Criminology BA

Introducing Criminological Research

This module focuses on how crucial criminological topics have been investigated. The module is taught by lectures and seminars/classes and assessed by two 'take-home' exercises. In the seminars/classes students will work in small groups to examine real research studies, and work out how to tackle research problems.

20 credits

Criminal Law and Justice

This module will introduce students to the concepts, theories and institutions of criminal law and justice, and its place in society. It will develop an understanding of the essential concepts of criminal liability. It will focus on the main institutional and procedural features of the criminal justice system, with the aim of stimulating an enquiring attitude towards the practice of criminal process. Students will have the opportunity to practise applying these processes to factual scenarios. The module provides a firm foundation for the more advanced study of criminal law and also of criminal evidence, criminal justice and criminal process.

20 credits

Representations of Deviance and Social Control

This module examines representations of crime, criminalisation and criminal justice in cultural forms such as journalism, film, television, literature, music, theatre, art and games. Its concerns are the nature of representations of topics such as crimes, crime data, offenders, deviants, gangs, criminal justice systems, police and victims. It critically analyses the role of cultural forms in constructing and/or reproducing ideas about crimes which inform subjective identity, public and political perceptions, prejudices and practices. The module considers the ways in which certain groups or behaviours acquire labels, values and meanings which place them outside of legitimacy and normality justifying monitoring, suspicion, control or incarceration.

20 credits

Contemporary Issues in Criminal Justice

This module aims to introduce students to the key concepts, theories and institutions of criminal justice. The teaching team will do this by engaging with current debates and emerging trends in research. Students will study the structure and functions of criminal justice institutions, including police, prosecutors, courts, prison and probation.  While the focus is on the criminal justice system in England and Wales, the module will draw on examples of contemporary issues in criminal justice from other countries. Students will consider why we should study criminal justice in a comparative and international context. They will also consider key contemporary debates in criminal justice such as abolitionist perspectives and alternatives to the criminal justice system.

20 credits

Comprehending Criminology

This module introduces students to key areas of criminological definitions, empirical study, theory and the development of criminal justice systems. The module looks at case studies of crime and deviance from contemporary life to help students understand how some of the history and theory of criminology can be brought to bear on social and legal issues. Topics may feature, for example, youth crime, spouse murder, football hooliganism and credit card crime but also other areas if and when interesting cases arise.

20 credits

Plus the below:
- Crime in Global Context

Core modules:

Responding to Crime

The module looks at key topics in relation to responses to crime and victimisation. It explores policing and prosecution, public responses, crime prevention, restorative justice and victim support. To what extent are policing and public priorities for policing aligned? How does the public view the role of the authorities? How can we support victims? Are there alternative responses to crime instead of prosecution and sentencing? What are we doing to prevent crime? Do certain types of crime require particular responses? A goal of the module will be to emphasize the interrelatedness of these topics and present them as integrated problems.

20 credits

Punishment and Penal Policy

This module is concerned with the sentencing and punishment of offenders. It considers, in historical context: the philosophical underpinnings of punishment; sentencing policy and practice; and the forms that punishment takes (including custodial and non-custodial options). It also considers what we know about public attitudes toward punishment. A key issue addressed by this module is the rapid growth of the prison population since the mid-1990s: how can we explain this state of affairs, and can/should this trend be reversed?

20 credits

- Analysing Quantitative Crime Data
- Qualitative Research in Criminology

You’ll also have the opportunity to conduct further study of a specialist area of your choice through a range of optional modules.

Optional modules:

Race, Gender and Crime

This module examines the relationships between gender, race and crime. It explores, from a critical standpoint, when and how patterns of law-breaking and victimisation vary according to gender and race. Focusing on topics as diverse as gender-based violence, sex work, political protest/disorder and Islamophobia, the module examines how patriarchal and racialised social structures serve to marginalise and criminalise, and also under-protect, (some) women as well as Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.

20 credits

Criminal Process

The module aims to familiarise students with various criminal justice models and the nature of English criminal processes. Students will study the structure and functions of key institutions, and the role of various actors within the system. This may include modelling of the criminal justice system; values and the criminal justice system; police powers (eg, stop and search, detention); suspect rights; prosecution and pre-trial decisions; bail custody decisions; criminal legal aid; mode of trial; magistrates' court personnel and proceedings; judges and jury trial; 'system errors' and the machinery for correcting them.

