Module SXY-2011:
Policing, Security and the Sta

Module Facts

Run by School of History, Philosophy and Social Sciences

20.000 Credits or 10.000 ECTS Credits

Semester 2

Organiser: Dr Bethan Loftus

Overall aims and purpose

This module seeks to demonstrate a critical insight into policing, security, society and its relevance for the state. The course will discuss the history and development of policing throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, including the public police, private policing (including private security) and community policing. The module will also examine police governance and accountability associated with different policing styles in late modern Britain. It will also demonstrate that the state police now play a relatively minor role in crime prevention, and that many institutions and organizations in modern society can be considered to have a broad ‘policing’ function. The effectiveness of the (state) police in their crime prevention is also assessed through a comparative evaluation of ‘global’ policing systems.

The module looks closely at the historical development of the police organisation, its characteristics and dynamics, police specialisms, such as crime investigation, intelligence-led policing, undercover policing, and paramilitary policing. It will also explore key problems in policing - such as occupational culture, discrimination and corruption, and the mechanisms for accountability and control. It will also examine the rebirth and rise of private and other forms of plural policing, as well as the theoretical lenses used to understand the functions and purposes of policing.

Course content

Key Content may include:

  • The nature and functions of the police and policing
  • Theoretical lenses to explore policing@ the view from sociology and political science
  • Historical developments of modern policing in England and Wales
  • Police Occupational Subcultures
  • Police Governance and Accountability
  • Covert and Undercover Policing
  • Commodification of Policing
  • Transnational and Cross-Border Policing
  • Police discrimination: race, ethnicity, gender and sexuality
  • Structures of surveillance: policing and the surveillance state

Assessment Criteria

excellent

Excellent -A (70%>)

BE ABLE TO:

Critically analyze key theoretical and conceptual issues, and make connections between criminology and other disciplines, for e.g. history and law to the study of policing and society, as well as present material in a way that serves to support the arguments being advanced and to bring different/original modes of thought to this module.

threshold

Threshold -D (40%>)

BE ABLE TO:

To describe the contemporary debates on policing and explain some of the main theoretical perspectives on policing and appreciate the significance of this to the processes of criminal justice

good

Good -B (60%>)

BE ABLE TO:

Examine and evaluate theoretical, conceptual and methodological issues, examine contemporary policing with relation to ‘race,’ gender, crime and law; read and evaluate a range of appropriate literature and material, and incorporate personal insights and observations.

Learning outcomes

    1. Ability to identify and critically evaluate theoretical perspectives on policing.
    1. Ability to discuss contexts in which policing takes place and the debates around topics such as the existence and influence of police cultures on routine policing and the complex nature of police accountability.
    1. Ability to appreciate the complex nature of the police role and functions, and the factors that influence police effectiveness and performance.
    1. Ability to appreciate the real fragmented, global context of contemporary policing.
    1. Ability to critically evaluate developments in governance, risk and globalisation and their relations to modern policing and the delivery of security and the major developments and debates surrounding modern policing.
    1. Ability to research a topic on policing and present findings in a critical manner.

Assessment Methods

Type Name Description Weight
COURSEWORK Essay Plan

The purpose of the plan is to help students organise their early ideas in preparation for the final academic essay, and communicate this in a clear, succinct way. A strong plan will demonstrate that students have thought carefully about how they will approach the question, by providing an indication of the key concepts, arguments and academic works they will draw on. The plan may include the following bullet points: (i) Introduction - a brief outline of the topic, definition(s) and key concept(s) (ii) Main Body - an indication of the main themes and arguments to be developed in the final essay, (iii) Conclusion - a tentative statement on the key findings; (iv) Bibliography.

 30.00
ESSAY Final Essay

Building from the essay plan submitted earlier in the module, students are required to complete an end-of-term essay (2,500 words). This takes the form of a traditional essay, and must be grounded in relevant academic literature.

 70.00

Teaching and Learning Strategy

Hours
Lecture

Traditional and interactive face to face lectures using powerpoint slides providing overviews of weekly topics.

 24
External visit

Guest speaker from an external policing agency.

 2
Seminar

Smaller seminars for group work, discussion. This will consist of discussion of stories making the news, case study examples, key readings and use of videos.

