This module introduces you to the scholarship in criminological theory and the sociology of deviance from the nineteenth century to the present.

A unifying theme is the relationship between the problem of social order and strategies of social control as this has been conceived since the late nineteenth century. You will learn about the social and political context from which these various theories have emerged as well as their place within the intellectual development of Criminology.

This module will explore questions such as:

• How can we know about the true extent of crime?
• Are official data sources valid and reliable in informing crime-related policy?
• Can we predict future offending behaviour?
• How should we evaluate crime reduction programmes?

By the end of the module, you will have some of these answers.

You will be learning and working with different data sources related to crime and criminal justice, exploring data from police-recorded crime, the Crime Survey for England and Wales and criminal justice statistics from the courts.

You will develop highly valuable skills in data-handling and analysis during the computer workshops. You do not require any previous knowledge of maths or statistics. All you need is the willingness to learn and continuous practice.

Research provides an important means of producing knowledge and evidence within Criminology. It also contributes to the planning and evaluation of policies and provisions operating within the criminal justice system (CJS); an area of interest for criminologists. Focusing on real-world research in the ‘field,’ you will study the theoretical foundations of how knowledge and evidence is understood and produced and how this underpins the methods adopted by researchers.

You will explore the methods commonly used in criminological research such as:

• Quantitative questionnaires
• Evaluation and randomized control trials (RCTs)
• Qualitative interviews
• Ethnography
• New innovative creative methods
• Participatory action research

You will be able to engage critically with methodological debates within the field of Criminology and develop your own practical research skills.

Study a range of contemporary crime problems. You will explore academic, policy and popular understandings and representations of criminal activities within their historical, socio- economic and cultural contexts. You’ll be encouraged to critically analyse the process of criminalization and criminal justice responses.

Specialist areas of criminological debate within the field may include:

• Cultural criminology
• The criminology of everyday life and the relationship between crime
• Pleasure and transgression

Explore a range of topics and perspectives related to Contemporary?Issues in Policing. This module will cover three key core areas:

• The role of the police in a contemporary and historical?context
• Key policing concepts
• Contemporary issues related to policing in the UK

You will develop an understanding of contemporary issues in policing in the UK and critically consider the role of police officers within the criminal justice system. You’ll gain a critical understanding of key policing concepts such as police power, accountability and ‘cop culture’ and interpret theories in the context of policing.

Through critical analysis of films, television shows, literature, podcasts and social media, you will explore intersections of crime, deviance and popular culture, focusing on how crime is represented in entertainment and can be consumed for pleasure. You will examine how the portrayal of criminal acts, law enforcement and justice shape societal understandings of these issues.

You’ll consider the role entertainment plays in reinforcing or challenging dominant narratives surrounding crime and examine how popular culture serves as both a mirror to societal anxieties and a mechanism for cultural influence. You will critically engage with the concept of deviance, questioning how popular culture either reinforces or disrupts accepted social norms. Through a combination of theoretical readings, media analysis and case studies, you will analyse entertainment as a site of both reproduction and resistance to dominant discourses.

Not all professional contexts are the same – and within any organisation there are diverse people with varied backgrounds. This module focuses on enhancing your intercultural competency and cultural awareness, with a particular emphasis on ‘place-based’ learning. Considering the cultural dynamics of the North West of England and the broader UK helps us reflect upon intercultural dynamics in very different locations.

Through analysis, discussion and self-reflection you will strengthen your ability to navigate diverse workplace settings and enhance your employability in today’s interconnected world.

Explore the ways digitalisation, global interconnectivity, the reliance on smart-devices and the recent developments in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence are transforming crime and criminality.

As a result of significant technological developments in the last few decades, todays and tomorrow’s world is shaped by the use of digital, connected and smart devices in every sphere of life, including work, learning, business, communication, entertainment, healthcare, socialisation and research. The embeddedness of these devices in everyday life brings about not only positive effects but also opportunities for malicious activity leading to great harm to people, vulnerable groups, businesses and states.

