Run by School of History, Law and Social Sciences

20.000 Credits or 10.000 ECTS Credits

Semester 1

Organiser: Dr Tim Holmes

This course focuses on the main theoretical approaches and ideas in the contemporary study of crime, social control and victimisation. The time period runs from 19th century theories to the present day. The approaches and ideas are situated in their intellectual and historical contexts, and the writings of key thinkers will be critically examined. The chief purpose of the course is to show the relevance of criminological ideas to a range of current crime/criminal justice issues. Among the perspectives and topics covered are the following: subcultural theory; neutralization and disengagement techniques; Labelling theory; critical criminology. This module will take a deliberately wider approach to theory to ensure policing students are familiar will a wide range of explanations for criminal activity and victimisation.

-Advanced introduction to criminological thought in the 19th century -Sociological theories of crime and victimisation in particular: subcultural theory, labelling theory, and techniques of neutralisation -Introduction to critical criminology -Introduction to victimology -Applying theory to every-day problems of crime control and policing

good

A degree of critical analysis of the theories covered in the module, Use of academic texts (The texts suggested in class) Use of real world examples to illustrate the theory in practice Assignments based on critique of academic books and good use of citation and quotation

threshold

Very little critical analysis of the theory, Use of academic texts (The texts suggested in class) Heavy reliance on real world examples to illustrate the theory in practice Assignments based on a little academic work and a lot of media or web based resources some use of citation and quotation

excellent

Significant critical analysis of the theories discussed in the module Use of academic texts (including the texts suggested in class + other you have found) Use of academic journal articles that a) show theory in practice b) present a critique of the theory Use of real world examples to illustrate the theory in practice Assignments based on critique of academic work and good use of citation and quotation

1. Demonstrate an ability to apply criminological ideas to current issues or concrete areas of concern to policing

2. Demonstrate an awareness of the ways in which twentieth-century criminology and victimology has evolved and developed

3. Understand the key criminological theories from the 19th Century to the present day

4. Understand the emergence of victimology as a distinct area of academic study

5. Understand the centrality of theory for understanding the world of crime, crime control and policing

Type	Name	Description	Weight
	Review of theory essay		50.00
	Criminological theory exam		50.00

		Hours
Seminar	Student will attend weekly seminars where they will have an opportunity to discuss and review different theories and their use in contemporary society.	11
Private study		167
Workshop	Students will attend weekly 2 hour classes where they will review different criminological perspectives each week. Within each class several theories will be discussed and students will be provided with insight into their development and use.	22

• Literacy - Proficiency in reading and writing through a variety of media
• Self-Management - Able to work unsupervised in an efficient, punctual and structured manner. To examine the outcomes of tasks and events, and judge levels of quality and importance
• Exploring - Able to investigate, research and consider alternatives
• Information retrieval - Able to access different and multiple sources of information
• Inter-personal - Able to question, actively listen, examine given answers and interact sensitevely with others
• Critical analysis & Problem Solving - Able to deconstruct and analyse problems or complex situations. To find solutions to problems through analyses and exploration of all possibilities using appropriate methods, rescources and creativity.
• Presentation - Able to clearly present information and explanations to an audience. Through the written or oral mode of communication accurately and concisely.
• Argument - Able to put forward, debate and justify an opinion or a course of action, with an individual or in a wider group setting
• Self-awareness & Reflectivity - Having an awareness of your own strengths, weaknesses, aims and objectives. Able to regularly review, evaluate and reflect upon the performance of yourself and others

