Contemporary Issues in Criminology and Criminal Justice will consider and explore core pertinent issues that are emerging at present and which shape the contours of criminal justice and crime, both as academic subjects, but also as systems of regulation that touch on human lives in the criminal justice system. Academic criminology, if it has any value, must not simply be an abstract discipline but one which offers well considered, well understood critique and intervention based on the array of cogent empirical subjects which inform it, and offer solutions, critique and commentary that is relevant to both policy and praxis. This module seeks to empower participants to do just that. It begins with an extremely comprehensive introduction to some core aspects of contemporary criminal justice providers. Crime, disorder, and justice are increasingly pressing concerns across the globe. Fear of crime and proliferating global threats contribute to an increasing sense of insecurity. Local concerns for example violent street crime such as moped muggings or acid attacks are now accompanied by twenty-first century global concerns about human trafficking, cyber-crime, terrorism and human rights violations to name but a few. These threats have implications for justice, as the boundaries between crime control and civil liberties are being increasingly redrawn, with this in mind, the second part of the module moves to consider some of the most pertinent issues that are often presented as the crime threats to contemporary criminal justice. The module culminates in assessment that seeks to encourage students to think about how types of crime impact on the former (Criminal Justice agencies) as they independently research and explore in detail key contemporary debates in criminal justice policy and practice (within their historical, social and political context) relating one of the crime areas to the contemporary criminal justice providers, considering the real world changes and challenges to criminal justice today that this nexus creates. It therefore offers an advanced understanding of the criminal justice system, as well as the individuals and groups making up the system, particularly offenders, victims and the public that is relevant to the debates of today and builds across the universities eight learning outcomes equipping participants to be the criminological commentators and practitioners of the future.

Single independent research project that can be presented in one of three ways:
a) As a 4,000 word written piece of work/project report
b) A 15-minute podcast (recorded audio file to be submitted)
c) A 15-minute academic presentation (Powerpoint slides with audio recorded presentation)

The module is assessed by a single piece of assessed work, but participants can choose what they produce and how they deliver the assessment to meet the learning outcomes

Learners have the opportunity to submit formative coursework and receive formative feedback on formative coursework

Out of 200 hours, 26 hours will be class contact delivered in a lecture/seminar format, and 174 hours will be self-guided, independent study.

1. On completion of this module, you will be able to demonstrate the ability to undertake independent study of issues covered across the module.

Enquiry; knowledge and understanding; learning

2. On completion of this module, you will communicate findings and disseminate them in an accessible manner. The coursework shows not only knowledge and understanding of the topic but an ability to write in a clear, accessible manner, using appropriate expression and grammar, following academic conventions expected in this discipline.

Communication

3. On completion of this module, you will be able to make practical recommendations based on the issues and topics that you have investigated, making a clear critical analysis and present your findings.

Analysis, problem solving

The University library
The Blackboard virtual learning environment
lecture rooms with access for students with disabilities and suitable for group work
Full-text journals database for criminology (SAGE

Christie, N. (2004). A Suitable Amount of Crime, London: Routledge
Cohen, S. (1989). Against Criminology, Brunswick: Transaction.
Cohen, S. (1985). Visions of Social Control, London: Polity.
Cooper, V. and Whyte, D. (2017) The Violence of Austerity, London: Pluto Press
Ericson, R. (2007). Crime in an Insecure Age, Cambridge: Polity Press.
Fassin, D (2013) Enforcing Order. An Anthropology of Urban Policing, Cambridge: Polity Press,
Felson, M. (2003). Crime and Everyday Life, Los Angeles: Sage.
Gash, T. (2017). Criminal: The truth about why people do bad things, London: Penguin
Garland, D. (2000). Culture of Control, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hillyard, P., Pantazis, C., Tombs, S. and Gordon, D. (eds) (2003). Beyond Criminology: Taking Harm Seriously, London, Pluto Press
Lynes, A and Treadwell, J. (2018). 50 facts everyone should know about crime and punishment in Britain, Bristol: Policy Press Pratt, J., Brown, D., Brown, M., Hallsworth, S. and Morrison, W. (Eds) (2005) The New Punitiveness: Trends, Theories, Perspectives Cullompton: Willan.
Simon, J. (2007). Governing Through Crime, Oxford, OUP.
Young, J. (2011). The Criminological Imagination, London: Polity.
Reiner, R. (2007). Law and Order: An Honest Citizen s Guide to Crime and Control, Cambridge: Polity.
Reiner, R. (2016). Crime, the Mystery of the Common-Sense Concept Cambridge: Polity.
Wacquant, Loic (2009). Punishing the Poor: The Neoliberal Government of Social Insecurity. Duke