 12
Private study

Preparatory reading and tasks for workshops; reading and writing for assignments; library research and literature review; internet desk based research.

 162

Transferable skills

  • Literacy - Proficiency in reading and writing through a variety of media
  • Numeracy - Proficiency in using numbers at appropriate levels of accuracy
  • Computer Literacy - Proficiency in using a varied range of computer software
  • 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

Subject specific skills

  • understanding the complexity of change over time; in specific contexts and chronologies
  • producing logical and structured arguments supported by relevant evidence
  • planning, designing, executing and documenting a programme of research, working independently
  • marshalling and critically appraising other people's arguments, including listening and questioning
  • making effective and appropriate use of relevant information technology
  • making critical and effective use of information retrieval skills using paper-based and electronic resources
  • critical evaluation of one's own and others' opinions
  • engaging with relevant aspects of current agendas such as global perspectives, public engagement, employability, enterprise, and creativity
  • 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 in criminology and sociology
  • relationships between these and social divisions and social change.
  • the ability to formulate and investigate sociologically informed questions
  • 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
  • competence in using major theoretical perspectives and concepts in sociology, and their application to social life
  • the capacity to analyse, assess and communicate empirical sociological information
  • the ability to identify a range of qualitative and quantitative research strategies and methods
  • the ability to conduct sociological / criminolgical research
  • the ability to undertake and present scholarly work
  • the ability to recognise the relevance of sociological knowledge to social, public and civic policy.
  • Understand the relationship between theory, research design, and the selection of research methods and be able to identify and critically evaluate the positions upon which they are predicated.
  • Appreciate and apply a broad range of research methods and tools (underpinned by a strong conceptual awareness of the research processes).
  • Appreciate the inter-relationships between criminological and legal theories, criminological and legal research, and policies of key institutions.
  • 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
  • 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 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
  • 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
  • awareness of principles and values of law and justice, and of ethics
  • knowledge and understanding of theories, concepts, values in law within an institutional, social, national and global context
  • the ability to formulate and investigate sociologically informed questions
  • competence in using major theoretical perspectives and concepts in sociology, and their application to social life
  • the capacity to analyse, assess and communicate empirical sociological information
  • the ability to identify a range of qualitative and quantitative research strategies and methods
  • the ability to undertake and present scholarly work
  • the ability to recognise the relevance of sociological knowledge to social, public and civic policy.
  • 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.
  • Understand the relationship between theory, research design, and the selection of research methods and be able to identify and critically evaluate the epistemological positions upon which they are predicated.
  • the development of criminology as a distinct area of study and inquiry, and its multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary nature
  • use some of the established theories and concepts of social policy and other social sciences to analyse how social needs, social problems and policies themselves are constructed and understood in both national and international contexts
  • seek out, use and evaluate qualitative and quantitative data derived from social surveys and other research publications
  • undertake either on their own, or in collaboration with others, investigations on social questions, issues and problems. This will involve skills in problem identification; the collection, storage management and manipulation of data, including secondary data, and other information; the use of archival sources; the construction of coherent and reasoned arguments; and the presentation of clear conclusions and recommendations distinguish among and critically evaluate different theoretical, technical, normative, moral and political approaches to social problems and issues.
  • distinguish among and critically evaluate different theoretical, technical, normative, moral and political approaches to social problems and issues
  • 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
  • how to make ethically sound judgements in relation to research carried out by others or oneself
  • Appreciate the inter-relationships between sociological and socio-legal theories, criminological and sociological research, and policies of key institutions.
  • Understand the value of and apply comparative analysis within criminology and sociology.
  • 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
  • theoretical and empirical relationships between power, crime and social change, and the impact of globalisation
  • the use of discretion in relation to justice processes, including issues of discrimination and diversity
  • 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 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • relationships of crime, deviance and offending, and victimisation to social divisions such as: age, gender, sexuality, social class, race, ethnicity and religious faith
  • Appreciate the inter-relationships between sociological and socio-legal theories, criminological and criminal justice research, and criminal justice policies.
  • Understand the value of and apply comparative analysis within criminology and criminal justice.
  • alternative theoretical approaches within criminology, and contemporary debates about the content and scope of criminology
  • theoretical and empirical relationships between power, crime and social change, and the impact of globalisation
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • Crime prevention measures and their effectiveness as well as human rights issues in relation to preventive and pre-emptive measures
  • The role of the police constable, its history, and changes over time
  • The context of contemporary policing; police culture; models of policing including community policing, evidence-based policing; the extended police family
  • Crime investigation processes, criminal justice, and complex crimes
  • How crime, deviance, harm, and victimisation are socially and legally constructed; the different sources of information about crime and victimisation, how they are produced, including their location in particular legal, political, social and ideological frameworks, and how they can be interpreted
  • Trends in crime and victimisation; different forms of crime and their social organisation including organized crime; e-crime, and terrorism
  • Different theoretical approaches to the study, analysis and explanation of crime, deviance, victimization and policing; relationships between crime and social change and the impact of globalization
  • Relationships between crime, deviance, victimisation, policing and social divisions such as age, gender, social class, and ethnicity
  • Apply different policing models and communication skills as situations require
  • Understanding of national decision model and the Code of Ethics in Policing to guide discretion
  • Competence and confidence in using evidence in policing including identifying and deploying a range of research strategies including qualitative and quantitative methods and the use of published data sources and to select and apply appropriate strategies for specific research problems
  • Recognise individuals' vulnerabilities and situations of risk (to self and others)
  • Assess the merits of competing theories relevant to crime, victimisation and policing as well as other responses to crime and deviance
  • Understanding the role of strategic planning, mentoring, and leadership in policing
  • Ability to locate, manage, and analyse secondary data, as well as generating and evaluating empirical evidence
  • Appreciate the complexity and diversity of the ways in which crime is constituted, represented and dealt with; and making reasoned arguments
  • Assess the merits and diversity of objectives of competing responses to crime and deviance, including the protection of human rights and its implications for policing
  • Gather, retrieve and synthesise data and information; reporting and presenting data analyses graphically and in writing

