BA (Hons) Criminology and Social Policy with Foundation Year

This module will introduce students to the role of Government in addressing social problems. It will draw on student’s own experiences of ‘living social policy’ and encourage them to shape the weekly programme. Each week will look at a social problem or area of policy, identify the context of the issue/s in this area and look at the current Government approach to dealing with the issue. Students will be encouraged to take a critical approach to Government solutions and use theory, research and ‘lived experience’ to develop their understanding and ideas.

To introduce students to how we think about crime and criminal justice. The module explores how popular and official knowledge about crime and victimisation are constructed. It goes on to locate these constructions within the context of contemporary British society.

This module will introduce students to the key elements of the Criminal Justice System (CJS) in England and Wales. It highlights how the police, CPS, courts, jury and sentencing operate independently but also within a wider framework, thereby giving students vital introductory information that is required to explore the deeper workings of the system later within their degree. There is also opportunity to consider potential future careers within the CJS (through listening to guest speakers who work in the field, asking questions and reflecting upon their own possible aspirations within seminars) and work towards the Wolverhampton Enterprise and Employability Award Silver Level (WEEA). The assessment for this module also builds upon the employability theme of this module, as students take on the roles of different parts of the CJS and develop team work, debating and presentation skills.

This module will review the importance of advocacy in challenging disadvantage and in raising awareness of issues that impact on the health, wellbeing and efficacy of citizens locally, nationally and/ or globally. It will also focus on skills for the workplace, including working in a team and research skills. It will examine the importance of knowledge to a functioning society, including active citizen engagement, and how to access reliable information to support the campaign. It will examine the skills needed to work productively in a team and how to put them into practice. The module will review successful awareness raising campaigns, leading to the development and implementation of a campaign or event.

The module examines the notion of rights, with particular reference to the rights enshrined in the Human Rights Act 1998. The legal issues arising from claims that human rights have been infringed are examined in the context of case law. This in turn illustrates the relevant legal principles that are applied and remedies available for infringement.

This module examines the relationship between the media, culture and society by questioning the role of media and culture, and its centrality to social life in the 21st century. Who controls the media? What messages does the media send about social groups – particularly disadvantaged ones? What role does the media have in manufacturing deviance? Is independent media really independent and can it challenge the mainstream media? Does social media have too much power? What is ‘Fake News’? Through these questions, and others, this module will examine the relationship between the media, culture, capitalism, political power and society.

The module aims to provide students with a comprehensive introduction to victimology, an important and increasingly relevant subject within the discipline of Criminology. The module will provide students with an overview of the development of victimology and its history, theoretical perspectives in victimology, the measurement of victimisation, victims in the media, the nature and impact of the victim experience including that of the criminal justice process, and the development of support services and victim policy. The module will consider key issues and debates within victimology and in relation to victims of particular types of crimes.

Framing the Criminological World offers a critical exploration of explanations and understandings of crime through a criminological lens. The module provides students with an understanding of criminology as a theoretical and applied discipline. Therefore, the module analyses criminological theories of crime and deviance and explores the application of theories in real-life cases. The module focuses on a variety of forms of theory, from Labelling and Reintegrative Shaming Theory to Conflict Theory. The spatial and temporal dynamics of the criminological theory are examined with reference to debates on the carnival of crime and political agendas. Collectively the sessions enable students to develop a comprehensive knowledge and theoretical understanding of criminology as an applied discipline. Finally, it will explore criminological theory as a distinct criminological topic, whilst examining its relationship with social science broadly.

This module will introduce students to both qualitative and quantitative research methods in the social sciences. The distinction can be over-stated given as many research projects now use mixed methods, but a difference does exist and it is necessary to unpack it for heuristic purposes. The module will proceed through first outlining the background and key aspects of the qualitative and quantitative traditions, before providing case examples of field work using particular research techniques (surveys, semi structured interviews) within the two broad approaches.

