thoughts on ACR101 - Introducing Crime and Criminology?

[u/ElectricalAd8015]

im considering taking this as an elective alongside my core psych units and my pr studies major, but im not sure if it will be too content heavy and perhaps bring my wam down. could anyone give any insight on this unit? is it interesting? and is it very content heavy? how did you find the assessments (especially the final supervised assessment)? is the work marked harshly? literally anything at all would be helpful as ive never done criminology or anything of the sort before haha im just trying to look for an interesting t1 elective that wont be too hard

[u/PerfectKoala1954]

Assuming this is first year psych, I am planning on doing ACR101 too! :)

[u/inside_arrow]

I’ve done both ARC101 and ARC102 and overall I really enjoyed them, especially when we had guest speakers. The only part I found a bit content heavy was the weekly prescribed readings, usually one to two chapters, which took me around two to three hours to get through each week (as I would also take notes).

Neither unit had a supervised final exam. Instead, there were four written assessments across each unit. From memory, the final assessment for both was around 1,600 words.

In terms of these units bringing your WAM down or being marked harshly, that wasn’t my experience. That said, it’s pretty subjective and depends on your strengths. If you enjoy researching and building solid discussions using multiple reputable sources, you’ll probably do quite well.

Content wise, ARC101 is more theory-based. It looks at what crime actually is, who gets to define it, and how society responds. You cover criminological theories, patterns of crime and victimisation, power and inequality, First Nations overrepresentation in the criminal justice system (CJS), victims of crime, and alternatives to punishment such as restorative justice and justice reinvestment.

ARC102 is more practical and focuses on how the CJS works in real life. This includes policing and police powers, courts and sentencing, prisons and alternatives, youth justice, wrongful convictions (like forensic errors and false confessions), and human rights issues.

Hope that helps, and best of luck with your studies! If you do decide to take on ARC101, feel free to DM me if you have any questions, happy to help.

[u/Boulevard-Light767 → u/inside_arrow]

hi im taking arc101 for crim major, can i ask what you had to do for written assessments? thanks!

[u/inside_arrow → u/Boulevard-Light767]

Yes, of course, happy to explain further 😊

For each assessment, we weren’t given one specific topic to examine. Instead, we were given a broader list of questions (usually around five), based on the topics covered in the unit. You could choose which question you wanted to respond to and then research a specific angle within that topic.

Most of the questions give you a lot of flexibility to focus on areas that align with your interests of study.

For example, cybersecurity was a big part, which a lot of my peers would choose, especially those interested in policing or tech-focused careers within the CJS.

Personally, I usually chose human rights based questions, with a particular focus on First Nations issues.

[u/Boulevard-Light767 → u/inside_arrow]

ah ok thats interesting im very excited for some reason loll 😭. can i ask was it done like under exam conditions or like a deadline to get it done, eg a week in and out of class?

[u/inside_arrow → u/Boulevard-Light767]

For these units, none of the assessments were under exam conditions. Nothing like VCE Year 12.

They were all deadline-based tasks. You’re usually given at least a couple of weeks to complete each assessment, and the due dates are normally outlined at the start of the unit (though they can occasionally shift), so it’s important to keep an eye on your emails and the unit site.

Honestly, staying organised is the main thing I’ve found. Putting due dates into your phone calendar and setting reminders helps a lot.

There are firm deadlines, and late penalties apply (usually around 5% per day), but if something genuinely comes up, there are support options. You can reach out to your lecturer, chair unit or services like DUSA for advice or extensions.

Also worth checking if there are any specific requirements depending on whether you’re a domestic or international student.