You will discuss key concepts, debates and examples from the field of cybercrime, as well as methods used to commit and to defend against cyber offences. Topics to explore include:

• Online fraud
• Sexual exploitation
• Cyberwarfare
• Cryptomarkets and cryptocurrencies
• Hacktivism
• (End-to-end) encryption
• Hacking, malware and phishing

Hone a strong sense of purpose and gain the satisfaction of applying your skills and knowledge to a community, charity or student-led initiative.

Your challenge will be to take responsibility for arranging and completing a voluntary or fundraising activity—locally, virtually or during vacation periods at home. You will need to show that you have made a positive difference through this activity.

In class, you will be asked to reflect on this experience and explore the wider social impact of the work. In doing so you will build your confidence in your ability to contribute meaningfully to society through your future personal and professional path.

The landscape of financial crime has dramatically shifted in recent decades, becoming a pervasive threat to economies worldwide and legal systems are constantly challenged to adapt. In this module you will delve into the core aspects of this complex field, specifically: fraud, money laundering, terrorism financing and the increasingly intertwined relationship between financial crime and cybercrime, where technological advancements often outstrip regulatory capabilities.

You will analyse how these crimes operate, including where appropriate, the implications of technology - cryptocurrencies, ransomware, dark web on these crimes - emphasising the inherent difficulties in effective legal enforcement.

In this module, you will gain a comprehensive understanding of the limitations of global and domestic regulatory frameworks, engage in critical analysis of leading cases and statute. You’ll acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate the challenges of financial crime prevention and detection, while acknowledging the ongoing struggle of law to effectively regulate these activities.

You are invited to collaborate in an interdisciplinary team with other students as you explore major global challenges such as climate change, inequality or emerging technologies.

Throughout the module you will examine how the humanities, arts and social sciences contribute to understanding and addressing complex issues. Classroom discussions and activities focus on the process of identifying problems and considering innovative, ethical responses, while helping you to consider and articulate the relevance of this work to your personal and professional development.

Learn and work with different data sources related to crime and criminal justice, as this module explores data from police-recorded crime, Crime Survey for England and Wales to criminal justice statistics from the courts.

You will ask important questions such as:

• How can we predict future offending behaviour?
• How do we evaluate crime reduction programmes?
• How can we know about the true extent of crime?
• Are official data sources valid and reliable in informing crime-related policy?

By the end of the module, you will have all the answers to these questions.

You will develop highly valuable skills in data-handling and analysis during the computer workshops. This module does not require any previous knowledge of maths or statistics. All you need is the willingness to learn and continuous practice.

Explore how ideas can be developed into real-world projects with lasting value. Through hands-on collaboration and problem-solving, you will develop innovative projects, learn how to bring ideas to life and explore ways to sustain them.

Whether you are working in a team or individually, you will be encouraged to experiment with different approaches to making a difference in artistic, cultural, social and community spaces.

In this module you will focus on the criminal justice response to children in conflict with the law.

The prevalence and nature of youth crime has been a persistent concern for society and is regularly subject to media and political debate. You will examine trends in youth justice policy as well as various possible responses to offending behaviour. You’ll focus particularly on the tension between conceptualising individuals as 'children in trouble' or 'children in need' and an explore how this shapes youth justice policy and practice.

Whilst the current focus on ‘child-first’ youth justice highlights the need to remove the label of ‘offender’, you will examine how far a ‘child-first’ approach is applied equally to all children. You will undertake a critical exploration of why some children continue to be stubbornly over-represented in the youth justice system and what efforts at diversion and decriminalisation might look like.

Learn about forms and methods of punishment today and historically and consider the place of prisons within this wider context. You’ll explore key theories and perspectives around the justification and limitations of past and present practices as you examine the shift to a prison industrial complex.

You will learn to ask key questions such as:

• What constitutes ‘punishment’?
• How have prisons evolved, and what perspectives have influenced carceral projects nationally and internationally?
• Who is most likely to be punished or imprisoned?

