Criminology and Security

Aims

• To give students an appreciation of the relevance of social theory in producing questions that address the complex way in which the social world is shaped and reshaped by people. 
• To introduce students to classic and contemporary theoretical debates on social changes and its manifestation - and implications - in social context. 
• To give students an appreciation of the ways in which theories are operationalized in empirical research and studies in social science.

Learning Outcomes
The main learning outcomes are:

• Familiarity with influential social theories and their core concepts.
• An ability to evaluate the contribution of specific theorists and theories to the discipline.
• A capacity to identify the relevance of social theory for the analysis of the social:theories and themes.

Aims
The module aims to introduce students to a range of methods of enquire commonly used within the discipline of sociology and social policy and to key approaches to the gathering of knowledge/data. Teaching and learning methods will give students an opportunity to study and to practice key skills necessary to make effective use of available information resources, and to communicate ideas using a range of methods, including internet newsgroups, e-mail and bulletin boards. Students will be asked to put together both a portfolio of work and a literature review which will relate to one substantive subject area, which can be chosen from a given list and which reflects area covered in Year 2 and 3 teaching. This will allow the students to build up a body of work which they can refer to and build upon throughout their degree studies.

Learning Outcomes

• Greater understanding of the nature of the discipline and of its current practice
• Familiarity with a selection of classic and contemporary contributions in theory and methods, and the ability to situate there contributions within major intellectual traditions.
• An appreciation of the different methods of social enquiry commonly applied within the disciplines of sociology, including qualitative and quantitative data sources and the limits and value of each.

Aims

• To provide students with an appreciation of the main changes that have taken place in social life in Britain and South East Asia since the mid-twentieth century, with a particular focus on politics, the economy, family life, and education.
• To provide students with an understanding of how sociologists have studied, described and explained these changes.

Learning Outcomes
The learning outcomes of the module are that students will be able:

• To describe some of the main social changes that have taken place internationally over the past fifty years, drawing upon evidence from sociological research.
• To discuss the links between changes in individual behaviour and experiences and changes in policy and legislation.
• To apply and evaluate sociological theories and concepts in relation to a variety of substantive issues focused around social change.

Aims

• To provide you with an introduction to sociological criminology.
• To introduce theoretical frameworks through which the nature, extent and causes of crime have been conceptualised.
• To consider how crime is constructed, perceived and responded to within society.
• To explore the inter-relationships between crime, social problems and their context.

Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module you should be able to: 

• Explain how crime is constructed as a social problem.
• Discuss some of the main ways in which sociologists and academic criminologists have sought to explain ‘crime’.
• Distinguish the approaches taken by sociological criminologists and compare them to other approaches (such as common-sense).
• Comment on the relationship between theories of crime and policy-responses (we discuss criminal justice and crime control in detail next semester in Controlling Crime).
• Situate discussions of crime and criminalisation within an understanding of social divisions in contemporary society.

Aims

• To provide students with an appreciation of the main changes that have taken place internationally since 1945, with a particular emphasis on 'race' and ethnicity, gender and social class.
• To provide students with an understanding of how sociologists have studied, described and explained these changes.

Learning Outcomes
The learning outcomes of the module are that students will be able:

• To describe and explain some of the main social changes that have taken place internationally since 1945 by drawing upon sociological studies.
• To discuss the inter-relationship between 'race', ethnicity, class and gender and understand the influence of these on society.
• To evaluate different sociological concepts and theories and relate these to broader historical, social and political contexts.

Aims

• To provide information about the roles of the main institutions of the criminal justice system including police, counter-terrorism agencies, prosecution, incarceration,
• To begin to explore and reflect critically on the operation of the criminal justice system, taking into account key concepts in debates about crime and crime control
• To provide forums for productive discussion about the institutions of the criminal justice system

Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module you should be able to demonstrate: 

• Familiarity with key institutions of the criminal justice system, their roles and context.
• An understanding of relevant criminal justice concepts and debates and be able to employ these to reflect critically on institutions of the criminal justice system.

