Criminology Advanced Diploma

Module 1: Introduction to Criminology

• Understand the role of criminology and how it draws on different disciplines to shape our
• understanding of crime, criminal behaviour, and criminal justice policy
• Explain what is meant by crime and its different conceptions
• Understand the basic models of criminology and explanations of why people commit crime.

Module 2: The UK Criminal Justice System

• Understand the purpose of the criminal justice system in England and Wales and some of the criminological debates on its effectiveness
• Distinguish between the rehabilitative functions of the criminal justice system and its punitive and social control aspects
• Evaluate arguments about stress in the criminal justice system and determine the extent to which this represents ‘business as usual’ rather than a crisis that requires action
• Critically evaluate some of the arguments for reforming criminal justice.

Module 3: Crime Data and Criminal Statistics

• Have an understanding of the importance of difference types of crime data
• Understand the main sources of available crime data
• Understand the distinction between the official crime statistics and other measures, such as the British Crime Survey.

Module 4: Theories of Crime 1: Individuals and Crime

• The development of individual theories of crime and their importance
• The scope and content of individual theories of crime and their importance in understanding crime and deviance
• How individual theories of crime contribute to criminal justice policy and law enforcement practice

Module 5: Police and Policing

• Distinguish between police and policing
• Evaluate different perspectives on policing and understand contemporary police structure
• Assess some of the debates on compulsory policing, particularly political debates on the role of the police
• Distinguish between different styles or models of policing and understand how appropriate they may be to the policing of England and Wales.

Module 6: Crime Prevention

• Understand what crime prevention means in a criminological context
• Distinguish between different perspectives on crime prevention
• Evaluate the merits of situational crime prevention and social crime prevention
• Understand contemporary debates on crime prevention.

Module 7: Victims and Victimisation

• Understand the concept of victims within criminal justice
• Understand the importance of victim statistics
• Be able to define victimology
• Evaluate the importance of victims in understanding criminal justice.

Module 8: The Courts and Sentencing

• Understand the core objectives of sentencing policy and some current debates about sentencing policy
• Critically evaluate the role of the courts in the criminal justice system
• Understand and distinguish between the different objectives of sentencing policy and philosophies
• Evaluate some criticisms of the courts and of judicial activity.

Module 9: Prisons and Probation

• Understand the principles behind the use of prisons in criminal justice
• Distinguish between the different types of prison regime
• Understand some of the controversies in the use of prison
• Evaluate the extent to which ‘prison works’

Module 10: Theories of Crime 2: Society and Crime

• Understand arguments about the social causes of crime
• Evaluate conflicting perspectives on crime being the result of social conditions
• Distinguish between differential association, labelling and control theories of crime
• Understand social policy approaches to crime.

Module 11: Inequality and Crime

• Understand the relationship between inequality and crime
• Understand the relationship between race and crime

Module 12: Youth Crime

• Understand what is meant by the term ‘youth crime’
• Understand why youth crime causes such concern
• Understand some of the causes of youth crime.

Module 13: Drugs and Crime

• Understand the system of drug classification in use in the UK and distinguish between legal drug use and drugs crime
• Understand the complexities of drug policy and debates about the criminalisation of drugs and drug use
• Evaluate the links between drugs and other forms of crime
• Understand the links between drugs and organised crime.

Module 14: Corporate Crime

• Define corporate crime
• Understand why corporate crime occurs
• Evaluate some of the difficulties in taking enforcement action over corporate crimes.

Module 15: Transnational and Organised Crime

• Examine transnational crime and the links between legal and illegal business operations in their local and international contexts
• Examine definitions of organised crime and question how definitions and theories of crime and criminal behaviour are applied to criminal groups and identifiable criminal organisations
• Analyse the ways in which organised crime and criminal organisations operate and also examine their hierarchies, organisational structures, and activities
• Compare and contrast different types of criminal organisations and examine the extent to which organised crime is defined and organised along cultural or ethnic lines.

Module 16: Environmental Crime

• Distinguish between environmental criminology and environmental crime
• Understand the key theories in environmental criminology
• Evaluate the extent to which green criminology might be considered to be a discipline within criminology
• Understand some of the core concerns relating to wildlife crime.

Module 17: Cyber Crime

• Define cyber-crime
• Distinguish between the key terms of ‘hacking’ and ‘cracking’
• Understand the extent to which cyber-crime is considered to be a new form of crime or an existing form of crime committed via a new medium.

Module 18: Sexual Offences and Violent Crime

• Evaluate the extent to which sexual violence, and in particular violence against women, is
• linked to ideas of masculinity, sexuality, and power
• Distinguish between sexual violence and other forms of violence
• Explain how violent crime is socially constructed and reflects societal understanding,
• tolerance, and condemnation of violence and aggression
• Evaluate the importance of masculinities as a factor in violent crime and, in particular, violence towards women.

Module 19: Criminal Profiling

• Understand the role of profiling in criminal investigations and crime analysis
• Distinguish between geographical profiling and psychological profiling
• Evaluate some of the criticisms of criminal profiling
• Assess the importance of criminal profiling in understanding crime patterns and criminal behaviour.

Module 20: Crime and the Media

• Understand the influence of the media on public perception and understanding of crime
• Understand the social construction of crime via media narratives
• Evaluate the extent to which media crime narratives are ideologically driven and reflect both the political preferences of the news media and the perceived attitudes of its intended audience
• Distinguish between the basic elements of media narratives of crime and the more complex reality of crime that is often not reported

Assessment

Each unit is followed by a written tutor marked assignment (TMA), which is submitted and then marked by your tutor. You will not be required to take an external exam.