Vulnerable people
Sexual crimes
Domestic abuse
VAWG
Sex work,
Adults at risk
Young people and vulnerability
County lines
Ethics and professional standards
Fairness and legitimacy
Dis proportionality
Public scrutiny
IAGs
Public enquiries.

1. Scenario response Students will be presented with a scenario reflecting topics presented through the module. They will take on the role of a policing or criminal justice actor, attend the roleplay scenario and respond to the scenario presented to them.

2. Reflection on scenario Students will produce a written or verbally recorded reflection on their response to the scenario (assessment 1). Students will reflect on their approach to the incident and the skills required to respond appropriately to such a scenario, considering areas for skills development and how to implement that. Students will use academic literature to inform their reflections.

The module will be taught through lectures, assessment support tutorials and practical sessions which will vary in length. Sessions will include both theoretical and knowledge from practice so that your learning is relevant in both an academic and an employment context. Sessions will be interactive to promote engagement and support your learning. The use of simulations will introduce you to different contexts of vulnerability and an opportunity to apply knowledge and also enhance your transferable skills. Debriefs for these will give you the opportunity to feed-forward and improve response prior to the summative simulation assessment. The module will also support formative reflections to enhance your reflective practice ahead of the assessment.

1. Evaluate the ethical and professional standards expectations and implications in policing responses to vulnerable people and communities.

Critical reasoning and collaboration

2. Analyse the impact of policing practices on fairness, disproportionality, legitimacy and public trust, based findings from academic literature.

Knowledge and understanding

3. Critically reflect on policing responses to vulnerability, exploitation and/or public protection concerns across diverse communities.

Reflection

4. Apply knowledge and information about risk, vulnerabilities and fairness in interactions with individuals/communities.

Application and problem-solving

Asquith, N.L. and Bartkowiak-Théron, I., (2021). Policing practices and vulnerable people. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan.

Barrow-Grint, K., Sebire, J., Turton, J. and Weir, R., (2022). Policing Domestic Abuse: Risk, Policy, and Practice. Routledge.

Jackson, J., Kuha, J., Bradford, B. and Hough, M., (2025). Why do people cooperate with the police and criminal courts? A test of procedural justice theory in 30 countries. Criminology. DOI: 10.1111/1745-9125.70022

Mazerolle, L., Bennett, S., Davis, J., Sargeant, E. and Manning, M., (2013). Legitimacy in policing: A systematic review. Campbell systematic reviews, 9(1).

Risk and vulnerability present major issues for policing and the criminal justice system. In this module, you will learn about how policing responds to vulnerability, harm and exploitation, and how that links into the wider criminal justice system. You will also learn about the important role that ethics, professional standards, public trust, and legitimacy play in keeping our communities safe. You will have the opportunity to take part in a scenario and influence the outcome of it before reflecting on your knowledge, understanding, and skills of this pivotal area in the world of policing and criminal justice.