BA (Hons) Criminology and Criminal Justice

Key facts

• The lecturers in this area have wide and ongoing  experience of working in the criminal justice sector and are research active in the areas of work with offending behaviour, youth justice, women and crime and substance misuse.
• Good links with criminal justice agencies and employers such as Police, Probation Trusts, magistrates courts and the youth justice service.
• Innovative and flexible teaching methods are used with part of the course being
  delivered online.
• Face to face lectures take place two days a week.
• Staff are experienced practitioners and academics who bring issues to life through case studies.

Course content

This degree level programme will enable you to analyse the variety and types of crime which concern professionals working in  criminal justice contexts.

You will explore the social and psychological causes of crime, the way the criminal justice system responds to it and  what can be done to prevent crime and rehabilitate offenders. You will also examine criminal law and the role and work of the agencies that make up a modern criminal justice system.

Towards the end of the course you will be able to choose from a selection of optional modules covering forensic psychology, youth justice, and miscarriages of justice.  Where possible students  take part in site visit s which in the past  have included visits to a Crown Court and a Prison. 

In addition, students are introduced to a variety of voluntary work opportunities and have the chance to learn from visiting   lecturers such as Judges, Police, Probation and Youth Justice staff who work in the criminal justice system.

Modules

Year 1:

• Study Skills: To support students for learning and on-going personal and professional development in higher education.

• Criminal Justice and Law: This module will give the student an underpinning knowledge of Criminal Justice and Law. It will focus on key concepts such as the definition of crime and the philosophy of sentencing.

• Managing offenders in the community: Exploring the issues that arise when intergrating and rehabilitating offenders back into the community and managing the risks they may pose.

• Drugs, Alcohol and Crime: To consider the range and extent of drugs that are used and appreciate the social context of their use. It will introduce students to the social construction of the 'drugs prblem'.

• Domestic Crime: Exploring the definition, nature, extent and policing of domestic crime with a particular focus upon child abuse, domestic

• What is Psycviolence and elder abuse.hology?

Year 2:

• Criminology: To enable students to understand the key concepts and theoretical approaches that have developed and are developing in relation to crime, victimisation and responses to crime and deviance.

• Criminal Law and the Criminal Justice Process: This provide students with an understanding of the nature and context of law, primarily focussing on criminal law. This will include the examination of the Criminal Justice Process including - courts and hearings for adults and young people; the theory and practice of sentencing; prison and community based penalties; and the place of human rights in these processes. 

• Social Difference and Inequality: Students will develop a critical understanding of the relationship of social class, gender, race, age, ethnicity, language and other salient aspects of diversity in relation to crime victimisation and responses to these phenomena.

• Criminal Justice in Practice

• Research Methods

• Crime in Contemporary Society: To provide students with a critical knowledge and understanding of a range of contemporary crimes and criminal behaviours committed within the contemporary society.

Year 3:

• Dissertation

• Multi-Agency Working: The study of criminal justice agencies that comprise the criminal justice system in England and Wales, critically analysing their contribution to the management of crime and the protection of the public.

• Control, Justice and Punishment: A critical evaluation of the social and historical development of justice, sentencing and punishment and social control.

• Youth Justice: Critically examine the meanings attached to childhood, youth and crime and the provision made for children and young people who offend.

• Forensic Psychology: To discover the main aspects of the discipline of forensic psychology.

• Constructing Guilt and Innocence: To study the legal and social constructions of guilt and innocence , including the study of a seclection of cases which have gone to criminal trial.

Assessment

There is a variety of assessment methods for this course, including essays, presentations, case studies and examinations. You will be required to do a dissertation on a topic of your interest.

Course duration

Full-time: Three years

Part-time: Five years