LW6049 - Advanced Criminal Procedure

The module will run across a 12-week semester with students learning through webcasts, lectures, seminars and tutor-guided and student-independent learning. The lecturer will use historical and current political developments, case law and academic writing to give context to core principles. The seminars are reliant on you preparing answers and exercises using both tutor-guided and independent learning and research. You will be given directed learning to prepare for seminar tasks, which go beyond lecture content. Independent learning will include locating and reading relevant source material and will again go beyond both lecture content and directed seminar learning. In seminars students will be able to develop their knowledge by applying findings to factual scenarios and developing oral presentation skills by presenting research findings to the wider group.
The ‘’Advanced Criminal Procedure’ eLP site contains a module handbook outlining the content of the module. Lecture slides, digital lecture recordings and seminar exercises will also be made available on the eLP site. Formative feedback will be provided on knowledge and understanding of criminal procedure as well as a number of opportunities to engage with the method of assessment used in the module.

You will be supported through active participation and discussion during seminars. All lecture and seminar material will be available on the University’s eLearning Portal, supplemented with guidance on further reading relevant to the subjects.
Written assessment feedback will also be provided to allow you to understand how you performed and how you can build on this performance in subsequent assessments within your programme.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. Online reading lists (provided after enrolment) give you access to your reading material for your modules. The Library works in partnership with your module tutors to ensure you have access to the material that you need.

Knowledge & Understanding:
By the end of the module you should be able to:
1. Demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of key principles of criminal procedure relating to roads policing; major incidents and complex investigations and be able to apply those principles in the context of given scenarios encountered by police.

2. Demonstrate your ability to identify, explain, evaluate and interpret relevant law and other guidance, in relation to policing the roads and major incidents.

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
By the end of the module you should be able to:
3. Communicate your knowledge and understanding of key principles of criminal law and of relevant case law 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 and understand how to conduct a lawful, safe and effective investigation.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment will be provided in the form of tutor feedback on workshop tasks relating to a scenario, various aspects of which will be examined throughout the semester. The scenario gradually brings together the various topics of the curriculum that include road policing, response policing and complex investigations. The workshop tasks will require you to assess the legality and appropriateness according to professional standards of police actions. You will be required to provide a brief written answer to a task question.

You will receive brief written feedback on your answer individually, and oral feedback will be provided to the group in the form of discussion in the next workshop.

Summative assessment

The summative assessment on this module will consist in a 3000-word four-component portfolio end-course written submission. You will be required to review four different aspects/stages of the investigation unfolding in the scenario examined in the workshops throughout the semester. You will be expected to provide an appraisal of the legality and appropriateness, according to professional standards, of police actions, up to a maximum of 750 words per component. Each of the four components of the portfolio counts towards 25% of the total mark.

You will receive summative feedback in written form via the eLP and orally from module 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

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Understanding how to police the roads, major incidents, and conduct complex criminal investigations is critical for effective policing. It is vital to understand how police function and interact with other emergency services, and other critical specialists within the criminal process. In this module you will study a number of key policing functions, and will consider the roles and responsibilities of the police in policing the roads, major incidents, and conducting complex investigations. You will examine how crimes are investigated, ethically and respecting human rights and other professional obligations. You will develop the ability to locate relevant criminal law and other guidance documents and to understand and explain the information so obtained. You will also develop the ability to explain principles of criminal law and professional policing by forming structured and coherent arguments, using correct legal terminology, and to problem solve by applying your knowledge of criminal procedure to given factual scenarios.