BA (Hons) Criminology

Seeing Crime and Justice

20 Credits

(Compulsory)

This module will introduce and explore ideas about crime and justice by looking at the way in which the media ‘constructs’ them. It will include an exploration of the role of the media, utilizing key sociological concepts to analyze the way in which crime and justice are constructed in a range of media contexts (news, drama, and documentary) and through a range of media outlets (printed media, TV, film and digital media). This module includes 12 hours of scheduled tutor group time to provide students with further learning support, focused on study skills and assignments. These tutor groups will also provide the vehicle for providing advice and guidance around employability. Students will be introduced to possible future careers in for example Youth Justice, the National Probation Service and Community Rehabilitation Companies, the Police, the Prison Service as well as a wide range of third-sector organizations such as victim support and options for progressing into professional training routes in the areas such as law and social work.

The Criminal Justice Environment

20 Credits

(Compulsory)

This module introduces core areas of criminology, focusing on the processes and systems which constitute criminal justice within the UK. It aims to introduce students to varying ideas and concepts of crime and justice and the way these are socially and legally constructed. The module will combine tutor-led input on theoretical models of criminal justice with a more practice-oriented introduction to the different stages, institutions, and professional roles within justice systems via input from guest speakers. Students gain an understanding of issues including prevention and management of crime, deviance, and victimization.

The Sociology of Crime

20 Credits

(Compulsory)

This module aims to develop students’ understanding of the main social theories of crime causation and prevention. It recognizes that sociological concepts underpin our understanding of society as well as the phenomenon of crime. The module will introduce both classical and contemporary sociological theories (consensus, conflict, and interactionist) focussing on how they have been deployed within criminology. The module will use a series of real-world examples to help students evaluate how applicable each explanation is to a range of crimes. The module will provide a foundation for students' further application of these theories at levels five and six.

The Psychology of Crime

20 Credits

(Compulsory)

This module will examine what the field of psychological theory can contribute to the multidisciplinary study of crime. It will enable students to adjust to the demands of learning at the degree level, equipping them with a basic understanding of relevant concepts from the field of Psychology, Social Psychology, and Developmental Psychology. This will provide students with a theoretical basis for the study of individual dimensions of deviance, criminal behavior, offending, victimization and resistance. Students will gain confidence in the use of language and be able to clearly define key concepts, in preparation for later research and work-related learning.

Policing and Social Control

20 Credits

(Compulsory)

This module will start by considering a range of conceptual and theoretical approaches toward social control and how these are reflected in policy and agency approaches toward crime control. The module then considers the historical and social and legal background of the emergence of professional policing. Students will analyze the assumptions and ideologies that underpin the use of discretion by the police and their implications for offenders, victims, and wider public opinion, as reflected in media and official discourses surrounding policing. Additionally, the module will introduce students to modern-day policing practices and guest speakers who will situate these within wider debates about the challenges faced by law enforcement in relation to crime control in a rapidly changing and evolving world.

Understanding Social Research

20 Credits

(Compulsory)

Social research is widely used in when studying society, particularly in the criminological study. In order to analyze and interpret research it is essential to have a working knowledge of social research and data. This module will introduce key rudimentary concepts in both quantitative and qualitative research methods and analysis so that students are able to acquire the academic skills needed to understand and critique social research, findings, statistics, and data. The module will also provide students with an opportunity, in groups, to carry out a small-scale piece of social research, including experiencing the process of obtaining ethical approval.

1. Seeing Crime and Justice

   20 Credits(Compulsory)This module will introduce and explore ideas about crime and justice by looking at the way in which the media ‘constructs’ them. It will include an exploration of the role of the media, utilizing key sociological concepts to analyze the way in which crime and justice are constructed in a range of media contexts (news, drama, and documentary) and through a range of media outlets (printed media, TV, film and digital media).  This module includes 12 hours of scheduled tutor group time to provide students with further learning support, focused on study skills and assignments. These tutor groups will also provide the vehicle for providing advice and guidance around employability. Students will be introduced to possible future careers in for example Youth Justice, the National Probation Service, and Community Rehabilitation Companies, the Police, Prison Service as well as a wide range of third-sector organizations such as victim support and options for progressing into professional training routes in the areas such as law and social work.

2. The Criminal Justice Environment20 Credits(Compulsory)This module introduces core areas of criminology, focusing on the processes and systems which constitute criminal justice within the UK.  It aims to introduce students to varying ideas and concepts of crime and justice and the way these are socially and legally constructed.  The module will combine tutor-led input on theoretical models of criminal justice with a more practice-oriented introduction to the different stages, institutions, and professional roles within justice systems via input from guest speakers.  Students gain an understanding of issues including prevention and management of crime, deviance, and victimization.

3. The Sociology of Crime20 Credits(Compulsory)This module aims to develop students’ understanding of the main social theories of crime causation and prevention. It recognizes that sociological concepts underpin our understanding of society as well as the phenomenon of crime. The module will introduce both classical and contemporary sociological theories (consensus, conflict, and interactionist) focussing on how they have been deployed within criminology. The module will use a series of real-world examples to help students evaluate how applicable each explanation is to a range of crimes. The module will provide a foundation for students' further application of these theories at levels five and six.