• the main forms of sentence and alternatives; the governance, roles and structure of the agencies involved; and offenders' experiences of adjudication and sentence
• representations of victimisation, crime and deviance, and of the main agents and institutions which respond to crime and deviance, as found in the mass media, new media, in official reports and in public opinion
• how to develop a reflective approach and a critical awareness of the values of local cultures and local politics, and of the student's own values, biography and social identity, and how to bring these skills to bear in an informed response to crime and victimisation
• awareness of how political and cultural values - including the student's own have an impact on responses to and rival interpretations of safety and security, crime
• control, policing, criminal and youth justice, sentencing, and alternative responses
• to offending
• how to make ethically sound judgements in relation to research carried out by others or oneself
• how to use empirical evidence - both quantitative and qualitative - about the distribution of crime, deviance, offending and victimisation of all kinds to explore
• relationships between these and social divisions and social change.
• the development of criminology as a distinct area of study and inquiry, and its multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary nature
• alternative theoretical approaches within criminology, and contemporary debates about the content and scope of criminology
• how crime, deviance and victimisation are socially and legally constructed the different sources of information about crime and victimisation, both quantitative and qualitative, and how they are produced - including their location in particular legal, political, social and ideological frameworks - and how they can be interpreted
• trends in crime, harm and victimisation
• different forms of crime and their social organisation
• different theoretical and empirical approaches to the study, analysis and explanation of crime, deviance, harm and victimisation
• theoretical and empirical relationships between power, crime and social change, and the impact of globalisation
• relationships of crime, deviance and offending, and victimisation to social divisions such as: age, gender, sexuality, social class, race, ethnicity and religious faith
• the development, role, organisation and governance of efforts to reduce and prevent crime, deviance and harm, and to ensure personal and public safety and security in different locations; the role of the state and non-governmental agencies
• the effectiveness of such measures, and human rights issues in relation to preventive and pre-emptive measures
• the social and historical development of the main institutions involved in crime control in different locations
• the philosophy and politics of criminalisation, victimisation, criminal justice and modes of punishment
• the use of discretion in relation to justice processes, including issues of discrimination and diversity
• governance of criminal and youth justice, and other crime control processes
• the development of penal and alternative policies in different locations and their relationship to social change

Talis Reading list

http://readinglists.bangor.ac.uk/modules/sxy-2005.html

Reading list

E-Books and Books available through the library Beirne, P., Messerschmidt, J.W., (2000), Criminology, 3rd edition
Boulder, CO, Westview Press.

Brown, S.E, (2010), Criminology: Explaining Crime and Its Context, 7th edition, Burlington : Elsevier Science [electronic resource] Brown, S.E. Esbensen, F. Geis, G., (2013), Criminology : explaining crime and its context, 8th edition, Waltham, MA, Anderson Publications.

Burke, R.H, (2005), An introduction to criminological theory, 2nd edition, Devon, Willan Publishing. Cullen, F.T, (2010), Criminological theory: Past to present: essential readings, Oxford, Oxford University Press. Jones, D.A., (1986), History of Criminology: A Philosophical Perspective, HIA Book Collection.

Lanier, M. Henry, H., (2010), Essential criminology, 3rd edition, Boulder, Westview Press.

Morgan, R. Reiner, R. Maguire, M., (2012), The Oxford handbook of criminology, 5th edition, New York, Oxford University Press.

Newburn, T., (2009), Key readings in criminology, Cullompton, Willan.

Tierney, J. O'Neill, M., (2013), Criminology Theory and context, Florence, Taylor and Francis.

Treadwell, J. (2013), Criminology, 2nd Edition, London, Sage Publications.

Walklate, S (2007), Understanding Criminology, 2nd edition, Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education [electronic resource].

Suggested background reading (these texts may not available from the library but will be discussed during the semester in one capacity or another)

BECKER, H. S. (1963), Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance. New York: The Free Press. COHEN, S. (1980), Folk Devils and Moral Panics, 2nd edn. Oxford: Martin Robertson. COHEN, S. (1988), Against Criminology. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Books. GOODEY J, (2005), Victims and victimology: research, policy and practice, Harlow, Pearson Longman. LEA, J. and YOUNG, J. (1993), What Is To Be Done About Law and Order?, 2nd edn. London: Pluto Press. MATZA, D. (1969), Becoming Deviant. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. TAYLOR, I. WALTON, P. and YOUNG, J. (1973), The New Criminology. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

Compulsory in courses:

• L436: BSc Professional Policing (Pre-join) year 2 (BSC/PP)

Optional in courses:

• L34L: BA Criminology and Criminal Justice and Social Policy year 2 (BA/CCJSP)
• LM50: BA Social Policy and Criminology and Criminal Justice (IE) year 2 (BA/SPCIE)
• LM49: BA Social Policy/Criminology year 2 (BA/SPCR)