You will also question who is most likely to be subject to punishment or imprisonment and how this relates to wider social inequalities and demographic experiences of social control.

Throughout the module you will critically consider the role of reformative approaches to punishment as well as abolitionist perspectives on prisons and restorative and community alternatives to punitive punishment.

What happens when radically different forms of art meet? How do these fused forms change our understanding of the world? We will draw on material from different periods and continents, to explore works of art where, for example, film meets history, poetry meets philosophy, fine art meets sociology, religion meets fiction, and theatre meets politics.

How might we engage with the implications of environmental transformation locally, nationally and globally? Where do we have agency and capacity to intervene?

This module brings together a range of perspectives—historical, political, philosophical and cultural—to explore the nature and severity of the effects of the climate crisis on our world.

The aim of this module is to introduce you to the range of links between crime, ‘deviance’ and the media. You will unpack the ‘common sense’ view of the world and discover how the media constructs knowledge and ‘facts’ about criminality, that we may take for granted in our everyday lives.

You’ll consider ‘the media' as a tool of the state that enables certain political messages about particular social groups to be communicated, forming public opinion.

You will also explore how we come to think about particular individuals or groups as deviant and non-deviants and understand the media’s role in this process. As well as considering representations of crime, you will engage with ideas about the use of media in crime and criminal justice contexts.

Gain an introduction to fundamental environmental criminological theories such as rational choice, routine activity and crime pattern theories to explain how crime clusters in certain spaces and at certain times. This module is one of the most applied modules that you will do as part of your Criminology degree.

You will acquire practical skills that police forces and crime analysts use to better understand these spatial and temporal crime patterns. Delving into GIS crime mapping, you’ll discover how to produce thematic maps and conduct spatial point pattern analysis as well as hotspot analysis.

You will also learn how to conduct time series analysis for crime forecasting and how to develop crime scripts. By studying how police forces apply these theories and how designers create products against crime, you’ll acquire a better understanding of crime prevention through environmental design.

What if you were more likely to be harmed by states and corporations than by terrorists and serial killers? And what if they mostly got away with it? This module unpacks the harms of powerful social elites, states and corporations to think beyond a 'crime' lens and instead explore harms which often go under the radar of research or media. It will consider financial harm and white-collar crime, corruption, states of exception, ecocide and state violence.

You will be introduced to some key theoretical debates and empirical material relating to the crimes of the powerful. You’ll become familiar with the key concepts in this area of study as well as being able to recognize and evaluate some of the complex moral, policy and legal issues associated with white-collar crime, corporate crime and state crime.

In this module you will research a criminological topic of your choice in much greater depth than you have previously.

The module is worth 40 credits, which is the equivalent of two optional taught modules. You are encouraged to undertake your own empirical research, using the methods and techniques you have learned in your second year to generate new evidence. There is also the scope to undertake a desk-based research project if you prefer. The dissertation will span the entire final year of study, but planning will start earlier in the previous academic year.

You will work independently on your project but will be supported by a Criminology academic working in the related field. Academic supervisors will oversee the entirety of your project and advise you on all aspects of it.

You’ll produce a dissertation proposal towards the end of your second year, apply for ethical approval to conduct your research early in your final year and finally, submit your dissertation, which will consist of a series of relevant chapters that collectively address a relevant research question.

Engage with current academic debates on illegal drugs including the emergence of novel psychoactive substances (NPS). Together we will explore illegal drug use, supply, trafficking and manufacture in both local, national and international contexts.

You will develop a critical understanding of key criminological and sociological perspectives on illegal drugs and analyse past, present and emergent trends in drug use. You’ll explore academic policy and popular representations of drugs and drug users within a range of historical, socio-economic and cultural contexts.

You will be taught through a combination of lectures, seminar discussions, independently directed critical reading for seminars, films, documentaries and video clips, and selective internet research.

What does it mean to imagine a world without borders? Using materials typically derived from case studies, reports, archives, film, television and literature, this module foregrounds interdisciplinary approaches.

You will be encouraged to develop your understanding of migration and displacement, and to envision alternative global migration futures in ways that can impact future policy, political and societal perspectives.

Engage with the often-neglected, marginalised and overlooked needs of women within the fields of Criminology and Criminal Justice. This module explores how harm and injustice may occur in various ways and at various intersections, as well as the often-blurred boundaries between victimisation and criminalisation. Yet there is also a focus on power, protest and resistance and how this might play out in different contexts.

Indicative topics and perspectives related include:

• Women, crime and poverty in an age of austerity
• Domestic violence as a pathway to offending and
• The experiences of Black and minoritized women
• Women in the global south

You will engage with a range of sources that seek to decolonise ‘official’ versions of crime and justice and that encourage learning from lived experience.

How do we learn about crime and criminals? Discover the methods criminologists use to study crime and the criminal justice system, moving beyond everyday assumptions and media portrayals.

You’ll investigate research processes in criminology, exploring how scholars gather, interpret and analyse data and critically examining the politics and ethics of criminological research. You will consider the relationship between theory and research developing your understanding from basic concepts to practical application.

The module covers essential steps such as formulating research questions, conducting literature reviews, designing studies and analysing findings. You’ll develop the skills to think like a criminologist and be prepared for deeper engagement with the research field as you progress with your study of criminology.

Is there such a thing as a ‘hate crime’? Not according to the stance wholeheartedly adopted by the criminal justice system in the United Kingdom within the last two decades. In this module you will study a range of perspectives.

You will examine the notion that hate crime is socially constructed by a range of social actors, such as perpetrators, victims and police officers. In an interactive process, you will define whether an interaction is a hate crime or not.

You will consider the role of legal and academic definitions used to decide if something is a hate crime. You’ll explore these by placing them in an international context.

What are the possibilities and pitfalls of community and citizen action, voice and agency? This module uses interdisciplinary case-studies to critically examine collaboration with communities.

You will participate in activities such as a mock citizens' assembly, visit local community groups and hear different points of view from a range of guest speakers on concepts like power, race, gender, class, affect and justice.

Criminology has often been concerned with criminality, criminal behaviour, offenders and offending behaviour. This approach focuses on individual rationale for punishment and ignores or sanitises the relationship between power, inequality, criminalisation and punishment. In this module you will take a critical perspective that challenges these positivist assumptions about how society understands crime, offending behaviour and punishment.

Taking a decolonial perspective you will expand your thinking. You will explore how historical and contemporary structural problems continuously undermine individuals and groups in their efforts to navigate power imbalances and social inequality and in their efforts to avoid the punitiveness that comes with these.

According to scholars, prisons are houses of the poor, indicating how punishment has been normalised for the powerless, poor and disenfranchised. Decolonial scholars build on this thinking, showing the role of coloniality in the present and taking a broad range of relationships, at the global level to demonstrate this wider thinking.

What do we understand by queerness? Looking back at earlier interpretations, we imagine how queerness might evolve—how it might be lived, felt and understood in the future.

You will explore queer futures from a range of perspectives and viewpoints, while examining both feminist and queer theory, as well as queer media and cultural texts and material relating to areas such as activism, politics and healthcare.

Examine a range of sex crimes and forms of sexual offending as defined by the law in England and Wales. You’ll consider the wider social context which may explain why some sex crimes are defined by law and how new crimes emerge as the social context changes. Topics explored include:

• The extent of sexual offending
• How sex crimes are committed
• Who the perpetrators and victims are
• How sex crimes are dealt with by the criminal justice system, including the experiences of victims who engage with the criminal justice system

Who does technology benefit or harm, and what should its role in society be? This module examines the social and ethical issues surrounding the development of modern technologies and their use in the modern world, with a vision to shape our future relationship with technology.

How do ideas understand, transform and conserve the world? In this module we will study examples of powerful ideas such as the nation, free speech, liberation, the free market, culture and nature. We will use case studies to help us explore the relationship between analysis, imagination and practice.