Criminology and Criminal Justice

To introduce students to the history of the modern police force. To examine the relationship between police and society.

This module will introduce students to both qualitative and quantitative research methods in the social sciences. The distinction can be over-stated given as many research projects now use mixed methods, but a difference does exist and it is necessary to unpack it for heuristic purposes. The module will proceed through first outlining the background and key aspects of the qualitative and quantitative traditions, before providing case examples of field work using particular research techniques (surveys, semi structured interviews) within the two broad approaches.

This module offers the study of the main crimes against the person. It will cover the components of a crime including mens rea and actus reus, along with issues of causation and omissions liability. The module will cover the crimes of murder, manslaughter and non- fatal offences such as assault, battery, actual bodily harm and grievous bodily harm. It will then investigate how crimes may be proven by establishing all elements of the offence in the absence of a valid defence. Defences covered include the murder specific defences of loss of control and diminished responsibility, consent, insanity, automatism and intoxication.

Environmental Crime offers a critical exploration of environmental dangers through a criminological lens. It assesses the cultural and legal parameters of causing harm to the planet (Green Criminology) by considering what constitutes an environmental crime in contrasting contexts. The module focuses on a variety of forms of environmental crime, from fast fashions to the illegal trade and poaching of wildlife. The spatial and progressive dynamics of environmental factors are examined with reference to debates on black markets and cultural rituals. Collectively the lectures enable students to develop comprehensive knowledge and theoretical understanding of Green Criminology. The module explores environmental crime as a distinct criminological topic, whilst examining its relationship with criminology and criminal justice more broadly.

Forms of punishment have changed over time from the infliction of retributive and immediate bodily pain (hanging, branding etc) in public to the wider use of imprisonment and non-custodial based punishments, such as probation, fines and restorative justice. The module will discuss how and why these changes have taken place. It will explore the types of punishments employed in the UK since the early modern period, beginning in 1718 when transportation overseas as a punishment first began on a large scale, as well as the social and intellectual forces that have had a seminal impact on the development of punishments and sentencing. It will also consider how, over time, the role of the victim in sentencing has altered, as well as the wider social, historical, economic and cultural factors which various theorists argue have driven these changes.

To provide students with sociological theories and perspectives that help to explain racialised differences, identities and ethnicities. To provide knowledge of the processes and patterning of racialised differences, identities and ethnicities. To examine contexts in which racialised divisions and inequalities continue and are reproduced, as shown in contexts such as education, work and media.

This module provides opportunities for community-based learning through voluntary community engagement. This activity enables students to understand the relevance of their studies within a community context, combining practical experience with academic studies. In addition, it is an opportunity to develop a critical understanding of the Third Sector, and the notion of citizenship. Both subject specific and transferable skills will be developed and utilised throughout this module, thus developing graduate employment attributes.

To enable study in depth of certain contemporary issues in criminology. To allow critical evaluation of issues in criminology and to relate these to theory, policy and practice.

This module aims to examine how crime in modern society is prevented and controlled. To critically examine informal and formal methods of controlling crime. To address ways in which the broader behaviour and lifestyles of particular individuals and social groups are controlled through crime control.

The module will focus on developments in modern punishment within the UK from 1948 to the present day. It will provide students with the opportunity to learn about, debate and critically discuss the fundamental changes in punishment methods following the introduction of the 1948 Criminal Justice Act, which abolished the use and distinction between convict and local prisons and which also paved the way (at least in theory) for a more rehabilitative and reformative approach to punishment of both adults and juveniles. It will allow students a deeper understanding of both how and why we have the current system of punishing offenders, and also ask them to consider the degree to which such a system is effective in its means of punishment.

This module explores the important legal issues that arise from different protests. We will reflect on the history and importance of the right to protest, and how the law has been applied to protests in a range of circumstances and over time - from the South Staffordshire Election Riot of 1835 to Black Lives Matter and environmental protests. This will include examination of, for example, anti-capitalism and student fees protests, as well as fracking/onshore oil and gas production and Covid-19 lockdown protests. Common law and statutory responses will be investigated, but also the impact of human rights law in protecting the right to protest. Protests often inconvenience other people, closing roads and disrupting businesses, but they also fulfil a vital function in a democracy by providing citizens with an opportunity to register their views outside the time of a general election. The question of how far protestors should be entitled to go in asserting their opinions and seeking to change the world is one that confronts all democracies built on the rule of law. This module seeks to provide students with a thorough grounding on protest law and its application in a range of circumstances.

This module focuses on theoretical perspectives, practices, and the foundations of offender rehabilitation, desistance, and the process of change. It explores the precepts of rehabilitation of offenders, what works in offender management, and how the relevant theories and interventions inform these practices and the practitioners. Desistance is introduced as an associated to rehabilitation concept to particularly inform the understanding of the processes that aspire to ceasing offending behaviour (Weaver and McNeil, 2007). Central part of the above exploration is the supervision of offenders which invites exploration of key aspects and methods, such as Relationship building, Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioural techniques, and the Risk-Need-Responsivity and Good Lives models. The module appreciates that multi-agency working remains vital to the above processes and as such the enablers, barriers, and challenges around multi-agency work in rehabilitation are examined. It further incorporates consideration of the elements of diversity, inclusion, and discrimination in the rehabilitation context and how these affect the prospects of community reintegration (Thompson, 2012). The module also aims to integrate examination of the place and role of probation in the process of change due to its direct association with rehabilitation and desistance. The focus of this module enriches the scope of the CCJ curriculum and develop the knowledge from other modules, such as Criminal Justice, Punishment and Society, Prisons and Prisoners, and Theories of Crime. It further integrates the students' critical understanding of Probation and Offender Management and their role within the criminal justice journey. Quite crucially, this module may also assist graduates interested in joining the Probation Service and the relevant training programme (PQiP). The current HMPPS guidance provides that the period of the training programme is reduced from 21 to 15 months if the applicant's degree covered three out of the four listed topics, namely The Criminal Justice System, Understanding Crime and Criminal Behaviour, Penal Policy and the Punishment of Offenders, and Rehabilitation of Offenders, and they clarify that eligible applicants need to have studied modules on at least three of the four topics as part of a degree. As the fourth one in the above list is directly linked and covered in the present module, 6CJ015 provides a great benefit to the students concerned. Additionally, as a standalone module focussing on desistance and rehabilitation, 6CJ015 is very useful to those interested in mentoring or prison work too. It is also worth noting the timeliness of this module which is also telling of its necessity in CCJ curriculums. The part-privatised infrastructure of Probation Service in England and Wales is set to undergo a process of re-nationalisation in June 2021 which will renew and enhance the attention and interest in the service and offender management. The module's focus on rehabilitation, desistance, and supervision as well as direct links to employability makes it now an essential part of a CCJ programme more than ever.

This module examines concepts and theories of serious and organised crime and evaluates its development, impact and initiatives taken to tackle it. Case study material will include drug smuggling, human trafficking, environmental crime and maritime piracy.        

The aim of this module is to introduce students to the idea of young people as criminals, and the youth justice system they move through. Youth crime has been a persistent concern over the past century, with an increasing societal focus and concern on anti-social behaviour. This module will allow students to consider the emergence of ‘youth offending’ and consider whether current youth justice policy is working. The module will explore youth pathways into crime and the treatment of young people in the YJS. The welfare vs. justice debate will be explored and students will gain a critical appreciation of the theory and ideas underpinning youth justice policy and practice in England and Wales.