20 credits

Prisons, Prisoners, and their Families

Imprisonment and its effects are a key concern in studies of punishment. This module takes a holistic approach by developing understandings of the impact of imprisonment on prisoners, prisoners' families, and prison staff. Beginning with a history of imprisonment and policy making, the module explores the management of prisons, including examination of the rules and regulations that govern day-to-day life in prisons, power relations and modes of resistance. The module then considers the experiences of specific groups of prisoners, prisoners' families, and staff. The module concludes with discussion of the future of imprisonment and arguments around prison abolition.

20 credits

The Sociology of Crime

Crime, and the process of criminalisation, are major features of all societies. Since the nineteenth century, sociologists have developed a range of criminological theories to explain 'criminality'.

During this module, you will review the historical development of a range of theoretical approaches to the study of crime and consider how sociologists have studied the primary institutions of social control. You will also investigate and discuss the contribution of the sociology of crime to issues of contemporary significance using a case study model of learning.

By the end of the module, you will appreciate the importance of a sociological approach to crime and criminalisation, and be able to apply criminological theories in order to understand some of the most pressing and topical crime problems of today.

20 credits

Advanced Criminal Law and Justice

This module builds upon the foundational learning in SLW107 Criminal Law and Justice, developing students' knowledge about the doctrine and principles of criminal law. The focus rests upon the theme of criminalisation 'Beyond Homicide', the main family of substantive crimes examined by the predecessor module. It examines the range and scope of criminal law in critical detail, looking at the substantive offences and considering them in wider socio-legal context.

20 credits

Criminology Research Project

This module develops on the earlier research methods module (Analysing Crime Data). There, students learned to manipulate and analyse data using SPSS on a computer. Here, students will work in small groups developing research ideas to form a fully developed questionnaire, which will be subsequently administered to a small general public sample via Corporate Information and Computing Systems (CICS). Thereafter, resulting data iscoded, computerised and analysed, and results written up as an individual report.

20 credits

Criminology and War

The module enables students to critically analyse the nature of contemporary war from a variety of criminological perspectives. It does so through the following debates: criminology of war; war as policing; war as crime; crime in war; masculinity, violence and war; victimology and war; environmental criminology and war; war and domestic criminal policy; war, veterans and domestic crime; and criminology as peacemaking. These debates are informed by a range of examples, in particular from the post-9/11 battlefields of the Middle East.

20 credits

Murder, Myth and Memory: A History of Jack the Ripper

This module introduces students to historical criminology through the lens of an infamous case study, namely Jack the Ripper (an unidentified serial killer who preyed on London's Whitechapel district between August and November 1888). It seeks to disentangle the layers of meaning surrounding the Ripper's murders and examine how myth and memory have shaped understanding of this case. 

Some of the questions that will be explored throughout the course include: 

Does the application of modern techniques of investigation, such as geo-profiling, to the Ripper case impinge on historical values? To what extent is Ripperology a 'masculine' discipline and how have feminist approaches helped to address this? How do dark tourism activities such as 'Jack the Ripper Walking Tours' shape cultural memory? What role do ethics and empathy play in historical research? By undertaking this module students will gain practical experience in the analysis of a variety of historical source material including letters, newspaper reports, photos, postcards, cartoons, post-mortem reports, official police reports and parliamentary debates.

20 credits

Crime, Justice and Social Policy

During this module, you will examine the variety of responses to crime that encompass the use of both crime policy and social policy. Crime policy responses encompass the use of the role of the policy, courts and prisons. Alongside this is the social policy approach which includes health, housing, education, employment, youth and family as a means of crime reduction. 

The content you will cover seeks to demonstrate the criticism of 'traditional' crime policy-based responses to crime and the way in which social policy has emerged as an alternative way to tackle the so-called 'crime problem'. You will consider multiple theories of crime which make competing arguments for the use of crime or social policy as a response, the role of criminologists in policy making, and the criminalisation of social policy as an unintended outcome.

This module speaks more broadly to the challenges and dynamics of the policy-making process when seeking to tackle complex societal issues. You will therefore benefit from situating these challenges within specific examples of governmental attempts to tackle crime with direct and indirect policy initiatives.