Resources

Resource implications for students

None.

Talis Reading list

http://readinglists.bangor.ac.uk/modules/sxy-2011.html

Reading list

Banton, M. (1964) The Policeman in the Community. London: Tavistock. Bittner, E. (1970) The Functions of Police in Modern Society. National Institute of Mental Health Brogden, M. and Nijhar. P. (2005) Community Policing: national and international models and approaches. Devon: Willan. Mawby R.I (2000) ‘Core policing: the seductive myth,’ in Leishman, K. et al, (Eds.) Core Issues in Policing, (2nd Ed.) (pages 107-123). P. Cohen, (1979) 'Policing the working class city', in: NDC/CSE, Capitalism and the Rule of Law, London: Hutchinson (pages 20 36) Critchley, T.A. (1978) A History of Police in England and Wales, London: Constable Emsley C. (2003) ‘The birth and development of the police,’ in: Newburn, T. (ed.) Handbook of Polcing. London: Collumpton ch.4; Chan, J. (1996) Changing Police Culture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Foster, J. (2003) ‘Police cultures’, in T. Newburn, (ed) Handbook of Policing. Devon: Willan Skolnick, J. (1966) Justice Without Trial: Law Enforcement in a Democratic Society. New York: Wiley Press.
Loftus, B. (2009) Police Culture in a Changing World, Oxford: Oxford University Press

