Critically explore concepts, debates, literature and research on justice, punishment and human rights.

You'll consider whether the criminal justice system balances these three elements.

In the first semester, you'll explore the history of punishment. You'll assess the importance of protecting human rights within punishment and look at the work of philosophers including John Locke, Jeremy Bentham and Michel Foucault.

In the second semester, you'll critically analyse the philosophies of punishment -
deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation and retribution - underpinning the criminal justice system.

We'll explore how much criminological theory can help us understand criminality and harm in the 21st century.

We've already seen dramatic transformations with protests and uprisings, climate change, a global financial crisis and the birth of social media and the dark web.

You'll critically assess which theories can help us understand and respond to the negative consequences of these changes, and why we are willing to inflict harm on others and ourselves.

You'll develop an in-depth understand of 21st century policing issues such as cybercrime and terrorism.

We'll explore the role of intelligence agencies and how effective they are at fighting security issues in Britain.

You'll get a critical awareness of the role of police and agencies such as the National Crime Agency and British Security Service (MI5).

You'll analyse political and cultural texts covering historical, critical and contextual approaches to gender.

You'll examine the way gender is performed, consumed and contested.

We'll look at issues concerning power, gender and identity, examining debates on the social construction of gender.

Get a critical introduction to the interdisciplinary field of Genocide Studies.

You'll explore case studies relating to historical and contemporary instances of genocide, and interrogate the memorialisation of genocide.

You'll evaluate international legal mechanisms of genocide prevention.

We may address themes including the relationship of genocide to cognate categories in international legal discourse such as crimes against humanity and ‘ethnic cleansing’, sociological, criminological and social-psychological approaches to perpetration, the aftermath of genocide and the emerging concept of ecocide.

Explore how police, partner agencies and government bodies combat transnational and corporate crime that transcend regional, national and international boundaries.

You'll discover how law enforcement and government bodies have to work together to prevent and detect these often clandestine crimes.

We'll explore the exchange of weapons, drugs and stolen property, and the exploitation of people through human trafficking and modern day slavery.

Scrutinise the infiltration of governments and businesses through fraud, corruption and money laundering.

We'll also look at how technology and the internet facilitate transnational crimes.

Develop a critical understanding of the definitions, explanations and responses related to youth justice and crime.

Understand how to critically appreciate the impact of ethic, gendered, political and cultural inequality and difference in the experience of youth justice and crime control.

Explore issues pertinent to social justice and injustice with regards to children and young people’s lives, through a variety of contemporary theoretical and policy related lenses.

Explore the lives and experiences of criminalised women, often a marginalised and unheard demographic of the criminal justice system.

With a growing body of work, underpinned by feminist thought, aiming to recognise the gendered experiences and challenges of criminalised women, you’ll unpick and offer a space to develop critical thought and challenge the patriarchal and neo-liberal agendas within society.

You’ll discuss the intersecting layers of system failure, marginalisation and stigma which saturate women’s experiences, alongside the gendered stereotypes the women face. You’ll consider what can influence both women’s offending and desistance from crime, drawing upon research, policy and practice.

You'll explore the key fields of both Convict Criminology and Lived Experience Criminology and their implications, including thematic, empirical and conceptual contributions and be encouraged to critically evaluate the recent developments of people with ‘lived experience’ of criminality and incarceration to criminological perspectives. The module will scrutinise and conclude whether these contributions are likely to enhance or inhibit knowledge production within the field of criminology.    

You will explore different ways in which people die in our society, and the grief processes we go through as a society, even if we do not know the victims. 

Beginning with an introduction to ways of dying, you'll examine how various manners and methods of death are determined and investigated. This involves a detailed look at forensic and criminal investigations to establish cause and intent, including the role of coroner’s inquests and criminal proceedings when necessary.  

 You'll learn about societal processes following a death, such as public notifications and organised gatherings, as well as the role of the media in reporting deaths and shaping public perception. You'll consider the emotional landscape of grief, introducing grief models and processes to understand both public and private mourning, with particular attention to how cultural differences shape death celebrations and mourning practices.  

You'll analyse the impact of death on victims, highlighting the psychological toll and societal expectations of respectful public grieving and explore how individuals can navigate the complexities of being “respectable public grievers” in the public eye, balancing personal loss with societal norms.  

Throughout the module, you'll use case studies to critically evaluate and analyse societal expectations of death and grief and here from guest speakers who can offer unique insights into working with survivors, family members and law enforcement agencies. 

You'll develop an understanding of the role of intelligence agencies in combating insecurity in Britain since 1900. You'll gain an understanding of the role of the British Security Services, Police and Military since the the beginning of the 20th Century, examining critically the changing nature of the threat posed to the British state. You will focus on the way institutions have adapted to varying security concerns from German or Soviet spies, the Troubles in Northern Ireland and the more recent emergence of Terrorism and State Interference. You will also examine the complexity of securitisation within a democratic political framework.   

This module focuses on the evolution of security studies as a discipline and its implications for practice. You'll examine a variety of theoretical and empirical materials in order to analyse pressing questions related to issues of war, security and peace in the world today.