Criminal Justice with Offender Management

Introduction To Criminology

Introduction to Criminology: This module introduces you to the key issues and debates in criminology that you will encounter throughout the rest of your degree. On the module, you consider how crime is constructed, perceived and responded to within society, and explore the inter-relationships between crime, social problems and their context. The module is designed to provide you with a basic understanding of criminology and to develop a range of key skills, including research, scholarship and academic practices, thus enabling you to identify, summarise and comment upon a variety of subject matters in a criminological manner, and to organise and articulate ideas and arguments.

Module code: SOCY40515

Media, Representation And Society

Media, Representation and Society: This an exciting module in which you will examine the complex interrelationships between media, representation and society. Mediated forms of representation are crucial to constructions and contestations of a range of social identities formulated along the axes of class, gender, race and ethnicity, disability and sexuality. The module offers case studies of representations generated across a range of media sites, including television, film, literature, advertising, newspapers, magazines, music videos and websites. You will have the opportunity to analyse visual representations from historical and contemporary media sources.

Module code: SOCY40514

Introduction To Project Design And Research Practice

Close examination of studies about different aspects of society, crime and deviant behaviour will allow students to learn key features of designing a research project and develop skills in research practice.The first half of the module introduces students to a series of sociological/criminological studies that have explored the following issues: 1) abusing positions of power within prisons and marginalised groups, 2) substance misuse and studies of deviant others, 3) structural inequalities; race relations and education, 4) gang culture, 5) mental health asylums, 6) chore wars – unequal divisions of labour and gender relations, 7) family relationships, divorce and death. For each of these weeks, students will undertake carefully designed problem based solving tasks to identify the following information about each of the key studies: what the researcher studied (concept), why they studied this particular topic (e.g. debates/concerns), how they studied it (e.g. research methods), and merits and limitations with these studies. Completion of these tasks will equip students with an understanding of the key processes involved in project design.The second half of the module, equips students with the skills to search for and develop a contemporary review of literature and gaps in knowledge on one of the seven topics covered in the first half of the module. Students will receive tuition in how to develop a small-scale research project, including, developing a research question, aims, objectives and justify why they propose to use a particular research method to investigate their chosen topic. Students will be supported to recognise potential ethical issues that could arise through their study of a chosen topic and will be supported to think through solutions that could be employed to minimise and manage such ethical problems. Students will be taught how to design a poster on PowerPoint, introduced to technology for audio-recording their paired poster-presentation, how to embed audio on their poster and saving the e-poster as an MP4 file. Finally, students will undertake the second task that continues to actively support them in planning how they will reach their career aspirations following graduation.

Module code: SOCY40513

Offender Management

The module allows students to research the functions of the Ministry of Justice, and Her Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS), prisoner escort contracts, Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) and their subcontractors, Contracted Prisons and Young Offenders Institutions (YOIs), Secure Training Centres, Secure Children Homes and Youth Offending Teams. The module follows the progression on an offender through the offender management system. Issues covered include: 1. Delivering the sentences and orders of the court 2. Establishing positive, safe, secure and decent environments for managing offenders and delivering offender services reducing reoffending and protecting the public. 3. Radicalisation 4. Theories around Control and restraint 5. Deaths and the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman6. Drug abuse 7. Mental Health 8. Prison reform 9. Governance 10. Escort Services

Module code: LAWS41709

Discovering Qualitative Research Methods

This module introduces students to a variety of qualitative research methods and analytical techniques that researchers in Sociology and Criminology use to test social theory and study aspects of social life. Topics covered include; the epistemological approaches underpinning qualitative approaches and practicalities involved with generating qualitative research (e.g. sampling and recruitment). Specific qualitative methods covered on this module include: discourse analysis, introduction to approaches in in-depth interviews and elicitation techniques, methods for interviewing groups, ethnography and participant observation, using digital methods to study online communities, mixing quantitative and qualitative methods and introductory approaches to analysing qualitative data (e.g. grounded theory, thematic analysis, narrative analysis). Students will also learn the importance of carrying out research ethically through engagement with controversial and ethically ‘dubious’ sociological and criminological studies. Throughout, students are given the opportunity to use these various methods and techniques giving them an appreciation of the processes involved in generating sociological/criminological knowledge. Students will undertake the first of various tasks that starts them on a journey that encourages them to research and think about the skills, competencies and experiences they need to realise their career aspirations.