20 credits

Cities, Violence and Security

Urban violence, insecurity and crime are features of the everyday and crisis moments of city life in many nations around the world. Warfare touches life in many cities today, questions of narco-terror and violence affect many others. Meanwhile, the role of the climate emergency in driving migration and instability, forms of economic crisis and precarity, alongside other forms of disturbance lead to forms of injustice, violence and victimisation. This module seeks to develop your understanding of the political, economic and social drivers of human insecurity in urban settings.

This module has been designed to help you to develop your engagement with and responses to multiple forms of urban insecurity. It discusses the diverse kinds of responses to insecurity by states, armies, police and citizens, many of which bring further rounds of insecurity and violence to marginalised and excluded populations. 

The primary aim of the module is to find answers to the question: how can peace and security be enjoyed by all citizens in cities around the world today? You will be introduced  to a range of examples of violence, conflict and insecurity in urban contexts around the world. Through this, you will be supported to develop your awareness of the programmes and policies being pursued to make better and safer places. Examples of urban violence and crime, policing, forced evictions, domestic violence, terrorism, gangs and the rise of gated communities and other modes of design and control to produce securitised urban spaces are discussed and analysed in their effectiveness.

The module aims to develop your awareness of the political, social and economic context in which urban violence and insecurity are embedded in different global contexts. It also aims to develop your understanding of core debates relating to urban insecurity in both the global North and South. In addition, it seeks to develop your critical understanding of the role of these debates in informing policies and initiatives to try and reduce violence and insecurity in cities.

Trigger warning - this module will bring you into contact with discussions of extreme violence, gender-based violence, sexual violence, police and state violence, including terrorism.

20 credits

Doing Qualitative Sociological Research

Qualitative research still dominates sociological research and the skills and techniques that researchers use to generate qualitative data have numerous other applications in the work-place and beyond.

In this inquiry-based module, you will continue to develop your ability to collect, analyse, and present qualitative data by working on individual and team-based projects. Not only will you come up with your own research proposal for your Level Three dissertation, you will also utilise qualitative methods to produce a website that disseminates the findings of a group-based project.

This module will prepare you for your dissertation at Level Three, help you develop your ideas into realisable research projects, enhance your awareness of the importance of style and form, and allow you to experience the process of working with others to achieve shared objectives.

20 credits

Dissertation (BA Criminology)

The dissertation module requires students to conduct an in-depth independent piece of research on a criminological or criminal justice topic of their choice (subject to finding a suitable personal supervisor and approval from the module convenor). This module is assessed by an 8,000 word dissertation and is taught though personal supervision sessions.

40 credits

The Value of Criminology: Policy and Practice

This module focuses on the role and value of criminological research in the development of policy and practice within criminal justice. The module will build from discussions introduced in first year BA Criminology module and LLB Law and Criminology particularly SLW122 Introducing Criminological Research, to develop students' understandings of policy making processes and how criminological research can influence these processes. The module will also explore the ways in which academic research intersects with practice developments at the frontline of criminal justice and within criminal justice agencies such as, for example, the police, the probation service, and others. As part of this module, students will interact directly with front-line practitioners and other professionals (such as policy makers) who will contribute to teaching (e.g.: co-presenting case studies with academic staff) where appropriate. Students will be introduced to processes including evidenced-based policy making and knowledge exchange between academics and practitioners. To demonstrate this, the module will draw on case studies of research conducted by members of the teaching team, to situate discussions in existing examples of research being conducted at the University of Sheffield. The module is also designed to develop key transferable skills for students, including working in close collaboration with peers, interacting with professionals and practitioners, producing innovative outputs, and presenting complex content in a variety of formats.

20 credits

You’ll also focus your study around your chosen areas of interest through a range of optional modules.

Optional modules:

Drugs, Crime and Control

This module aims to develop a multidisciplinary understanding of drugs, crime and control by engaging with the key academic and policy literature. Students will explore a wide range of drug-related issues and debates, critically analyse the laws, policies and institutions of drug control, and situate them within the wider social context. The topics covered will include: the social construction of the 'drug problem'; drugs and crime; historical and contemporary perspectives on drug policy; drugs policing from the global to the local; tackling drugs through criminal justice interventions; drug control across the world; and the legalisation debate and alternatives to criminalisation.

20 credits

Criminal Process

The module aims to familiarise students with various criminal justice models and the nature of English criminal processes. Students will study the structure and functions of key institutions, and the role of various actors within the system. This may include modelling of the criminal justice system; values and the criminal justice system; police powers (eg, stop and search, detention); suspect rights; prosecution and pre-trial decisions; bail custody decisions; criminal legal aid; mode of trial; magistrates' court personnel and proceedings; judges and jury trial; 'system errors' and the machinery for correcting them.

