You’ll be encouraged to explore the criminal justice system in detail covering theories of crime, rehabilitation, retribution, deterrence, desistance and restorative justice. You’ll gain an insight into how different civil services (including prison and probation) work with offenders whilst also gaining a better understanding of the work carried out in the third and private sectors.

Drug Interventions

This module critically evaluates the extent and nature of drug misuse, methods of administration, and the harms associated with drug misuse while critically analysing interventions designed to tackle drug misuse. 

Working with Adults who Offend

This module will consider ethical and effective practice with adults who are involved within the Criminal Justice System. As part of this process, students will critically analyse the theories that underpin offending behaviour, with specific focus on probation, prisons, and punishment.

Approaches to Forensic Mental Health

Foster a sophisticated critical appreciation of the impact of adverse childhood experiences and trauma on the development of mental health challenges. Develop skills in critically appraising interventions for forensic mental health – including how best to communicate this efficacy to practitioners.

Working with Children and Young People in the Criminal Justice System

This module will explore ethical and effective practices with children and young people who are involved within the Criminal Justice System. The module will require students to critically analyse the theories that underpin offending behaviour, with a specific focus on children and young people who are at risk of or have committed a crime.

Resettlement, Rehabilitation and Restorative approaches

This module aims to provide a theoretical understanding of resettlement, rehabilitation, and restorative justice and how this applies to contemporary practice and industry giving students a practical and critical understanding of the resettlement services provided to those that come into contact with the criminal justice system.

Research Project

To develop an understanding of the ways in which social science and criminal justice research is designed and conducted; developing students’ ability to critically evaluate research and affording students’ the opportunity to apply both their understanding of research approaches and their research skills, to their own research or study.

Applied Investigation and Public Protection

To develop managerial knowledge of models and approaches to managing risk within Public Protection and working with multi agencies to facilitate a best practice approach for investigating cases relating to the vulnerable in society.

Taught by a team of lecturers with long-standing expertise in the field, you will learn through a mix of lectures, seminars and tutorials.

Teaching is on a Wednesday between 10:00 and 4:00 and this is likely to remain the pattern in the future.

Each module is taught over a 5-week period, with the assessment/s for each module held within that 5-week period.

Full-time students attend every week during term-time and part-time students attend when their modules are being taught. 

The teaching team comprises of active researchers who specialise in offender management, youth justice and youth policy, restorative justice, drug use, crime prevention, homicide and violence, animal abuse, international informal justice and alternatives to prosecution and imprisonment.

RESEARCH-INFORMED TEACHING

The Centre for Criminology has a long history of research on the probation service and custodial institutions, and related topics such as the rehabilitation and resettlement of offenders, effectiveness and accountability in policy and practice, inter-agency partnerships and relationships between the criminal justice system, the Third Sector and the UK and Welsh governments. It also conducts high-quality research into the use of drugs and alcohol, violence and homicide, and criminal investigation.

Assessment methods are varied and include essays, critiques, written examinations, multiple choice tests, and oral and poster presentations.

You’ll also be required to complete a research project of around 10,000 words on an individual piece of research on a topic you agree with your supervisor and which may be work-related.