Goldsmith, A. (2010) Policing’s New Visibility, The British Journal of Criminology, 50 (5) 914-934 Neyroud P. (2003) ‘Policing and ethics,’ in Newburn (ed.) Handbook of Policing Devon: Willan. (Chapter 23). Sandu, A. and Haggerty, K. (2015) ‘Policing on camera’, Theoretical Criminology, Online First (15/12/15).
Smith, G. (2009) Why don’t more people complain against the police? European Journal of Criminology 6:3, 249-266. Wells, H (2015) ‘Grey areas and fine lines: negotiating operational independence in the era of the police and crime commissioner’ Safer Communities, 14 (4): 193-202. Brodeur J.P. (2002) ‘Undercover policing in Canada: wanting what is wrong’. Crime, Law and Social Change 18 (10): 105–306 Bunyan T (1977) The History and Practice of Political Police in Britain. London: Quartet. HMIC (2014) An Inspection of Undercover Policing in England and Wales. Available at: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/wp-content/uploads/an-inspection-of-undercover-policing-in-england-and-wales.pdf. Loftus, B. and O’Neil, M. ‘ (2013) Policing and the surveillance of the marginal’, Theoretical Criminology, 17 (4): 437-454 Loftus, B. and Goold, B. (2012) Covert surveillance and the invisibilities of policing, Criminology and Criminal Justice 12 (3): 275-289. Marx, G (1988) Undercover: Police Surveillance in America. California: University of California Press
Crawford, A (2003) ‘The pattern of policing in the UK: policing beyond the police,’ in Newburn, T. (ed.) Handbook of Policing. Devon: Willan (chapter 7). Dupont, B. (2004) ‘Security in the age of networks,’ Policing and Society 14(1): 76-91; Gill, M and Hart, J. (1997) Exploring investigative policing: A study of private detectives in Britain. British Journal of Criminology 37(4): 549–567. Hansen-Lofstrand, C., Loftus, B. and Loader, I. (2015) ‘Doing dirty work: stigma and esteem in the private security industry’, European Journal of Criminology. Online first, November 2015.Johnston, L. (1996) `What is vigilantism?' British Journal of Criminology 36 (2): 220-36. Johnston L. (1992) The Rebirth of Private Policing, London: Routledge. (Chapters 3 and 4). Lecture 7, Border Policing: Additional Reading
Aas, K.F. (2011) ‘Crimmigrant’ bodies and bona fide travellers: surveillance, citizenship and global governance. Theoretical Criminology, 15 (3): 331-346. Bowling, B. and Sheptycki, J. (2012) Global Policing London: Sage Loftus, B. (2015) ‘Policing assemblages and the vulnerable border’, European Journal of Policing Studies, 3 (2): 238-254. Pickering, S. and Ham, J. (2014) Hot pants at the border: sorting sex work from trafficking’, British Journal of Criminology, 54, 2-19. Theodore, N. (2011) ‘Policing borders’. Social Justice 38 (1/2): 90-100. Zureik, E. and Salter, M. (2005) Global Surveillance and Policing: Borders, Security, Identity. (Eds.) Devon: Willan Fielding, N. (1994) Cop canteen culture,’ in Newburn, T. and Stanko, B. (eds.) Just Boys Doing Business, London: Routledge. (pages 46-63) Heidensohn, F. (2005) Women in Control? In: Newburn, T. (ed.) Policing: key readings, Devon: Willan. (pages 751-60). Walklate, S. (2000) ‘Equal Opportunities and the Future of Policing’, in Leishman, F., Loveday, B. and Savage, S.P. (eds), Core Issues in Policing. 2nd Edition. Essex: Longman. Cashmore, E. and McLaughlin, E (1991) Out of Order? Policing Black People. London: Routledge Holdaway, S. (1996) The Racialization of British Policing. London: Palgrave MacMillan Holdaway, S (1997) . ‘Responding to Racialized Divisions within the workforce – The Experience of black and Asian police Officers in England’. Ethnic and Racial Studies. 20 (1): 69-90. Loftus, B. (2009) Police Culture in a Changing World. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (Especially Chapter 5). MacPherson, Sir W. (1999) The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry: Report of an Inquiry, Cmnd Paper No 4262-i. HMSO Lyon, D. (2003) Surveillance after September 11, London: Polity Press. Parmar, A. (2011) Stop and Search in London: Counter-terrorist or counter-productive? Policing and Society 21(4): 369-382.
Pantazis, C & Pemberton, S (2009) “From the ‘old’ to the ‘new suspect’ community: examining the impacts of recent UK counter-terrorist legislation. British Journal of Criminology 49 (5): 646-666. Zedner, L. (2000) ‘The pursuit of security’, in: Hope, T. and Sparks, R. (Eds.) Crime, Risk and Insecurity: Law and Order in Everyday Life and Political Discourse. London: Routledge.

Courses including this module

Compulsory in courses:

Optional in courses: