Programme of Study Catalogue

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
Demonstrate a critical understanding of key contemporary theories of crime and crime prevention.
Critically evaluate the diverse perspectives on policing that derive from key social divisions, such as gender, class, race, age, sexuality, and wealth.
Situate policing at the intersection of competing social representations, such as theories of crime and its prevention, media representations of police and policing, �common sense� notions, and governmental policy.
Critically analyse the diverse and increasingly complex requirements of the police and relate such analyses to the future of policing.

Content:

This module continues and develops the �cultural criminology� approach from the SOC 4022 Introduction to Criminology module. The focus of the content is on policing from a range of sociological perspectives, rather than on operational procedure.
The second part of the module examines the range of activities that the police are required to sustain, from supporting local community initiatives, policing street crime, working with probation service, policing white collar crime, working with victims, working with the media, facilitating inter-agency operations and dealing with international threats, such as corporate fraud, terrorism and cybercrime. This diversifying portfolio of activities, each becoming increasingly specialised poses challenges in relation to state budgets and ethical notions about dignity and human rights. Issues such as the privatisation of the police force and the pressure on regional forces to collaborate on a national and international level will also be explored.