2017/18 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

LAW1065 Introduction to Criminal Justice

20 creditsClass Size: 90

Module manager: Prof Graham Farrell
Email: g.farrell@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2017/18

Module replaces

LAW 1125 Criminal Justice SystemLAW 1175 Punishment and Society

This module is approved as a discovery module

Module summary

This module examines the main institutions of the criminal justice system and provides an introduction to the use and methods of punishment in modern society. In so doing, the module introduces a number of key issues and debates relating to the operation of the criminal justice system and the punishment of offenders. - This module is taught by lectures and seminars in semesters 1 and 2. - Assessment by one 3-hour examination.

Objectives

On completion of this module, students should be able to:

- Critically evaluate the operation of the criminal justice process;
- Understand the law and its practical operation in the pre-trial and trial process;
- Utilise theoretical frameworks to explore debates relating to the criminal justice process;
- Critically assess the role of discretion in the criminal justice process;
- Critically examine the role of various institutions and agencies in the criminal justice process;
- Understand the different justifications for punishment and the ideas which inform them;
- Demonstrate an awareness of the debates for and against capital punishment and the mandatory life sentence for murder;
- Demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge of the different sentencing options available to the courts, how they are used in practice and the impact of this on certain groups in society;
- Demonstrate a through knowledge of the extent of the use of imprisonment and some of the problems which arise from its use;
- Understand the types of community sentences available to the courts and how and why they are used; and
- Utilise the results of criminological research to illuminate aspects of criminal justice in action and to compare accounts with official objectives.

Syllabus

Lecture Outline

Semester 1
Criminal justice agencies and pre-conviction procedures

Mapping and understanding the Criminal Justice Process
Miscarriages of Justice and the Royal Commissions
Modelling the criminal justice process
Policing I: role, organisation and discretion
Policing II: occupational subculture
Police powers: Stop and Search
Investigating crime: the role of confessions and forensic evidence
Crown Prosecution Service
Defence Solicitors
Courts and the Trial Process
First term review.

Semester 2
Penal policy and the penal crisis
The penal crisis (?)
Penal philosophy and the justifications for punishment
Criminal justice strategies
Sentencing: is it the 'crux of the penal crisis'?
Sentencing reform and its impact
Imprisonment and the penal crisis
Responding to the prisons crisis: is privatisation the answer?
History of non-custodial punishment
Recent reform of non-custodial punishment: generic penalties and the introduction of NOMS
Module Review and Examination Preparation.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Lecture	18	1.00	18.00
Seminar	8	1.00	8.00
Private study hours			174.00
Total Contact hours			26.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			200.00

Private study

- 4 hours per lecture: 72 hours
- 6 hours per seminar: 48 hours
- 54 hours - Preparing for assessment.

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Formative assessment of revision plans plus seminar attendance and contributions.

Methods of assessment

Exams

Exam type	Exam duration	% of formal assessment
Standard exam (closed essays, MCQs etc)	3 hr	100.00
Total percentage (Assessment Exams)		100.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 26/03/2018

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