CRI-10013 - Module Specification
School of Social Sciences
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Programme/Approved Electives for 2024/25

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

Cri-10010 Understanding Crime

Barred Combinations

NONE

Description for 2024/25

This module will look at the organisations and individuals who attempt to deliver Criminal Justice. The module will offer a brief overview of the nature and development of the Criminal Justice System, the various agencies that this system is comprised of and their formal roles and responsibilities in the delivery of justice. Agencies examined could include The Ministry of Justice; The Police Service; The Prison and Probation Service; The Courts Service; The various Inspectorates and Ombudsmen who oversee/monitor these agencies and the Criminal Justice Voluntary Sector and various private sector organisations.
As well as providing an overview of the formal roles of these agencies, this module will examine the various responsibilities and aims of each agency, their similarities and common purposes, differences and potential contradictions. The module will also examine the wider factors that have influenced the nature and organisation of these agencies and the relationships between them (including the historical/social context; the Organisational/Managerial context and the growing emphasis on performance, Process, Best Practice and Best Value).

This module will introduce students to theories of criminal justice and the work of, and relationships between, the main institutions of the criminal justice system. It will also place the public process in the wider context of the development of other, privatised systems of criminal justice.

Intended Learning Outcomes

1,2
1,2
Recognise the development and current organisation, governance and operation of official and unofficial responses to crime and victimisation, including policing, punishment and other approaches to preventing harm and ensuring personal safety: 1,2
Recognise different approaches to social scientific research (including comparative analysis) and their usefulness in investigating different forms of crime and victimisation and responses to them: 1,2
1,2
Make use of research evidence, other data and some basic criminological theories in developing arguments and making judgements about criminological issues: Present written work in criminology in an appropriate scholarly style using the Harvard system of citation and referencing: Recognise and describe the relationships between crime, victimisation and responses to them, and social divisions based on age, gender, class, ethnicity, sexuality and (dis)ability:

Study hours

11 hours of lectures
10 hours of workshop/seminar contact
21 hours of directed preparation for lectures and seminars via engagement with online asynchronous activities and information specific to each activity.
8 hours of fieldwork observations for court report
4 hours on completion of online task
16 hours spent in completing court report assessment.
80 hours of private study (including additional self directed preparatory reading and related preparation for lectures and seminars, preparation, planning and additional reading for assessments).

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment