Criminology with Law BSc(Hons)

The English legal system is complex, rooted in history and constantly evolving. This module introduces you to the key elements of the English legal system and also looks at the procedure to enact legislation, an analysis of the anatomy of an Act of Parliament, delegated and secondary legislation and principles of statutory interpretation. A brief history of the evolution of common law is also considered, together with an analysis of the current English court system and the continuing importance of the doctrine of precedent. In this module you'll also learn the methods and techniques necessary for using legal resources, such as cases and legislation to construct legal arguments.

This module explores the nature of crime and deviancy, the main perspectives in explaining criminal behaviour, and the structures of the criminal justice system. You’ll start by examining the definitions of crime, followed by an exploration of the criminal legal system including the key criminal offences and defences. You’ll then be introduced to the key agencies within the criminal justice system, which include the Police, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Courts, and Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service. The second half of this module introduces the key theoretical explanations for criminality, ranging from psychological explanations to sociological explanations.

This module explores the original theories of law, as well as legal theories which disprove the myth of law as inherently neutral. By exploring areas such critical race theory, feminism and/or postmodernism, this module is inspired by Woodie Guthrie: this module kills fascists. The module explores depictions of law and legal injustices in popular culture and looks at the nature of human rights, the Human Rights Act 1998, and the place of the individual in society.

In this module you’ll explore these questions and study qualitative and quantitative research approaches. You’ll explore philosophical underpinnings of social research, key considerations concerning research ethics and researcher reflexivity, a range of data collection methods and techniques for data analysis, and how social research can be evaluated.

In this module you’ll explore these questions and study qualitative and quantitative research approaches. You’ll explore philosophical underpinnings of social research, key considerations concerning research ethics and researcher reflexivity, a range of data collection methods and techniques for data analysis, and how social research can be evaluated.

You’ll have the opportunity to plan and complete a practical work based experience related to your course. This will give you the chance to apply your theoretical subject knowledge to a professional setting, helping to develop your employability skills in preparation for your future career.

This module critically explores the Human Rights Act 1998 and its implications for society today. It focuses on post-colonial critiques of human rights and the role of human rights as a tool of liberation. The Human Rights Act 1998 has defied its critics and has matured into an essential aspect of the UK’s legal landscape. You'll learn by being involved in practical debates about Human Rights and the 1998 Act, such as the application of human rights to British armed forces overseas, and debates as to the future and whether it is important to have a Human Rights Act, what its future legal status should be, or whether it should be repealed.

You'll learn about the common law of England and Wales concerning liability in tort. Particular emphasis is placed on the theoretical justifications of a duty of care, the coherence of breach of duty, as well as causation and defences. You'll also learn through an in-depth analysis, of specific torts as black letter law.

You’ll explore two aspects of organised crime. Firstly, you'll study white-collar, financial crimes and the damaging impact that they can have on the economy of a country. Secondly you’ll examine how organised crime can drive people trafficking and trading of drugs and illegal arms, which enables ‘rogue’ states to wage war on their own people. Finally you‘ll explore how both kinds of crime relate to your own life.

This module explores the strategies of crime reduction and prevention. You’ll explore a range of different reduction responses and investigate the evidence regarding their effectiveness in different situations. You’ll also consider explanations for the different ways that society responds to crime, setting these in a social, political and theoretical context.

You'll explore the nature, variety and extent of violent crime and its prevention (for example terrorism, homicide, work-placed bullying, and stalking). You'll demonstrate your knowledge of theoretical explanations for violent crime and violence prevention methods.

You’ll be introduced to critical perspectives of the methods and processes of work undertaken with offenders and victims within the criminal justice process. This will include an exploration of factors that may influence criminal offending and how these may be addressed with strategies to reduce and manage offending. You'll also explore patterns of victimisation and repeat victimisation and strategies to address the needs of victims.

You'll research a topic of your choice in depth, giving you the opportunity to develop your own research interests. Drawing on the area you have chosen to study, you'll engage with issues of project design and research methods. You'll discuss your project proposal in a presentation and produce a dissertation about your research topic. Throughout you will be supported by one-to-one supervision.

In this module you'll explore the framework of immigration control and the right of abode and consider the law relating to deportation and removal from the UK. You'll also study the law relating to claims for asylum, including separate elements of the definition of a refugee under international law. This module explores the approach to asylum claims including matters relating to credibility, sufficiency of protection and internal relocation and taking a human-rights oriented approach, looks at the context in which the law arises.

In this module you'll explore law and ethics in the provision and regulation of healthcare and medicine. There is a particular recognition that medical law cannot be considered as a purely national subject, and this module will adopt a comparative approach, additionally focusing on Europe and the international agenda. You'll learn how the same regulatory and ethical questions have been resolved in different jurisdictions to help the critical comprehension of the issues raised by health and social care within England and Wales, but also in the development of a critical ability to discover how law may be reformed to be more socially just.

You’ll explore modern police investigation practice in relation to serious crime, including the contribution of forensic science, offender profiling, surveillance data and new technologies. You’ll consider how current research into serious crime, such as homicide, terrorism and sexual offences, informs practice and police decision making, as well as how investigations and major enquiry management have become increasingly professionalised.

In this module you'll be supported to develop your knowledge of the relationship between mental illness and criminal activity. You'll explore a range of mental illnesses and disorders as a cause of offending and have the opportunity to consider the links between theory and practice.