Contemporary Criminal Justice Policy in England and Wales
This module aims to provide students with a critical introduction to the institutional, political and social context within which contemporary criminal justice policy in England and Wales is developed. It provides students with an understanding of theoretical perspectives on the causes and consequences of crime, and encourages a rigorous engagement with the techniques through which crime is currently recorded, reported and responded to at the domestic level.
The module will begin by introducing students to key institutions within the CJS and will set the development of CJ policy in England and Wales in the broader socio-political context. From there, it will go on to examine the processes through which forms of behaviour come to be conceptualized and constructed as ‘criminal’, and will reflect upon the value and limitations of current methods for collecting and reporting crime statistics. Subsequent seminars will examine the evidence base on who commits crime in England & Wales, consider the relationship between criminality, exclusion, class, race, age & gender, and reflect on competing theories that have been offered to explain the causes of offending. Turning attention from the causes of crime to its prevention, the module will also examine modern techniques for crime control (including risk assessment, surveillance & offender profiling), and will reflect upon the role of the police in investigating crime (particularly within black / ethnic minority communities). Finally, the module will shift focus towards responding to criminality, focusing in turn upon the prosecution/trial process, the options for non-custodial disposals, and the conditions of imprisonment.