Aims
The aims of the module are summarised as follows:

• To critically explore the main sociological and criminological perspectives on crime, justice and punishment
• To investigate the historical emergence of theoretical thought in relation to crime and subsequent development within particular perspectives
• To critically assess and the strengths and limitations of particular concepts associated with different theoretical perspectives
• To explore how key theoretical concepts and ideas relate to criminal justice practice
• To critically understand these perspectives as they relate to social divisions (class, ‘race’, gender, sexuality and age)

Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module students should be able to:

• Demonstrate critical awareness of the historical and contemporary significance of criminological concepts deployed to explain crime, justice and punishment
• Exhibit understanding of the ways in which crime, justice and punishment are contested within and outside of academic thinking
• Distinguish between different conceptual frames of reference and compare and contrast their strengths and weaknesses
• Situate theoretical thought within the world of policy and criminal justice practice
• Demonstrate how criminal justice theory and practice intersect with social fractures, inequalities and social divisions

Aims

• To introduce students to the different methods used in sociological research, focussing primarily on a consideration of quantitative methods;
• To encourage students to reflect on ethical and epistemological considerations which quantitative social research raises;
• To reflect on the issues raised by different data collection methods, and to practice some of these collection methods;
• To give students practical experience of working with and appropriately analysing datasets relevant to their studies;
• To encourage reflection on the strengths and limitations of using quantitative data in the social sciences.
• To prepare students for research to be carried out on future modules

Learning Outcomes
As a result of attendance at lectures, participation in seminars, and private study, and undertaking the assessment of learning, students should have developed a critical understanding of how to:

• Understand the issues which must be considered when choosing a method to inform a particular research area/ research questions;
• Reflect critically on their role as a researcher and demonstrate and awareness of the socio-political context of research;
• Consider the ethical implications of their research, and the strengths and limitations of secondary data analysis
• Gather, source, and appropriately analyse quantitative data.
• Understanding the reporting of quantitative data by other researchers

Aims
SOCS241 (Policing, Crime and Society) is a level 2 module that introduces students to the core practical and sociological understandings of modern policing in both a domestic and international context. The module is designed to provide an insight into the concepts of policing and the police, connecting significant past and present policing issues with sociological analysis and changes in criminal justice policy.

This module seeks to provide a conceptual, historical, contemporary and global understanding of the ‘police’, one of the key social and legal institutions of the modern State. The police are an integral part of the criminal justice system, but the reach of ‘policing’ can also be evidenced in covert policing practices within the private security sector, and counter-terrorism.

Therefore, the aims of this module are:

• To explore the main academic literature sources relevant to policing studies and examine the different functions and strategies of the police and their relationship to social policies.
• To examine contemporary debates on the role of policing and provide a critical insight into the key cultural practices of the police.
• To highlight the pluralised role of policing and develop an international perspective on how ‘policing’ is conducted across the globe in relation to terrorism and international security

Learning Outcomes
After completing the module the student should be able to:

• Use and apply the main sources of policing literature for sociological research purposes
• Understand the relationship between policing, crime and society
• Critically evaluate police cultures and the role of the police
• Appreciate the relationships and tensions between policing and human rights
• Identify a range of difference institutions that fiction as part of the police, and critically reflect on the concept of 'policing' as not just being a function of the police
• Have an awareness of the global reach of policing in relation to transnational crime, terrorism and international security

Aims
The aim of this module is to help students utilise a volunteering placement to gain knowledge and understandings of a non-profit organisation in order to be able describe and analyse:

• Connections between the organisation and practices
• Connections between the organisation and social policies
• Practical and experiential aspects of studying social policy, sociology and criminology

Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module students will

• Have made a contribution to a non-profit organisation by working as a volunteer for a minimum of 48 hrs.
• Understand discourses related to volunteering
• Understand the interface between the host organisation and social policies
• Understand the service offered by the organisation in the context of the welfare mix
• Be able to make a poster presentation and reflect on their actions and learning

Aims
This unit will explore the impacts and effects of risk in contemporary society in the areas of crime, welfare and human security.

Learning Outcomes
On completion of the unit students will be able to demonstrate the following competencies through appropriate study and submission of assessed coursework:

• Evaluating the impacts of crime, welfare and security risks on lived experience in the contemporary UK and Singapore
• Identifying and understanding the social and cultural processes which shape the construction of security risks.
• Comprehending the relationship between the distribution of health risks and traditional forms of social stratification.
• Comparing theories of risk with ethnographic research into the effects of risk on everyday experience.
• Understanding policy approaches towards crime and security risks in terms of institutional regulation, legislation and management.
• Articulating the links between identity, individualization and reflexivity in contemporary western cultures

Aims
This module aims to:

• Introduce students to a range of research methods used in sociological research;
• To give students some practical experience of data collection, analysis and presentation;
• To encourage students to think about the ethical, epistemological and practical considerations in social research;
• To reflect on the role of the researcher in collecting and generating data.

Learning Outcomes
As a result of attendance at lectures, participation in seminars, and private study and undertaking the assessment of learning, students should have developed a critical understanding of how to:

• Select a research method to inform a particular research area/ research questions;
• Reflect critically on their role as a researcher and demonstrate and awareness of the socio-political context of research;
• Consider the ethical implications of their research, and demonstrate a good understanding of situated field ethics;
• Analyse and present observational and interview data

Aims
This module aims to:

• To provide a broad overview of the historical, theoretical and comparative foundations of punishment and imprisonment nationally and internationally.
• To examine the experiences and outcomes of imprisonment for identifiable groups of prisoners including: children and young people; women; black and minoritised people; older people.
• To introduce a range of key debates and controversies surrounding the questions of punishment, penalty and prisons in ‘modern’ societies and to subject them to social scientific interrogation.

Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the module students will have:

• An understanding of the trajectory of state policy responses in respect of punishment, penalty and prisons from the early nineteenth century to the present.
• An ability to critically analyse the competing theoretical rationales for the practices of modern punishment, penalty and imprisonment including: constructions of moral responsibility; deterrence; retribution; rehabilitation; reform; deserts; proportionality; incapacitation.
• A familiarity with the contemporary politics of imprisonment and comparative penal regimes.
• A grasp of the impact of imprisonment on prisoners in general and specific groups of prisoners in particular.
• A capacity to critically assess the legitimacy of prisons together with alternative, penal reductionist and abolitionist perspectives.

Aims
The module aims:

• To provide a critical overview of the historical development of state policy responses to youth crime and to explore criminological and sociological conceptualisations of ‘youth’, ‘crime’, ‘criminalisation’ and ‘justice’.
• To analyse the competing priorities and underpinning discourses that inform youth justice policy formation.
• To explore the application of youth justice policy through the interventions of state agencies, and to consider the principal consequences of such interventions for ‘young offenders’, the management of youth crime and the regulation and governance of young people.

Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of this third level module students will have:

• An understanding of the trajectory of state policy responses to children and young people in conflict with the law from the early nineteenth century to the present and a familiarity with key debates within youth criminology and the sociology of youth justice.
• An awareness of key criminological and sociological debates and an ability to critically analyse the competing priorities, tensions and paradoxes intrinsic to ‘welfare’, ‘justice’ and ‘retributive’/‘punitive’ approaches to the delivery of youth justice.
• A critical grasp of the politics of youth crime, youth justice and social control.
• An appreciation of the temporal and spatial dimensions of youth justice and the significance of comparative transnational analyses.