20 credits

Youth Crime and Justice

This module examines youth crime and 'antisocial behaviour, as well as formal responses to young people who offend. During the first half of the module, contemporary and historical views of youth crime are critically examined, attending particularly to class, ethnicity and gender, and to the historical construction of youth as problematic. The second half of the module focuses on youth justice, including the role of the police, the courts, Youth Offending Teams, custodial institutions and other bodies in regulating unruly youth and preventing and responding to youth crime.

20 credits

Sociology of Evil

Despite the increasing secularisation and rationalisation of society, evil is still an all too familiar term. For some it invokes images of devils, demons and witches, for others criminals, terrorists and murderers. Moreover, the debates on the 'social evils' of poverty, prostitution and alcohol are continually recycled for each generation.

This module will introduce you to a sociological approach to evil. You will develop your own innovative case-studies of evil in combination with published research. Throughout, you will be asked to explore the ontology of evil, examine how evil is explained and accounted for, investigate the consequences of evil, develop an understanding concerning the representation of evil and assess the aetiological precedents for that representation, and, ultimately, critically determine the role evil has within society.

20 credits

Protest, Movements and Social Change

During this module, you will gain deeper insight into how we study protests and movements and their impact on social change. 

The content will take a historical overview, tracing the development of theoretical and empirical approaches to the study of social movements, matched with historical and contemporary case studies of movement from around the world. 

By focusing on what functions movements play in society, as well as how they have been studied, you will become equipped with the tools to both analyse movements, and engage with sociological debates surrounding larger questions of inequality, identity, democracy and social justice.

20 credits

Police and Policing in a Global Context

This module explores policing on a macro-level, taking into account developments on a national and global scale. The topics covered will include: conceptualizing the police and policing; key features of policing, such as police powers, discretion, police culture and accountability; models of policing; the history of policing in the UK and elsewhere; the policing of multi-ethnic communities (who can also be thought of as 'global citizens'); the role of the police in policing, in the light of the growing involvement of non-warranted civilians and others in policing activities; policing in other countries, including post-colonial countries; and policing in a transnational context; policing in global, late modern societies. The module will be partly empirical, but it will also be grounded in theories about the use of power; for example, it will be situated within theories about governance and social control, whilst also exploring whether and from where the police derive legitimacy in exerting power/authority over citizens.

20 credits

Theoretical Foundations of Criminal Law

This module explores the theoretical foundations of criminal law in England and Wales, attempting to situate criminal law in its political, philosophical, historical, and social contexts. Specific issues of criminal law theory, such as criminalisation, harm, responsibility, the rule of law, and minimum intervention are discussed, along with an introduction to the principles of criminal justice and the developing trends affecting these issues. Students will be encouraged to critically deconstruct these issues, and evaluate the distance between these theoretical principles and practice by applying these principles to current debates and tensions in the law, gaining a richer and more critical understanding of the law they have previously studied.

20 credits

Perspectives on inequalities

You will be asked to think about the everyday experiences of inequality while exploring some of the core theoretical frameworks for interrogating inequality. These everyday experiences will be brought to life through presentations with/by external guest speakers who have lived experience of these inequalities and/or have worked to challenge these inequalities. There is a focus on discussion and debate to understand and critically reflect on the module content.

This module is co-taught with local agencies, community and family members. The involvement of practitioners, community members and families means that the content is interactive and requires full attendance.

This module aims to bring academic knowledge closer to everyday life and to help you gain applied knowledge of inequalities. It also offers an important insight into the nature of and benefits of co-construction in addressing issues relating to inequalities.

20 credits

Sex Work: Rights, Regulation and Resistance

Sex workers across the globe often experience stigmatisation, marginalisation and criminalisation. Drawing on a large and growing body of international scholarship, you will be introduced to the complexities and diverse realities of sex work.

You will engage in content that explores the various sex markets, gendered differences in the buying and selling of sex, violence, exploitation and trafficking, sex worker-led activism and resistance, and the regulatory modules used across the globe to govern sex industries.

By the end of the module, you will be equipped with a critical understanding of a range of theories and concepts that help to make sense of the social, cultural, and legal dimensions of sex work.

20 credits