Criminal Justice: Policing, Sentencing and Rehabilitation

Module code: LW3591

This module examines core components of the criminal justice process including policing, sentencing, prisons, rehabilitation and desistance. The objective is to consider the nexus between each element and critically engage with associated theory. Our starting point will be the laws that frame police powers; how they are utilised in practice, and the work that situates policing within the concept of ‘police culture’. We will then look at the themes of sentencing, prisons, rehabilitation and desistance respectively with a view to gaining an in-depth understanding of the social, economic, and political contexts within which the criminal justice system operates.

In this module, you will critically evaluate the core principles underpinning policing, the main police powers and associated safeguards; deploy established techniques of enquiry to critically assess theoretical arguments relating to the purpose and aims of sentencing; determine a coherent and detailed knowledge of the punitive and rehabilitative function of prisons and engage critically with the associated literature; and extend and apply knowledge of key concepts such as police culture, prison culture, rehabilitation, and primary, secondary and tertiary desistance.

Topics covered

• Theories of policing
• The aims of sentencing
• Prisons
• Rehabilitation