2022/23 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

LAW2095 Transnational and Comparative Criminology

20 creditsClass Size: 128

Module manager: Professor Conor O’Reilly
Email: C.OReilly@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable

Year running 2022/23

This module is not approved as a discovery module

Module summary

This module will focus upon some of the most important contemporary issues of crime and insecurity. Whether it is border controls and the treatment of migrants, strategies to counter terrorism and organised crime, security protocols installed for global mega-events, the transnational illicit drug trade, international efforts to combat tax fraud/evasion, or trials at the International Criminal Court, these various sources of criminological concern all possess important transnational dynamics. Engaging with global insecurities such as these, this module will expose students to a range of disciplinary perspectives, drawing upon expertise from within the fields of criminology, criminal justice, international relations and law. Not only will this inform deeper critical understanding of how crime phenomena manifest transnational reach and global ambition, but it will also highlight how criminal justice and security ‘solutions’ proposed to address these problems have also become more globally mobile.

Objectives

The objectives of this module are:
- to consider crime and crime control in a global context;
- to understand the complex relationship between (in)security and global mobility;
- to engage with a cross-disciplinary literature on transnational criminology and comparative/international criminal justice;
- to appreciate trends in the global mobility of both criminal groups and crime control solutions;
- to consider international and comparative drug policy, the global illicit drug trade and its relationship to globalisation;
- to consider transnational financial crimes, such as tax fraud, and new initiatives to address these phenomena;
- to receive focused analysis of specific transnational and international criminal phenomena;
- to develop an understanding of 'international crimes' and how these are pursued through international criminal justice.

Learning outcomes
Upon completion of this module, students should be able to:
- recognise how forces of globalization must be incorporated into criminological theory and practice;
- appreciate the complex interaction between the 'global' and the 'local' as regards crime and crime control;
- critically analyse global crimes and insecurities: how they are policed at the transnational level; how they are enforced internationally, how they are represented in official discourse and the media; how they vary across different contexts;
- demonstrate the capacity to engage with a range of disciplinary literature and approaches to global crime and crime control, including: transnational criminology; comparative criminal justice; and international criminal justice.

Syllabus

Introducing Transnational and Comparative Criminology
(In)security and Mobility
Fear and Insecurity in the Borderlands
Transnational Organised Crime
Transnational Financial Crimes – Tax Fraud
Transnational Financial Crimes – Tax Avoidance
The Global Travels of Crime Problems
The Global Travel of Crime Solutions 
Policing Mega-Events 
Policing Global Risks 
Globalisation and the Transnational Illicit Drug Trade 
Illicit Drug Crop Cultivation
Eradication, Crop Substitution and Alternative Development
Drug Trafficking, Risks and Prices
Drug Law Enforcement
The Demand for Illicit Drugs
Harm Reduction Policy
Drug Prohibition, Decriminalization, Depenalization, or Legalization? 
What is International Crime?
Criminal Justice Responses to Transnational and International Crimes

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
On-line Learning	5	1.00	5.00
Lecture	11	1.00	11.00
Seminar	5	1.50	7.50
Private study hours			176.50
Total Contact hours			23.50
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			200.00

Private study

The online learning element is broken down into 15 minute tasks, there will be 20 x 15 minute tasks overall.

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

500 word essay (preparatory for assessed essay).

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	1,500 word essay	70.00
Poster Presentation	Individual academic poster	30.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		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: 27/01/2023

Disclaimer

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