International Criminal Justice

Structure & Teaching

On this course you will study:

International and Comparative Criminal Justice: this unit covers concept of justice and the differing systems of criminal justice. You will also review the development and source of international norms and standards in criminal justice; the role, function and policy-making processes of international criminal justice bodies; the human rights system within United Nation and European Union criminal police and judicial cooperation.

Issues in Transnational Policing: this unit examines a range of contemporary transnational policing issues. It has been designed so that you can select a specific category of transnational or organised crime to be considered in relation to transnational policing, international police cooperation and where relevant counterterrorism. Key issues of human rights, accountability and governance will be covered, alongside a critical appreciation of how these issues are affected by levels of economic development, globalisation and conflict. You will undertake a range of practical report-like assignments, enabling you to  reflect upon the professional context, whilst accommodating your specific professional interests and needs. Online thematic discussion events also include peer review and assessment of students’ personal reflection and critical review of the propriety of alternative perspectives on the transnational policing of crime.

Research Methods and Research Management: research on crime, criminal justice and related settings is a very broad. Research methods in this field include complex statistical modelling and analysis, surveys to establish self-reported offending and victimisation, in-depth interviews, ethnographies, as well as various forms of content, narrative and documentary analysis. This unit prepares you for your dissertation and will give you an overview of many of the possibilities, as well as directions on where to look for more information and ideas about particular techniques (such as using vignettes in research), approaches (such as action research and evaluative research) or issues (such as research involving children and young people). The unit covers structured literature reviews, increasingly important given the volume and breadth of ejournals and the web and the methodology behind systematic reviews and meta-analysis (techniques that have become increasingly important to government departments).

Dissertation: you will conduction a small-scale 15,000-word research project, giving you the chance to demonstrate your achievement on the course as a whole. You will need to demonstrate your grasp of research design, methods and ethics, as well as your personal organisation and planning in the conduct of your criminal justice research-based project. You will choose you own topic taking into account academic advice and guidance aas well as the broad parameters of the expertise of the Institute’s academic staff. It may be literature based or involve the conduct of ethical empirical research.

You will also choose one optional unit from:

International and Transnational Offending: this unit examines the ideas and concept of international and transnational offending, and the methodological issues raised in the study of such forms of offending. A broad range of ‘traditional’ transnational crimes will be researched along with crimes against international law such as genocide and contemporary slavery. One of the key objectives of this unit is to overcome general perceptions of these forms of offending and critically examine the relevant scale, trends and extent of involvement of individuals, groups and states as well as recent global trends. This focus on the global breadth of the phenomena of international crime will complement other units that are more focused on states’ responses to such forms of offending.

International Fraud and Corruption: fraud and corruptionis an international problem. It can be found in any country and in the public and private sector, as well as in any industry from banking and finance to health, foreign aid, sport and politics. All of these, and others ‘sectors, are the focus of this unit. They will also be considered in reference to the scale and measurement, causes and consequences, the role of state and non-state actors, and money laundering.

Cybercrime, Risk and Security Management (Campus Block Teaching): this unit looks at corporate cyber threats. Drawing upon a range of practical examples, you will examine how rapid technological development and expansion in access to the internet has impacted upon crime, mapping out the terrain of information technology and identifying the emerging areas of cybercrime. Areas you will explore include the crossing of established boundaries into spaces over which control has already been established such as cyber-intrusion and cyber-theft, but also 'new cyber crimes' in the form of virtual trespass, denial of service attacks, and the development of opportunities for offending in the context of social networking websites. The final section of the unit will examine how education and organisational responses can prevent victimisation and mitigate IT risk.

Please note that all options are subject to minimum student numbers and may not all be available. The course structure may vary from year to year, but course content and learning opportunities will not be diminished by this.

 

 

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