The Politics of Criminalisation (Spring) (L3124B)

15 credits, Level 5

Spring teaching

This module looks at the political dynamics of policy formation and the enactment of legislation in the field of law and order.

You'll learn:

  • when criminalization is an appropriate response to undesirable behaviour in society 
  • the process of policy formation and legislating
  • the role of victims, the media, and other policy entrepreneurs such as NGOs in influencing government programmes and bringing about changes in the law.

The module includes case studies which allow us to explore these dynamics and interrogate the role of political ideology in taking some proposals forward and abandoning others.

Teaching

45%: Lecture
10%: Practical (Workshop)
45%: Seminar

Assessment

100%: Practical (Portfolio)

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 22 hours of contact time and about 128 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2024/25. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.