What it’s like to study Criminal Justice 100% online

What were the motivations for studying your degree?

After a decade of working in an industry that gave me no sense of personal or professional satisfaction, I am now working in an environment where every interaction matters. I currently work for the Department for Correctional Services. If I can assist an offender to gain the knowledge and tools to prepare them for a successful release, I feel that I am directly contributing to a reduction in crime and recidivism.

What are the best and most challenging parts of your role as a Case Management Coordinator?

In my role, I am tasked with informing prisoners of their rehabilitation program requirements as a part of their individualised plan. This is often met with resistance initially and it can take a lot of time and effort in getting them to a point where they can see the benefits of participation. The satisfaction comes later when the prisoner has that ‘lightbulb moment’ and can genuinely see why they needed to participate and the benefits of the program in fulfilling their goal of living a pro-social life.

Why is it important to gain a holistic understanding of the criminal justice sector in your degree?

A Case Management Coordinator fields questions from prisoners regarding SAPOL, prosecutions, court, sentencing, programs, Home Detention and Parole among other things. By developing a holistic understanding of the criminal justice system, I’m able to provide prisoners with important and accurate information as they interact with each agency within the system.

How have you been able to apply what you’re learning in your degree directly in your daily role? Can you describe a specific scenario?

When talking to prisoners and hearing about their lives and the events that have led to their offending, I have been able to identify various theories of crime, specifically interactionist theories, sociological theories and Post Modern theories of crime. Having this knowledge means I can apply these theories in my daily interactions with prisoners and offer advice and refer them to the right services to help mitigate the contributing factors of crime.

How would you describe the online learning experience and the academic support you’ve received to date?

UniSA Online makes it easy to study while maintaining full-time work and keeping up with a young family. The 10-week course blocks are very manageable as opposed to full semester blocks and the support from the Online Tutors and Program Facilitators has been incredible. They have gone out of their way to be accessible and their response times are very quick. The learning environment is very easy to navigate with each subject maintaining a consistent format. I can fit my study in around the other areas of my life without impacting on my family time.