Academic Handbook Course Descriptors and Programme Specifications
LLAW4113 Introduction to Criminal Justice Course Descriptor
Course Code | LLAW4113 | Discipline | Law |
UK Credit | 15 | US Credit | 4 |
FHEQ Level | 4 | Date Approved | June 2022 |
Core Attributes | Understanding Societies and Institutions (SI) | ||
Pre-Requisites | None | ||
Co-Requisites | None |
Course Overview
This course introduces students to criminal justice systems, focusing on the US and UK examples. Students will explore criminal justice policies and be introduced to the role, application and evolution of rights in the criminal justice system. The course also explores various components of the criminal justice system, including the police, prosecution, courts, and corrections. The focus of these explorations lies on the effects of each component and on the role of discretion in each component.
Course Aims
This course aims to provide:
- Introduce students to criminal justice systems and encourage a critical understanding of criminal justice systems and their component institutions
- Provide a critical appraisal of the role, application and evolution of rights in relation to the criminal justice system and its operations
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
Knowledge and Understanding
K1a | Demonstrate a broad understanding of criminal justice systems in the UK and the US. |
K2a | Demonstrate a critical understanding of the role of rights in criminal justice systems. |
Subject Specific Skills
S1a | Demonstrate a critical perspective on the institutional ways in which modern societies (US/ UK) address crime. |
S2a | Develop knowledge of and insight into how rights structure and impact criminal justice processes. |
S3a | Acquire a reflected understanding of component parts of criminal justice systems |
Transferable and Professional Skills
T1a | Develop an understanding of legal concepts, processes and institutions and their social impact. |
T2a | Demonstrate a capacity for critical engagement with and analysis of scholarship. |
T3a | Display a developing technical proficiency in written English and an ability to communicate clearly and accurately in structured and coherent pieces of writing. |
Teaching and Learning
Teaching and learning strategies for this course will include:
A minimum of 36 contact hours, typically to include interactive group teaching, co-curriculars, individual meetings, in-class presentations and exams.
Course information and supplementary materials are available on the University’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).
Students will receive individualised developmental feedback on their work for this course.
Students are required to attend and participate in all the formal and timetabled sessions for this course. Students are also expected to manage their directed learning and independent study in support of the course.
Assessment
Formative
Students will be formatively assessed in class through class activities, and during office hours. Formative assessments are ones that do not count towards the final grade but will provide students with developmental feedback.
Summative
AE: | Assessment Activity | Weighting (%) | Online submission | Duration | Length |
1 | Examination | 40% | Yes | 1 hour 15 mins | |
2 | Written assignment | 60% | Yes | 2000 words |
Further information on the structure of summative assessment elements can be found in the Summative Assessment Briefs.
Feedback
Students will receive feedback in a variety of ways: written (including via email correspondence); oral (within office hours or on an ad hoc basis) and indirectly through class discussion.
Feedback is provided on summative assessment and is made available to the student either via email, the VLE or another appropriate method.
Indicative Reading
Note: Comprehensive and current reading lists for courses are produced annually in the Course Syllabus or other documentation provided to students; the indicative reading list provided below is used as part of the approval/modification process only.
Books
Cole, George F., Christopher E. Smith & Christina DeJong. (2017). The American System of Criminal Justice, 16th Edition. Belmont, CA: Cengage/Wadsworth.
Anthea Hucklesby, Azrini Wahidin (2013). Criminal Justice, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Journals
NA
Electronic Resources
NA
Indicative Topics
- Criminal Justice and the Rule of Law
- Policing powers in the US and the UK
- The objectives of punishment and sentencing
Title: LAW4113 Introduction to Criminal Justice Course Descriptor
Approved by: Academic Board Location: Academic Handbook/Programme Specifications and Handbooks/Mobility Courses/ |
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Version Number | Date Approved | Date Published | Owner | Proposed Next Review Date | Modification (As per AQF4) & Category Number |
2.0 | October 2022 | January 2023 | Dr Alice Schneider | June 2027 | Category 1: Corrections/clarifications to documents which do not change approved content or learning outcomes.
Category 3: Change of learning outcomes. |
1.0 | June 2022 | Dr Alice Schneider | June 2027 |