Introduction to The Criminal Justice ’System’ in England and Wales
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| SOCI1014 | Sociology and Social Policy | 1 | 20 | Spring UK |
- Code
- SOCI1014
- School
- Sociology and Social Policy
- Level
- 1
- Credits
- 20
- Semesters
- Spring UK
Summary
This module seeks to introduce and contextualise the function and processes of the agencies and institutions that operate within the criminal justice system. The module will encourage students to identify the tensions and inequalities that lead criminologists and criminal justice practitioners to promote reform of the criminal justice system.
Target Students
Available to all level 1 students in the School of Sociology and Social Policy and level 1 and level 2 subsidiary students from outside the school and exchange students.
Classes
This module is taught through a combination of lectures and seminars.
Assessment
- 50% Coursework: 2,000 words.
- 50% Exam (1-hour): Online exam.
Assessed by end of spring semester
Educational Aims
The aims of the module are to:1.To examine the institutions, agencies and processes, which respond officially to the commission of offences, from the police and the courts to the management of offenders and prison services.2.Explore whether criminal justice agencies and institutions do indeed operate as part of a system with a coherent set of objectives.3.Examine different theories of criminal justice and asks what ‘justice’ means for offenders, victims and society as a whole.4.Examine the impact of the politicisation of criminal justice policy-making by setting the Criminal Justice System in England and Wales in social and political context. This will include alternatives to conventional forms of criminal justice and the lessons to be learnt from other jurisdictions and the impact of the global influences on criminal justice policy and the criminal justice ‘system’.Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and Understanding
Students will have developed:
1. An ability to describe of the function of the agencies and institutions within the criminal justice system in England and Wales.
2. An understanding of the processes that exist within the criminal justice system as a response to the commission of criminal offences.
3. The ability to identify the causes and impact of criminal justice policy-making on the criminal justice system.
4. The ability to evaluate the limitations and effectiveness of the criminal justice system in England and Wales.
Intellectual skills
Students will have developed the capacity:
1. To engage critically with the academic debate and literature regarding criminal justice theories, the functioning of, and processes within, the criminal justice system.
2. To identify contradictions and inequalities within the criminal justice system.
Professional Practical Skills
Students will have developed:
1. Awareness of the need for ethical conduct in the workplace.
2. Effective oral and written communication skills to convey complex ideas in a clear and concise manner.
3. Transferable IT skills including: accurate word-processing; use of e-mail; and information retrieval from electronic sources through the Internet.