CR5010 - Crime, Offenders and Victims

What will I learn on this module?

The sociological and criminological causes of crime are introduced in this module and their implications considered in terms of police practice, crime prevention and criminal justice. Vulnerability and victimisation are critically assessed, and the social harms of crime identified. The module also considers those at risk of onset of offending (including volume crime, and links to serious and organised crime), and the potential impact of early interventions from police and other agencies, e.g. MAPPA. Offender management and rehabilitation practices, including those were police work in partnership with other agencies, are analysed. Similarly the social, cultural and economic factors that shape victimisation and vulnerability are considered, and their implications for policing responses assessed. Once those 'at risk' of offending and victimisation are identified in broad terms the module will consider crime prevention theories and strategies and different policing models that might promote prevention.

The importance of police engagement with communities - acting with legitimacy in accordance with principles of procedural justice - are critically reviewed in relation to conducting effective criminal investigation, gathering intelligence, and providing public reassurance.

CoP pre-join curriculum learning outcomes: CoP February 2023 curriculum v6.0 05/2023

Criminology and Crime Prevention: 4, 5, 7

Vulnerability and Risk: 1.1, 2, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.8, 4.9, 5, 7, 8, 8.4, 8.5, 9, 9.2, 10, 11, 12, 12.3, 13.1, 14.4

Public Protection: 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.3, 3.4a, 3.7, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7.1, 8

Criminal Justice: 9, 10

Response Policing: 8, 9

Policing Communities: 6, 7, 8, 9

Police Investigations: 6, 7

Victims and Witnesses: 1, 1.1, 2, 2.2, 2.6, 2.7, 2.8, 2.9, 2.10, 4, 4.2, 4.5, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8.5, 8.6, 8.8

Valuing Diversity and Inclusion: 1.2, 1.2a, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 4.1, 4.2, 4.5, 4.6, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.6, 5.8

How will I learn on this module?

The module aims to further develop your skills in areas such as group discussion and debate as well as independent learning. Weekly lectures will frame the discussion of each area of the syllabus. Teaching will employ the use of a set of key crime, offending and victimisation questions which will be worked through and revisited throughout the lecture and seminar workshop programme. The learning experience on this module will draw upon a glossary of key concepts that you will test the utility of and grapple with. Selective key stages and agencies of the criminal justice process – and the role of other partner agencies – will form the context for us to explore how victims, witnesses and offenders experience this process and to expand your theoretical knowledge and your ability to engage in debates concerning policy development and practice. Lectures will introduce theory, research policy and practice connectives and will stimulate and provoke your thinking. Seminars will follow a more student-led, workshop format. For each seminar workshop you are likely to engage in work as part of a discussion group to unpack, debate, research and analyse a set of provocative questions via a case study or alternative exercise. You will also have space to develop your own thinking and position as a scholar of policing and criminology. The seminar workshops are tailored to the learning preferences of the students on the module each year and these are determined in consultation with you and your cohort in the first weeks. The learning and teaching on this module allows us to oscillate between theory and practice. Formative assessment is built into the seminar workshop and lecture programme. Further development of your confidence in synthesising, explaining and discussing information from a range of sources is also a key aim of the approach taken in this module.

How will I be supported academically on this module?

Developing your ability to reflect informatively, and think critically about some of the challenges posed by considering links between crime, offending, victimisation and wider social problems is central to this module. The module encourages you to make appropriate connections between theory, research, policy and practice in terms of policing, partner agencies and the wider criminal justice system. As part of your intellectual development, you will receive support from your peers in the classroom and from the module tutor/s throughout the module.

Support outside the classroom includes additional academic support via 1-1 tutorial support opportunities that we encourage you to take up with the module tutor/s.

What will I be expected to read on this module?

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. The reading list for this module can be found at: http://readinglists.northumbria.ac.uk
(Reading List service online guide for academic staff this containing contact details for the Reading List team – http://library.northumbria.ac.uk/readinglists)

What will I be expected to achieve?

Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the module you should be able to: 1. Demonstrate your knowledge and understanding links between victimisation, offending and wider socio-economic problems in the context of given scenarios encountered by police. 2. Demonstrate your ability to identify, explain, evaluate and interpret theories of offending and desistance, particularly in relation to policing. Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities: By the end of the module you should be able to: 3. Communicate your knowledge and understanding of key perspectives on offending and victimisation and link those to policing and statutory authorities accurately. 4. Understand the variety of policy/guidance documents relevant to policing and the work of other agencies intersecting with the police in the criminal justice system.
Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA): By the end of the module you should have developed the ability to: 5. understand and put into practice the fundamental responsibility of the police service to identify and support those who are vulnerable or at risk 6. Enhance your knowledge and understanding of key roles of the police in conjunction with partner agencies and the link to community engagement.

How will I be assessed?

Formative assessment During the semester you will complete a written exercise analysing a problem scenario relating to policing, requiring a plan of action underpinned by academic theory. This will be marked by your seminar tutor and you will receive written feedback on your answer. Summative assessment This will take the form of a written examination. The examination will require you to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of key theoretical and criminological perspectives on causes of offending and patterns of victimisation. It will also address the role of the police in relation to other agencies and the value and nature of police community engagement. Summative feedback will be available in written form on scripts, via the eLP as notes for guidance and orally from module/seminar tutors. Assessment Criteria and Grade-Related Criteria will be made available to you to support you in completing assessments. Grade-Related Descriptors are descriptions of the level of skills, knowledge and/or attributes that you need to demonstrate in order achieve a certain grade or mark in an assessment, providing a mechanism by which the quality of an assessment can be measured and placed within the overall set of marks.

Pre-requisite(s)

n/a

Co-requisite(s)

n/a

Module abstract

Crime, offending and victimisation do not occur randomly and are not dispersed evenly across society. The module explores relations between crime, offending and victimisation and wider patterns of gender, ethnicity, geography and socio-economic factors to consider how broader inequalities are shaped by, and subsequently influence, social harm. The role of the police and other partner agencies within and beyond the criminal justice sector are critically examined in terms of different intervention and prevention models and links drawn with the conduct of police investigations. The relationship of police and community, and the importance of legitimacy and trust, are considered both as important democratic principles and factors that are essential for effective investigation, intelligence-gathering, and crime prevention.

Course info

UCAS Code LL44

Credits 20

Level of Study Undergraduate

Mode of Study 3 years full-time

Department Social Sciences

Location City Campus, Northumbria University

City Newcastle

Start September 2024 or September 2025

Fee Information

Module Information

All information is accurate at the time of sharing. 

Full time Courses are primarily delivered via on-campus face to face learning but could include elements of online learning. Most courses run as planned and as promoted on our website and via our marketing materials, but if there are any substantial changes (as determined by the Competition and Markets Authority) to a course or there is the potential that course may be withdrawn, we will notify all affected applicants as soon as possible with advice and guidance regarding their options. It is also important to be aware that optional modules listed on course pages may be subject to change depending on uptake numbers each year.  

Contact time is subject to increase or decrease in line with possible restrictions imposed by the government or the University in the interest of maintaining the health and safety and wellbeing of students, staff, and visitors if this is deemed necessary in future.

 

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