In this module we will develop an understanding of some key policy-making ideas from public administration, new public management, governance and devolved policy-making.  The module will uncover the layers of governance in the UK policy-making field in the 2020’s, helping us to understand the complexities and messy nature of policy-making but also to evaluate the importance of where we think policy should be made.  The Brexit referendum transferred power away from the EU and into the hands of politicians at Westminster, argued as a positive for some.  But is this where we want our decisions to be made, are there arguments for more devolution and more decision making on our doorsteps – and if there are who do we want to make those decisions?  We will reflect on the importance of policy-making that reflects diversity in our communities and that is introduced in an inclusive way.

Environmental Crime offers a critical exploration of environmental dangers through a criminological lens. It assesses the cultural and legal parameters of causing harm to the planet (Green Criminology) by considering what constitutes an environmental crime in contrasting contexts. The module focuses on a variety of forms of environmental crime, from fast fashions to the illegal trade and poaching of wildlife. The spatial and progressive dynamics of environmental factors are examined with reference to debates on black markets and cultural rituals. Collectively the lectures enable students to develop comprehensive knowledge and theoretical understanding of Green Criminology. The module explores environmental crime as a distinct criminological topic, whilst examining its relationship with criminology and criminal justice more broadly.

To introduce students to the history of the modern police force. To examine the relationship between police and society.

Forms of punishment have changed over time from the infliction of retributive and immediate bodily pain (hanging, branding etc) in public to the wider use of imprisonment and non-custodial based punishments, such as probation and fines. The module will discuss how and why these changes have taken place. It will explore the types of punishments employed in the UK in the period 1718-1948, as well as the social and intellectual forces that have had a seminal impact on the development of punishments and sentencing during that period. It will also consider how, over time, the role of the victim in sentencing has altered, as well as the wider social, historical, economic and cultural factors which various theorists argue have driven these changes.

To provide students with sociological theories and perspectives that help to explain racialised differences, identities and ethnicities. To provide knowledge of the processes and patterning of racialised differences, identities and ethnicities. To examine contexts in which racialised divisions and inequalities continue and are reproduced, as shown in contexts such as education, work and media.

In this module we will consider the future opportunities and challenges in the work and labour market in the UK. During this module we will address the key variables at play in evaluating the future of work. The topics covered in this module will range from the role of automation, the impact of Brexit and the desire to reach a net-zero economy in the coming decades. We will critically engage with each variable to decide on the extent to which it will be a changing labour market and how our communities can adjust and flourish in response.

This module provides opportunities for community-based learning through voluntary community engagement. This activity will enable you to understand the relevance of your studies within a community context, combining practical experience with academic studies. In addition, it is an opportunity to develop a critical understanding of the Third Sector, and the notion of citizenship. Both subject specific and transferable skills will be developed and utilised throughout this module, thus developing graduate employment attributes.

To enable study in depth of certain contemporary issues in criminology. To allow critical evaluation of issues in criminology and to relate these to theory, policy and practice.

This module aims to examine how crime in modern society is prevented and controlled. To critically examine informal and formal methods of controlling crime. To address ways in which the broader behaviour and lifestyles of particular individuals and social groups are controlled through crime control.

For this module, students will undertake an independent project, supported by a member of the teaching team, about a topic of their choice. Students have three options for their project: a secondary research dissertation; a primary research dissertation; or, an applied research project with a not-for-profit organisation. Further details are provided in the module content.

In this module you will undertake an independent project. The project allows you to focus on a social policy area of your choice and produce an in-depth piece of work. There is an opportunity to base your project in an organisation and carry out research in partnership with that organisation.

This module will focus on how international Non Governmental Organisations – such as World Health Organisation and United Nations – impact on policy making in the UK. It will investigate whether global problems, such as climate changes, increasing wealth inequality, modern day slavery and global pandemics and disease, give these NGO’s legitimacy in the national policy-making context – including with the general public. It will explore the range of ways International NGO’s try to influence national policy – and how and why national policymakers resist the policy directives of these organisations.

