Contemporary Issues in Criminal Justice
Overview
- Credit value: 30 credits at Level 7
- Convenors: Dr Amy Kirby and team
- Assessment: a 1000-word essay plan (20%) and 4000-word essay (80%)
Module description
In this module we introduce you to a range of contemporary issues and debates within the field of criminal law and criminal justice. The module is organised through a set of case studies, with each topic chosen because of its substantive significance to the field and to showcase the world-leading research expertise of Birkbeck staff. Together the seminars examine various aspects of the contemporary criminal justice institutional landscape, policy and practice from a range of theoretical and methodological perspectives.
Indicative syllabus
- Introduction and critical approaches
- Policing and digital evidence
- Effective participation in the courts
- International human rights law
- Female imprisonment worldwide
- Hate crime
- Drugs
- Fraud
- Disability and justice
- Legitimacy and criminal justice
Learning objectives
By the end of this module, you will be able to:
- identify and critically evaluate bodies of literature and key scholars working on topics that reflect contemporary issues and developments in criminal justice studies and practice
- critically evaluate national and international justice policy and practice environments and reflect upon the factors that influence this
- critically analyse contemporary debates within criminal justice and apply relevant theoretical approaches to such debates
- understand the key components of a range of theoretical and methodological perspectives and explain their different strengths and weaknesses
- critically assess the connections between theory, policy, law and practice in the criminal justice landscape.