Module code: SOCY40512

Crime In Context

Module code: LAWS41702

Law And Society

The module introduces law students to ways of thinking about law in relation to society. This means discussing the various approaches to thinking about society ; social theory and sociology, and thinking about law in a socio-legal, sociological and critical way.Students will be introduced to the key schools of social theorising in order to understand how society coheres, what makes society more than a random number of individuals – thinking how society forms individuals rather than vice-versa. Once introduced to this way of thinking, students will consider the key social identities which run through society, such as class, gender, race, sexual orientation, thinking about how these identities produce communities and differences which society then has to negotiate. The role of law in these processes will be considered.Topics will vary to achieve contemporary relevance and interest, but could, illustratively, include discussions of the tension between freedom of speech and causing offence to religious belief, the tension between privacy and communication surveillance, the challenge of terrorism to rule of law values, the role of the state and the scope of the welfare state, what we mean by citizenship.

Module code: LAWS41503

Criminology

Crime and the way society responds to and deals with crime and criminals are subjects which interest most people. Criminology takes the study of crime beyond 'thinking' about it to a more scientific level. In doing so it crosses the boundaries of many disciplines including law, psychology, philosophy, sociology and social policy. The discipline of criminology is large and therefore any criminology course must focus on a number of issues which reflect a balance of themes within the discipline as a whole. For this reason, this course focuses on topics from three major areas within criminology. These are: - The Nature and Extent of Crime - Social Dimensions of Crime and Justice- Criminal Justice Structures and ProcessesWithin these areas the specific topics studied are as follows: - the extent of crime - the causes of crime - crime and mental illness - victimology - research methodology - gender and crime - race and crime - the birth of the prison - current issues in imprisonment - crime prevention

Module code: LAWS51199

Identifying Risk Of Suicide And\Or Self-Harm

Students will learn about different approaches to suicide and self-harm assessment, utilising different models, tools and considering evidence based practice. Students will understand the differences and relationships between suicidality and self-harm and provide appropriate responses and look at assessment as a therapeutic intervention including Cognitive Behaviour Approaches to assessment, formulation and intervention. Students will learn about working with multi-professional, multi-agencies and the principles and process of the mental health assessment in the identification of suicide and self-harm, including the importance of interviewing and history taking, pathways to appropriate mental health referrals and mental health promotion and education.

Module code: NURS50751

Research Project

Students will carry out a research project in a specialised area of study.

Module code: LAWS51227

Crime Prevention

This module considers the impact and value of different ways of preventing and reducing crime: - methods of evaluating the impact of a crime prevention initiative - situational crime prevention - multiple victimisation and crime prevention - inter-agency crime prevention - community methods of crime prevention - social methods of crime prevention - policing and crime prevention

Module code: LAWS51937

Contemporary Policing

This is a core module that provides a broad but integrated introduction to current policing challenges, including police reform (e.g. governance, accountability, professionalisation, involvement of private and voluntary sector) and changes to the way policing is understood and delivered (e.g. vulnerability, protest, public safety and technology). It includes weekly lectures plus one tutorial in both semesters. It will provide you with an explanation of the history and current challenges of policing in the UK and includes references to the international perspective.

Module code: FORE50334

Criminal Justice And Punishment

The module will introduce you to the institutions, procedures and selected elements of the substantive law which play an important part in the criminal justice system. The module examines the legal, criminological and sociological influences that make up the modern criminal justice system. Issues covered include: -Themes in the criminal justice system - The philosophical requirements of a Criminal Justice System - Prosecution Process - Police accountability - Prosecuting authorities - Human rights - Miscarriages of Justice - Offender Management- Sentencing - Community sentences - Victims in the criminal justice system

Module code: LAWS61601

Dissertation

Students will choose a specialised subject and carry out a literature review, implementing research skills and empirical research methods learnt throughout the course.