The module will focus on developments in modern punishment within the UK from 1948 to the present day. It will provide students with the opportunity to learn about, debate and critically discuss the fundamental changes in punishment methods following the introduction of the 1948 Criminal Justice Act, which abolished the use and distinction between convict and local prisons and which also paved the way (at least in theory) for a more rehabilitative and reformative approach to punishment of both adults and juveniles. It will allow students a deeper understanding of both how and why we have the current system of punishing offenders, and also ask them to consider the degree to which such a system is effective in its means of punishment.

This module focuses on theoretical perspectives, practices, and the foundations of offender rehabilitation, desistance, and the process of change. It explores the precepts of rehabilitation of offenders, what works in offender management, and how the relevant theories and interventions inform these practices and the practitioners. Desistance is introduced as an associated to rehabilitation concept to particularly inform the understanding of the processes that aspire to ceasing offending behaviour (Weaver and McNeil, 2007). Central part of the above exploration is the supervision of offenders which invites exploration of key aspects and methods, such as Relationship building, Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioural techniques, and the Risk-Need-Responsivity and Good Lives models. The module appreciates that multi-agency working remains vital to the above processes and as such the enablers, barriers, and challenges around multi-agency work in rehabilitation are examined. It further incorporates consideration of the elements of diversity, inclusion, and discrimination in the rehabilitation context and how these affect the prospects of community reintegration (Thompson, 2012). The module also aims to integrate examination of the place and role of probation in the process of change due to its direct association with rehabilitation and desistance. The focus of this module enriches the scope of the CCJ curriculum and develop the knowledge from other modules, such as Criminal Justice, Punishment and Society, Prisons and Prisoners, and Theories of Crime. It further integrates the students' critical understanding of Probation and Offender Management and their role within the criminal justice journey. Quite crucially, this module may also assist graduates interested in joining the Probation Service and the relevant training programme (PQiP). The current HMPPS guidance provides that the period of the training programme is reduced from 21 to 15 months if the applicant's degree covered three out of the four listed topics, namely The Criminal Justice System, Understanding Crime and Criminal Behaviour, Penal Policy and the Punishment of Offenders, and Rehabilitation of Offenders, and they clarify that eligible applicants need to have studied modules on at least three of the four topics as part of a degree. As the fourth one in the above list is directly linked and covered in the present module, 6CJ015 provides a great benefit to the students concerned. Additionally, as a standalone module focussing on desistance and rehabilitation, 6CJ015 is very useful to those interested in mentoring or prison work too. It is also worth noting the timeliness of this module which is also telling of its necessity in CCJ curriculums. The part-privatised infrastructure of Probation Service in England and Wales is set to undergo a process of re-nationalisation in June 2021 which will renew and enhance the attention and interest in the service and offender management. The module's focus on rehabilitation, desistance, and supervision as well as direct links to employability makes it now an essential part of a CCJ programme more than ever.

This module will detail some of the current social inequalities that impact upon the people and the communities of the West Midlands and beyond. Topics to be considered include health inequalities, access to education and skills, access to high skills, high wage employment, people/groups covered under protected characteristics laws and access to a cleaner environment. The module will critically analyse policy responses to these social inequalities, for example we will look and the government’s ‘levelling-up agenda’, the WMCA’s model of ‘Inclusive Growth’ and specific responses such as the ‘clean air zone’ programme.

This module examines concepts and theories of serious and organised crime and evaluates its development, impact and initiatives taken to tackle it. Case study material will include drug smuggling, human trafficking, environmental crime and maritime piracy.        

The aim of this module is to introduce students to the idea of young people as criminals, and the youth justice system they move through. Youth crime has been a persistent concern over the past century, with an increasing societal focus and concern on anti-social behaviour. This module will allow students to consider the emergence of ‘youth offending’ and consider whether current youth justice policy is working. The module will explore youth pathways into crime and the treatment of young people in the YJS. The welfare vs. justice debate will be explored and students will gain a critical appreciation of the theory and ideas underpinning youth justice policy and practice in England and Wales.