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Course

Police Powers Clinic - LAWS3319

Faculty: Faculty of Law

School: Faculty of Law

Course Outline: See below

Campus: Sydney

Career: Undergraduate

Units of Credit: 6

EFTSL: 0.12500 (more info)

Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 2

Enrolment Requirements:

Pre-requisite: Crime & Criminal Process (LAWS1021/JURD7121) & Criminal Laws (LAWS1022/JURD7122) OR Crim. Law 1 (LAWS1001/JURD7101) & Crim. Law 2 (LAWS1011/JURD7111). Co-requisite: Litigation 1 [LAWS2311/ JURD7211] OR Res. Civil Disp. (LAWS2371/JURD7271)

Excluded: JURD7819

CSS Contribution Charge: 3 (more info)

Tuition Fee: See Tuition Fee Schedule

Further Information: See Class Timetable

View course information for previous years.

Description

The Police Powers Clinic is an experiential learning program located within Redfern Legal Centre, an independent, non-profit community centre dedicated to promoting social justice and human rights. Redfern Legal Centre provides a state-wide specialist legal advice service on police powers. In this course students will put their legal skills and knowledge to use and gain practical experience of law and policing in action. At the same time students will be critically analysing the effect of law and police practices on disadvantaged clients in a community legal centre setting. Students will be assisting Solicitors in advising clients in making complaints against the police, as well as conducting work on research, policy and community legal education under the supervision of the Police Powers Clinic Convenor.

Through client work, advocacy and law reform projects and a weekly two hour seminar, the program aims to strengthen students’ practical skills in research, writing, advocacy, problem-solving, team work and independent judgment. Students will spend 1 day (7 hours-9am to 5pm) at Redfern Legal Centre each week for 12 weeks. There will be a half-day induction program at the Centre which is compulsory for all students.

Course Objectives

  • To develop knowledge of law, practice and procedure in relation to police powers and accountability;
  • To apply research, writing and problem-solving skills in formulating policy and legal responses to the exercise of police powers;
  • To develop practical lawyering skills, including drafting, interviewing and advocacy skills, while gaining experience in producing timely and professional written work that may be relied upon by other professionals;
  • To enhance skills required to engage professionally with a variety of stakeholders, demonstrating an understanding of ethical, political and professional accountability issues related to policing;
  • To develop knowledge and understanding about issues of access to justice for disadvantaged clients, and about the legal aid system and the role of community legal centres; and
  • To think critically about the role of law and policing in society, and the role of law, lawyers and civil society in reforming police powers.

Assessment

Clinic Performance 100%
UNSW Campus

Study Levels

Undergraduate Study Postgraudate Study Postgraduate Research Study Non-Award Study

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