This teaching guide is a resource for lecturers
Overview of modules
The E4J University Modules Series on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice provides academics with guidance and resources to create cross-disciplinary lectures, courses, and even programmes in crime prevention and criminal justice. The Modules introduce principles of good governance with respect to the administration of justice, and provide lecturers with the materials necessary to equip students with the skills to critically evaluate the ability of institutional processes, procedures, and outcomes relevant to human rights and the rule of law. Respect for human rights and the rule of law is essential for the stability of countries and the safety of their citizens. An essential element in ensuring the respect for the rule of law and human rights is the setting and enforcement of norms and standards for criminal justice institutions and agents of these systems, as well as for the treatment of individuals that come in contact with these systems. Crime prevention policies, procedures, and practices must also follow established norms and practices that respect the rule of law and protect human rights.
Internationally recognized standards and norms were created to encourage and help facilitate crime prevention and criminal justice reform to improve the effectiveness and fairness of criminal justice institutions, processes, and outcomes. The Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Modules not only cover these norms and standards in greater detail (see Module 1) but also cover the application of these norms and standards to a variety of crime prevention and criminal justice issues and practices (see Modules 2 through 14). These standards and norms are internationally agreed minimum standards, rules, and guidelines to guide acceptable practice with regards to the structure and functioning of criminal justice institutions. The Modules introduce students to the key standards and norms that apply in the respective criminal justice domains addressed by each Module (i.e. justice for victims, access to legal aid, violence against women and girls, etc.). Further, the Modules equip academics with a range of materials that they can use to illustrate the application of these standards and norms within their local/national context. This includes attention to good practices, as well as instances in which practices fall far short of internationally agreed minimum standards. As a package, the Modules aim to provide academics with the materials they need to impart fundamental knowledge and critical competencies, so that the criminal justice actors of the future are sufficiently skilled to critically assess crime prevention efforts and the effectiveness of these criminal justice institutions in dealing with crime, as well as to implement the laws, policies and procedures needed to ensure strong, fair, humane, inclusive and accountable criminal justice processes and outcomes.
The module structure is further detailed in the following sections:
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