4. The Psychology of Crime20 Credits(Compulsory)This module will examine what the field of psychological theory can contribute to the multidisciplinary study of crime. It will enable students to adjust to the demands of learning at the degree level, equipping them with a basic understanding of relevant concepts from the field of Psychology, Social Psychology, and Developmental Psychology. This will provide students with a theoretical basis for the study of individual dimensions of deviance, criminal behavior, offending, victimization and resistance. Students will gain confidence in the use of language and be able to clearly define key concepts, in preparation for later research and work-related learning.  

5. Policing and Social Control20 Credits(Compulsory)This module will start by considering a range of conceptual and theoretical approaches towards social control and how these are reflected in policy and agency approaches towards crime control. The module then considers the historical and social and legal background of the emergence of professional policing. Students will analyze the assumptions and ideologies that underpin the use of discretion by the police and their implications for offenders, victims, and on wider public opinion, as reflected in media and official discourses surrounding policing. Additionally, the module will introduce students to modern-day policing practices and guest speakers who will situate these within wider debates about the challenges faced by law enforcement in relation to crime control in a rapidly changing and evolving world.  

6. Understanding Social Research20 Credits(Compulsory)Social research is widely used in when studying society, particularly in the criminological study. In order to analyze and interpret research it is essential to have a working knowledge of social research and data. This module will introduce key rudimentary concepts in both quantitative and qualitative research methods and analysis so that students are able to acquire the academic skills needed to understand and critique social research, findings, statistics, and data. The module will also provide students with an opportunity, in groups, to carry out a small-scale piece of social research, including experiencing the process of obtaining ethical approval.

Dissertation

40 Credits

(Optional)

This module provides students with the opportunity to explore an area of particular interest through undertaking empirical research (either qualitative or quantitative) supported by a member of staff from the subject area (or elsewhere) with appropriate specialist knowledge. Students will produce a formal written thesis in line with the University’s guidelines.

Criminology Extended Project

40 Credits

(Optional)

This module provides students with the opportunity to explore an area of particular interest to them, such as an aspect of social policy (historical or current) in the area of crime/criminal justice or a social problem related to crime and criminal behaviour. Students will first undertake an extended literature review (in semester one) and then convert the findings into an accessible, engaging resource for an identified audience, such as community groups or policymakers (in semester two).

Equality, Diversity and Criminal Justice

20 Credits

(Compulsory)

This module will provide the basis for students to critically examine the relationship between crime, the criminal justice system and the increasingly fluid and intersectional social categories of ‘race’, culture, religion, gender, and sexuality. Using national and international contemporary theoretical perspectives, students will examine how these manifest within the context of crime in late modern Britain. Indicative content will include an examination of the pervasiveness of racialised discourses within criminal justice; disproportionality in the prison system sentencing and the use of Police powers; the relationship between the social construction of masculinities and criminal behaviour; developing trends in crime committed by women; experiences of perpetrators and victims of racist and homophobic hate crime; and how Islamophobia is shaping both public perceptions of, and criminal justice policy directed at, the British Muslim community. Through their own reflective writing and the use of a range of visual methods/resources, students will be challenged to critically evaluate how they as potential practitioners are situated within structures of power and privilege and how their own inhabiting of multiple identities will be implicated in their efforts to challenge the inequalities that persist within the criminal justice system

Crime and Power

20 Credits

(Compulsory)

Analysis of crime in society often focuses on street crimes and those offences committed by deprived sections of society. This module will focus on the relationship between crime and power and will examine the crimes committed by the powerful. White Collar Crime, State Crime and Environmental Crime will be explored and the definition of ‘crime’ itself will be critiqued and analysed. The notion of ‘social harm’ that crimes of the powerful can have on society will also be explored. Particular attention will be paid to the power of the state to both define and police ‘crime’. The role of the media in shaping perceptions of crime will also be explored.

Crime, Place and Space

20 Credits

(Optional)

This module will engage students in a detailed conceptual analysis of crime, space and place. Crime needs to be understood in relation to the private and public spaces in which it is located, such as the home, urban environments, rural environments, schools, shopping malls, parks, prisons, streets, neighbourhoods, and council estates. The module will explore how (and by whom) spaces are controlled and how this leads to perceptions within communities as to how to behave. Spaces (such as neighbourhoods) can become privatised, gentrified, gendered and racialised, leading to disproportionate policing and criminalisation. Students will critically examine how systems designed to reduce crime and provide safety in certain spaces – e.g. surveillance, affect criminal behaviour and people living in or travelling through those spaces. Students will be encouraged to take an ethnographic approach to understand the interaction between crime, place and space by exploring a real-life space and relating this to theoretical frames.

Young People and Crime

20 Credits

(Optional)

This module critically examines a range of criminological theory, both historical and contemporary, that seeks to explain why young people commit a crime and how it has and continues to inform governmental responses to youth crime. This will include some discussion of current policy and legislation and an analysis of structures within the British Criminal Justice System (focusing on England and Wales) such as Youth Offending Teams. Particular focus will be on how young peoples’ criminal behaviour is interpreted and contested in the media and political discourses and how youth crime policy impacts disproportionately on certain groups of young people within society (e.g. black young people, young people who meet on the street, etc.). A recurrent theme will be how current models of work with young people involved in crime and multi-professional efforts to bring about resistance from that behaviour may conflict with the worker's reluctance to engage in social control.