Education Overview
VCE Overview
VELS Overview
Exercises 1 & 2
Exercise 3
Exercises 4 & 5

VCE Legal Studies and the story of Frederick Bailey Deeming

Unit 1: Criminal law and justice.

Area of study 1: Criminal law

In Unit 1, study focuses on an investigation of the importance of criminal law and the nature of criminal liability. Students examine the role of the police in a criminal investigation and explore the procedures of a criminal trial. They also explore criminal sanctions, the effectiveness of such penalties, and the fairness of the criminal justice system.

Outcome 1
On completion of this unit the student should be able to explain the principles of criminal law and apply them to one or more cases to justify a decision.

The Deeming case fits the following requirements with regard to Key knowledge:

• The need for criminal laws and the characteristics of an effective law
• The general principles of criminal liability
• Types of crime and related defences
• Rights and responsibilities within criminal law and an evaluation of their effectiveness
• The effects of criminal acts on individuals and the community.

Key skills:
These include the ability to

• Define key legal concepts and use them appropriately
• Describe aspects of current law-making processes and procedures
• Recognise and classify types of crime
• Apply legal theory to relevant criminal cases
• Discuss, interpret and analyse legal information and data
• Gather relevant data in relation to selected legal issues in Australia using a range of sources, including print and electronic materials.

Unit 4: Dispute resolution

Area of study 2: Court processes and procedures

In Unit 4, students are expected to undertake a study of sanctions for criminal offences. They also explore the concept of just outcomes. The story of Deeming highlights some of the factors that limit the attainment of just outcomes.

Key knowledge:

• Criminal trial procedures including burden of proof and the purpose of sanctions (including examples of sanctions)
• Major features of the adversary system of a trial including the role of the parties, the role of the judge, the need for the rules of evidence and procedure, standard and burden of proof and the need for legal representation.

Key skills:
These include the ability to

• Discuss, interpret and analyse legal information and data
• Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of relevant processes and procedures
• Gather relevant data in relation to selected legal issues using a range of sources, including print and electronic materials.

The following materials provide a range of ideas and activities for VCE Legal Studies students using the Deeming website. It is expected that students will choose one or two areas for their work requirements. Students could work individually or in groups to undertake research and then report on it.

Background notes

Crime and punishment

Prison is one of a range of sanctions (or punishments) which a court can impose on a person found guilty of a criminal offence. A court considers a number of objectives when deciding on an appropriate sanction for an offender. These objectives include:

• Retribution - the idea that the offender should 'pay' society for what they have done
• Deterrence - the idea that the sanction should stop the offender, and others, from committing further crimes
• Punishment - the offender should be hurt for the harm that they have done to another
• Rehabilitation or reform - offenders should be assisted to 'change their ways' so that they will not reoffend.

Imprisonment is the most severe of all the sentences that a court can impose. It involves the loss of liberty and the total regulation of a person's daily life. Prison is now used as a last resort. Only the most serious offenders and habitual offenders receive a prison sentence.

Prison is punishment because it takes away the offender's freedom, while the harshness of prison life can be seen as society's retribution. The prison system is also intended to act as a deterrent, so that both existing offenders and others in the community would rather not commit a crime than spend time behind bars. Reform and rehabilitation are an important aspect today, giving prisoners the opportunity to learn new skills that will assist them when released. Various programs assist prisoners with drug problems and literacy problems, and they can also complete correspondence courses. Finally, imprisonment is also designed to protect society, as an offender who is behind bars is no longer a threat.

Important ideas underpinning the objectives of punishment are:

• Crime can be prevented
• Criminals can be reformed or rehabilitated

These two ideas suggest that we are able to understand why crimes are committed and can change the behaviour of people who commit criminal offences. There are a range of different theories about the causes of crime.

What is a criminal offence?

A crime can be defined simply as:
An act or omission associated with injurious, threatening or immoral behaviour considered detrimental to the individual(s) affected or to the interests of a given society, and which incurs some punishment of the guilty offender by the state.
This definition contains three basic features of a criminal offence. These features are that a criminal offence is an act or omission that is:

• 'harmful'
• immoral or 'wrongful'
• punished

Understanding crime and punishment

There are many reasons why people disobey the law. Sometimes people think that the law is not right. Sometimes people commit crimes because the temptation is too great. In some cases people commit crimes because they enjoy the sensation of getting away with it. This is often given as a reason for young people writing graffiti on trains, shoplifting, or joy-riding in cars.

Only a small number of people commit serious crimes or commit so many offences that they lead a 'life of crime' (as Deeming did). Serious crimes include crimes of violence and dishonesty. There has been much research into the reasons why these people commit crimes. Explanations include:

• Social and economic factors: statistics indicate that people who are poor, unskilled, unemployed and living in disadvantaged areas are more likely to commit a crime. There is much debate among researchers about the reasons for this.
• Peer group pressure: this is a theory known as 'differential association'. The basic idea is that offenders learn criminal behaviour from their family and friends.
• Genetic factors: this theory argues that some people have inherited characteristics which mean that they are more likely to commit a crime.

Stereotyped images of criminals simplify the much more complex issues of punishment and the role of prisons. There is no simple explanation for why a person commits an offence. Our ideas about crime and criminal behaviour reflect our own experiences and background as well as the circumstances of the offence. Over the last 100 years, different views on the causes of crime have been reflected in the changing laws, penalties, and conditions and role of prisons in the community. These changing views have also meant that different types of punishments have been introduced.

Next: VELS Overview

Read Deeming's story in detail.