Module code: LAWS61158

Mental Health Assessment For Non-Mental Health Professionals

There is growing recognition that mental health is a crucial factor that influences an individual’s overall health and well being. The need to view mental health as a priority with a status equal to that afforded physical health is increasingly reflected in health policy. Furthermore, there is growing acceptance that mental health issues are not only the remit of specialist services but rather demand attention from all services, individuals and professionals who work with the public.This module is designed to facilitate the development of your knowledge and skills in mental health assessment and relevant referral pathways appropriate to your role and scope of practice. Your learning will be facilitated by specialist practitioners via a flexible approach that utilises both face to face contact and distance learning. The module assessment will provide you with the opportunity to apply your enhanced understanding as part of a case study focusing on mental health assessment.

Module code: NURS60718

Serial Killers

The module allows students to delve in to the fascinating filed of serial killers. This module is used to develop the students’ thirst for reading and research. The subject is intended to prompt an interest in analysing competing criminological theories and allow the students to build on their critical analysis. This subject will hopefully provide reading and research skills that can be transferred to other modules.Issues covered include:1: An introduction to serial killing as a criminological phenomena2: Historical background 3: Exploring the definition of serial killing4: Categories5: Biological6: Psychological Perspective7: sociological8: Media and serial killers9: Justice in the modern prison10: case studies11. Criminal law and serial killers

Module code: LAWS62018

Punishment And Penology

This module will enable students to critically analyse and evaluate theoretical and philosophical justifications of punishment together with political ideology that impact upon penal policy and practice. In addition, this module will locate this analysis in an appreciation of the consistencies, contradictions and conflicts that relate not only to theoretical discussion but to the less abstract level of policy formulation and actual penal practice. Considerations of class, gender and ethnicity constitute key aspects of the conceptual framework and the principles of ‘security, control and justice’ are critically examined in the operational context. A critical assessment of the ethos of incarceration will be a major theme of this module. Integrated into this module is a critical analysis of the social situation and internal culture that offenders experience (both community and prison sentenced offenders). Particular attention is directed to the diversity of experience, response and adaptation of those subjected to the varied sanctions within the penal system. Power imbalance, human rights, civil liberties and the relationships of authority, discipline and coercion are central issues within the overall perspective of this module. The main themes of this module include: philosophical and theoretical contributions to an understanding of punishments, the politics of punishments, policy developments in penal practice, offender rights and responsibilities, the wider instrumental role of prison in the criminal justice process, determining contexts and punishments (for example, gender, race, age, class, disability, etc.), comparative penologies and penal abolitionism. This module aims to: •Explore the development of punishment and its justifications in a wider societal context. •Develop a student’s critical knowledge of penological research and debate. •Critically analyse the links between crime and its control and to develop a critical understanding of the importance of the wider societal context in understanding penal policy formation, implementation and practice. This module reflects the subject knowledge and understanding as outlined in the QAA benchmarks (2014) concerning the philosophy and politics of criminalisation, victimisation, criminal justice and modes of punishment. Vocationally it is linked to a range of potential criminal justice professions in the statutory, voluntary and non-governmental sectors, building students’ knowledge and understanding of core functions and debates in the prison and punishment realms

Module code: SOCY60569

Child Abuse

The module allows students to delve into the contested subject of child abuse. This module aims to develop the students’ thirst for reading and research. The subject is intended to prompt an effective interest in analysing competing criminological theories and allow the students to build on their critical analysis. This module will hopefully develop reading and research skills that can be transferred to other modules. Issues covered include: 1: An introduction to child abuse as a criminological phenomenon 2: Historical background 3: Exploring the definition of child abuse 4: Safeguarding and child protection 5: Criminal law 6: Psychological Perspective 7: Family law8: Media 9. Case studies 10 Child trafficking

Module code: LAWS62019