Aims
This module aims to:

• Gain a thorough understanding of the evolution of radicalism and terrorism in South-east Asia (SEA),
• Offers a rigorous course of study that evaluates the psychological processes, events, and also addresses the diverse and multifaceted factors that fuel radicalization to provide further context for students,
• Offers a practical perspective on managing radicalised individuals from experienced professionals and practitioners working in the field of counter-terrorism,
• Critically understand the challenges that radicalization poses to counter-terrorism stake-holders in combating radicalisation,
• Engage in informed debate and critical appraisal of the various de-radicalisation strategies that have been developed to address terrorist rehabilitation.

Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module students will be able to:

• Gain an analytical understanding of the origins, magnitude, and evolution of the threat of radicalisation around the world, with a greater focus on South-east Asia (SEA),
• Understand the psychological aspects of radicalization and de-radicalisation, focusing on Singapore,
• Appreciate the challenges that radicalization poses to counter-terrorism stake-holders,
• Present their work in both written and oral presentations.

Aims
Preparing a dissertation enables students to develop their knowledge of a particular topic and develops their ability to work independently.

Learning Outcomes
Ability to work independently. Ability to plan work. Ability to marshal, analyse and present large amounts of material.

Aims:

• To engage students in an extended period of fieldwork and self-directed learning in partnership with a non-profit organisation in Singapore, in which they will complete an agreed project for the external organisation; 
• To allow students on the basis of this placement experience to describe and analyse connections between social policy and practice;
• To foster experiential learning by requiring students to reflect on their placement experience and learning;
• To assist students to further develop their understanding of the workplace and bridge the gap between their academic studies and future employment.

The specific aims are:

• To make links between work-based experiences and theoretical understanding of the role of the host agency in the wider context of service provision, social and economic policies and legislative frameworks that influence their function.
• To enable students to develop the skills of engagement required for undertaking a specific project and manage their own learning within the host agency.

Learning Outcomes
On completion of the module students will be able:

• To demonstrate an understanding and knowledge of the host agency.
• To understand the roles of individuals and the functions of groups within the agency.
• To comment critically on the agency’s culture, structures and policies.
• Explore the range of the current service provision within the organisation and analyse connections between social policy and practices.
• To document the process of undertaking and completing a project of value to the agency.
• To reflect on and evaluate learning gained from the placement in a concise and informative manner with peers and tutors.
• To work effectively as part of a team and member of the host agency.

Aims

• To give an overview of the various theories of risk and security
• To give a detailed focus on violence, sexual aggression, deviance and acquisitive and organised crime, as well as the range of individual and contextual factors that shape such behaviour
• To develop students' problem solving skills across a range of Investigative/Forensic Psychology domains
• To increase awareness of the issues involved in the production of professional reports and the interpersonal skills in communicating and disseminating knowledge to the practitioner community.
• To highlight the ways in which theory and research can inform investigative practice.
• To increase awareness of ethical concerns associated with providing material for the courts / police and related law enforcement services.

Learning Outcomes

• Understand and discuss different explanations of risk and insecurity, as well as theories of crime
• Apply Criminological and sociological theories of behaviour to criminal contexts
• Identify the contributions that experts can make in security contexts in terms of increasing understanding of offender and victim behaviour
• Think critically about a range of controversial issues within risk and security concepts

Aims

• To raise issues concerning the gendered nature of work on deviance
• To consider arguments concerning the women's relation to deviance
• To explore the link between masculinities and crime
• To study the experiences of female offenders
• To explore the experiences of women as victims

Learning Outcomes
After completing the module the student should understand:

• the gendered nature of work on deviance
• feminist contributions to the study of criminology
• the nature of female offending
• key debates regarding the treatment of women within the criminal justice system
• women's victimisation

Aims
To introduce the student to an understanding of the relationship between crime and community as this has been developed since the late 1970s in western criminology. The critically evaluate some of the main crime prevention policy objectives in which have been introduced over the last two decades.

Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module and as a result of your attendance at lectures, seminars and private study you will be expected to be able to demonstrate a critical understanding of:

• the differential impact of crime on various groups within society, from the late 1970s onwards
• the different crime prevention paradigms which have been applied in Britain and their local and national context, over this time period
• the academic contribution to key debates around crime prevention which have taken place since the late 1970s in lnternational policy context
• definitions of community and the community context in which the success of crime prevention policies are measured

Aims

• To understand the main theoretical arguments and debates around social control and surveillance practices
• To examine the relationship between the political administration of cities and the development of surveillance practices and social control
• To critically assess the relationship between the prevention of crime, social control and how these impact upon populations defined by class, gender, 'race' and age
• To explore social control practices as social ordering practices

Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students should be able to:

• Grasp the main theoretical debates around social control in the urban context
• Understand the relationship between city development and the problem of social order
• Appreciate the contested nature of both social order and the meaning of 'public space'
• Critically assess the relationship between crime prevention practices, social control and the constitution of social order in the city.

Aims

• Understand how the intensification of globalisation is relevant to criminology.
• Analyse how criminals have capitalised on new opportunities in the global era.
• transnational approaches to policing and criminal justice.
• Understand how perceptions of crime and criminals are related to mass migration and other flows of movement in an increasingly interconnected environment.
• Explore the current solutions and future predictions proposed by criminologists concerning transnational crime.

Learning Outcomes

• Gain an understanding of why globalisation is a useful framework for critical criminological scholarship.
• Gain the ability to discuss multiple examples of transnational crime and highlight sociological/criminological perspectives on them.
• Gain the ability to deconstruct popular discourses on borders, migration and the movement of objects and ideas in relation to security.
• Gain an understanding of the relevance of broader socio-economic contexts and political instabilities in facilitating transnational crime.
• Be able to critically evaluate a range of criminal justice responses to transnational crime.

Aims

• To situate current criminal justice policy pre-occupations with the victim of crime within the context of victimological and sociological theorising.
• To map the nature and extent of criminal victimisation.
• To explore the impact of criminal victimisation.
• To understand the role of victims’ movements in the formulation of criminal justice policy.

Learning Outcomes

• To develop a critical appreciation of the sub-discipline of victimology, its strengths and weaknesses.
• To grasp an understanding of the formulation of criminal justice policy within a wider socio-political context.
• To critically evaluate the efficacy of the concept of the victim and victim-oriented policies within the contemporary cultural context.
• To have a sound, critical knowledge of the nature and extent of crime and its impact.

Aims

• Understand the primary ways in which crime has developed in 'the information age'.
• Analyse the complexities of responding to crimes on the internet.
• Acquire an appreciation for the contested terrain of the internet.
• Evaluate the sociological relevance of cybercrime.
• Appreciate the rapid social changes that are ongoing due to the recent development of internet capabilities.

Learning Outcomes

• Explain the occurrence of various types of cybercrimes such as those which involve financial fraud, identity theft, harassment, hacking, hate speech, etc.
• Comment on the relationship between the offline and online worlds in relation to criminal and victim identities.
• Discuss the technological and non-technological responses to cybercrime by States, industry and individuals.
• Reflect on the complexities of law enforcement initiatives in 'the information age'.
• Debate the 'securitisation of cyberspace ' in relation to online social movements and the privacy of individuals.
• Assess the issues surrounding and consequences of 'hacktivism'.
• Consider 'cyber warfare' and its role in contemporary geopolitical relations.
• Situate copyright infringements on the internet in regards to intellectual and artistic property.

Aims

• Evaluate the theories of persistence in offending that have been developed from 1850 to today.
• Evaluate the theories of desistence in offending that have been developed from 1850 to today.
• Analyse the empirical evidence that has supported theories of persistence and desistence.
• Critically understand the factors which support desistence.
• Critically analyse competing theories of persistence/desistence in relation to legislation and government policy.

Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module students will be able to:

• Understand and critically analyse theories on persistence and desistence.
• Understand and critically analyse empirical evidence on desistence.
• Present their work in suitable formats, including written and oral presentations.