
| 8 - Ethical practice | • | • | |||
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |