This module will cover:

- Concepts related to criminology
- Understanding concepts, theories and relationship surrounding victims and offenders
- Motivations for offending
- Impact of crime of individuals
- Introduction to the Criminal Justice System
- Roles and responsibilities of those who work in the Criminal Justice System
- Impact of diversity on the Criminal Justice System
- Crime prevention theories and strategies
- Problem solving techniques and their effectiveness
- Reviewing specific initiatives of crime prevention
- Core functions and methods associated with community policing
- How the police can utilise community engagement to foster effective partnerships
- Models of policing and their effectiveness - Evidence Based Policing
- Crime pattern analysis

1. Group presentation – you will work in groups of 4-5 to produce a presentation outlining the nature and impact of society on the criminal justice system and its impact on offenders and victims. The presentation will centre around one television drama of real or fictional crime and sociologically related depictions selected from a list provided to you by the tutors and chosen by the group. You will be able to show understanding of topics relating to society and the criminal justice system as well as the impact of crime on individuals and relationship between victims and offenders. You will demonstrate understanding of the topic applying concepts and theories to scenarios presented in the drama.

2. Verbal critical discussion - participation in a verbal critical discussion whereby you will be asked to explain theories or methods of crime of crime prevention and models of policing and actively discuss with others their topic and analysis. Students will show understanding of the topic and ability to engage with the subject matter through their own comments and comment on other students’ contributions.

You will learn through a variety of session types, including lectures, tutorials, workshops, practicals and assignment support sessions.

On this module a variety of techniques will be used to support your learning, including the use of real or simulated case studies, discussions, virtual and physical simulations, guest speakers and individual and group tasks. Sessions will be interactive to promote engagement and support your learning. We will not only focus on theory but also real world practical application and measures taken by agencies when faced with problems. You will be given opportunities to practice your presentation skills within tutorials and a mock discussion is built into the module timetable so you can practice before the summative assessment.

1. Explain theories of crime and crime prevention

Knowledge and understanding; Communication

2. Communicate information surrounding offenders and victims using theories of offending and victimology

Application and problem solving

3. Describe the relationship between the public, the police and the criminal justice system and the impact of community engagement or the lack thereof

Knowledge and understanding

4. Apply problem solving theories, tools and practical methods to crime and community based problems

Application and problem solving

- Access to simulation suite
- Access to Virti
- Access to ThingLink

College of Policing (2025) Crime Reduction Toolkit. Available at: https://www.college.police.uk/research/crime-reduction-toolkit

Dickety, J. and Blockley, T. (2024) Criminology and Crime Prevention. 1st edition. Oxford: Taylor & Francis Group. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781041054818.

Krushas, A.E., Kulig, T.C. and Goslar, M. (2025) A Review of Personal Recurrent Victimization: Examining the Literature on Recurrent, Repeat, Multiple, Poly, and Revictimization. 1st ed. 2025. Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-88601-0.

Lab, S.P. (2023) Crime prevention. Eleventh edition. New York, New York; London, England; New York, New York; London, England: Routledge. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003271673.

Wadley, S., Riley, L. and Murria, S. (2023) Police Problem Solving Models and Theories. 1st edition. Oxford: Routledge. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781041056393.

Ever wondered why crime happens and how it could be prevented or how the criminal justice system works? This module will introduce you to the criminal justice system and key concepts and theories in criminology to help you answer these questions. It will also equip you with some practical tools for tackling crime based and community problems. We will draw on real life problems and scenarios to apply your learning in a realistic way so that when you face similar issues in your future employment, you’ll have an array of knowledge and tools in your arsenal to deal with them.