CRJU101-26S1 (C) Semester One 2026

Introduction to Criminal Justice

15 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 16 February 2026
End Date: Sunday, 21 June 2026
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Sunday, 1 March 2026
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Sunday, 10 May 2026

Description

The structure of the Criminal Justice system and the role of government agencies: Investigative and prosecutorial agencies such as Police, Fisheries, Customs, Serious Fraud Office, Crown prosecutors (includes ESR); the criminal courts ( High, District and Youth Courts) jurisdiction and roles); Corrections and related activities (includes Probation, fines enforcement etc, community service etc; CYPS.

When convicted persons get life sentences they seldom spend the rest of their lives in
prison. Why is such a commonly-known term like ‘life imprisonment’ so poorly
understood? This lack of understanding is common to many topics that make up the
discipline of criminal justice. CRJU101 will lift the veil on crime, how it is defined,
how laws are made, how they are policed, how the courts work, restorative justice, the
history of punishment and prisons, and even the psychological make-up of criminals.

CRJU101 is broken into a number of components that will be taught by many of New
Zealand’s leading experts in their respective fields. These components will be woven
together to introduce the broad field of criminal justice in New Zealand.

Learning Outcomes

  • By the end of this course students will have:
  •  An elementary understanding of the criminal justice system in New Zealand at
    both a theoretical and practical level.
  •  An awareness of different concepts of criminal justice, including those of
    Māori and Pasifika.
  •  An understanding of a range of discrete topics within criminal justice that will
    enable them to move into further study within the discipline.
  •  Increased competency in the areas of critical thinking, comprehension, and
    academic writing skills.

      • University Graduate Attributes

      This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attributes specified below:

      Critically competent in a core academic discipline of their award

      Students know and can critically evaluate and, where applicable, apply this knowledge to topics/issues within their majoring subject.

Restrictions

LAWS150

Equivalent Courses

LAWS150

Timetable 2026

Students must attend one activity from each section.

Lecture A
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Friday 15:00 - 17:00 K1 Lecture Theatre
16 Feb - 29 Mar
20 Apr - 31 May

Timetable Note

There will be no tutorials for this course.

Course Coordinator

Jayson Ware

Assessment

Assessment Due Date Percentage 
Essay 04 Apr 2025 30%
10 Minutes Quizzes 20%
Final Assignment 30 May 2025 50%


The assessment may consist of multi-choice quizzes set throughout the course, essays and a final examination.

The assessment will be confirmed in the first week of lectures.

Textbooks / Resources

Further recommended readings outlined as the course unfolds.

Course links

Library portal

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $948.00

International fee $4,263.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

Minimum enrolments

This course will not be offered if fewer than 40 people apply to enrol.

For further information see Faculty of Law .

All CRJU101 Occurrences

Previous year