JJUA14022U Crime and Justice

This course examines Scandinavian trends in crime and criminal justice within an international perspective. Students receive a sound introduction to the crime situation in Denmark and to the aims and practices of the Danish criminal justice system. Theoretical explanations for crime are presented and critiqued. Crime trends are examined by means of official police statistics, self-report surveys, and victimization studies. The intended purposes of punishment are contrasted with the actual outcomes of both imprisonment and alternative sanctions. The traditional sentencing process is compared with other forms of conflict resolution and restorative justice. Drug policy is considered in light of both criminal justice and harm reduction philosophies. An important objective of the course is to train students to think critically about crime trends and their causes, and to evaluate the logic and effectiveness of criminal justice responses.

The course examines topics such as the following:

• Measurement of crime (official statistics, victim surveys, self reports)
• Crime trends in Scandinavia and internationally
• Causal logic and the causes of crime
• The Danish Police Service
• Prosecution and the courts
• Juvenile justice
• The Danish prison system
• Aims and philosophies of punishment
• Alternatives to incarceration
• Crime prevention
• Drug policy
• Global trends in criminal justice