International Criminal Justice: Criminological and Psychological Perspectives

Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Interpret and analyse relevant national and international trends in and debates concerning criminal justice, through examination of secondary sources (available literature) and primary evidence (legal cases, government policy and data).
• Develop a critical understanding of theoretical, methodological, and practical issues associated with the study of criminal justice at a postgraduate level, related to postgraduate employability.
• Describe and critique national and international criminal justice policies and practices through the use of criminological and psychological perspectives.

Block 1 – Overview of Criminal Justice Processes

Lecture /seminar 1:

• Welcome, course overview, LOs, assessments, expectations, and key concepts;
• Models of criminal justice (Due Process v. Crime Control)
• Legal systems (common law, civil law, religious law, mixed)
• Overview of agencies and personnel
• Basic tenets of Classical Criminology

Lecture/seminar 2:

• Public perceptions of criminal justice
• ‘Official figures’
• ‘Dark figure’
• The role of the media
• Public punitiveness
• Fear of crime
• Basic tenets of Positivist Criminology

Lecture/seminar 3:

• Law enforcement
• Historical development
• Current organisation of national and international agencies
• Privatisation and outsourcing
• Accountability
• Q&A for Assignment 1
• Basic tenets of Left & Right Realism

Lecture/seminar 4:

• Pre-trial process: from charge to court
• National example (e.g. courts hearing murder cases)
• Input of victims
• Police interviewing and detecting deception among suspects
• Possible outcomes
• Basic tenets of Left Idealism (filtering of cases)

Lecture/seminar 5:

• The courts
• Inter/National example
• Focus on cases
• Role of eyewitnesses
• Role of evidence

Lecture/seminar 6:

• Sentencing
• Principles & objectives of sentencing
• Range of available sentences
• The role of bias and other psychological constructs
• Intersectionality & sentencing (the role of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion, class)
• Double victimisation

Lecture/seminar 7:

• Life in prison: How prisoners survive and cope
• Risk assessment of offenders and consideration of mental health issues
• Rehabilitation of offenders and reintegration into society

Block 2 – Cases

Lecture/seminar 8:

• Case 1

Lecture/seminar 9:

• Case 2

Lecture/seminar 10:

• Case 3

Interactive Lecture 11:

• Assignment 2

Interactive Lecture 12:

• Assignment 2 (drop-in)

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Students will be provided with a full reading list for each session, organised on the basis of two blocks of work to which the in-person teaching sessions align. They will be expected to undertake individual reading and prepare fully for each session. Learning will occur through recorded lecture, analysis, and discussion of the readings and of contemporary case discussion. Students will be expected to have prepared core readings for each session and show an understanding of the theoretical and policy implications of each topic (e.g. government policy decision-making; news stories and podcasts; and contentious debates) and be prepared to discuss and summarise in class. Tutors will advise students on the planning of assessments and provide detailed feedback.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.