Race, Ethnicity, Crime and Justice (CRIM20009)

This subject examines the historical, social and political forces shaping contemporary relationships between the criminal justice system and racialised populations. It uses criminological theory and research to explore the common and distinct factors contributing to the disproportionate criminal justice contact experienced by a range of racialised populations across the world, from the Aboriginal and African communities of Australia, to African Americans and Latinos in the United States, and foreign nationals in European countries. The subject further evaluates some of the key attempts criminal justice agencies have made to improve their relationship with certain racialised populations, identifying and analysing the conditions under which practices such as police-community building initiatives, specialist Indigenous courts, and culturally-specific prison programs have emerged, and asking students to consider the tensions that remain within these responsive racialised practices.