Criminal justice industry placement
Industry placement provides students with practical experience of professional work, in collaboration with industry and community sector supervisors, whereby students begin to understand and enhance their knowledge of work practice. These practical experiences are also the basis of critical reflection and theorising.
All students enrolled in Criminal Justice degrees at Victoria University undertake units of study which include Work Integrated Learning (WIL) commonly referred to as industry placement.
Criminal Justice industry placement
Students in the following criminal justice courses from the College of Arts, Business, Law, Education and IT complete a 200-hour industry placement:
The Criminal Justice industry placement is undertaken concurrently with university academic studies, so that students can reflect on their practice and continue to consider how theory and practice interconnect. This model provides students with ongoing contact and support from the university for the duration of their placement.
Placement hours
Students undertake 200 hours of placement completed in the final year of the 3-year degree.
Placements can occur at any time throughout the academic year dependent on host organisation needs and student availability. Students negotiate their placement schedule with the workplace supervisor.
Industry placement opportunities
When undertaking the industry placement unit, students in the criminal justice courses will have an opportunity to gain practical experience by working with:
- Government departments i.e. Department of Justice & Community Safety (DOJCS)
- community corrections
- justice facilities i.e. prisons/youth justice centres
- courts/public office
- private practice
- community justice organisations.
Industry placement process
Student selection
The Criminal Justice Partnerships Officer will work to preselect and match students with organisations based on the student’s interests, unit learning outcomes and partner organisation requirements. Once a match has been identified, the student is informed and will be expected to contact the host organisation and arrange a placement interview.
Placement interview
The placement interview is a chance for the host organisation’s supervisor to meet with student candidates and discuss details about the organisation and the placement opportunity. The interview might include:
- discussion of the organisation’s services, programs and service users
- project ideas or research topics
- placement expectations
- commencement dates and suitable days and times for the placement.
Students are expected to view this as a professional job interview and present their current resume and Working with Children Check or National Police Check (where applicable).
