The degree is awarded on the basis of nine final examinations at the end of the three-year course (or four years in the case of Law with Law Studies in Europe). Phase II of the Final Honour School includes the first and second term of the final year; the Final Examinations are taken in the third term of the final year.

This course offers an opportunity to study the phenomenon of crime and the ways it is dealt with by the criminal justice and penal systems. The subject is approached from the socio-legal, philosophical, historical and empirical perspectives. The aim of the course is to provide students with a sound analytical understanding of some central developments and debates relating to this subject.

An essential requirement is an understanding of: the value and limitations of official statistics and research relating to the dimensions of crime; the exercise of discretion by the police and the courts; the characteristics of offenders and of persons convicted; the punishments imposed and the effects of these punishments on the conduct of offenders and other citizens. Naturally, this entails a willingness, and some ability, to discuss the merits of research and to use statistical evidence in analysing a problem. But it should be noted that students are not expected to acquire a sophisticated knowledge of research methods, nor are advanced mathematical skills called for. There is no single textbook, but clear guidance is provided to students on core reading materials, which include research reports, scholarly journal articles and chapters from books, as well as proposals for reform from pressure groups and government.

The course includes an assessment of the scope and different manifestations of criminal behaviour, and goes on to examine the processes of the criminal justice system prior to conviction - police practices in relation to the recording of crime, arrest and charging of suspects; prosecution; and plea negotiations. Sentencing is approached from a consideration of the role of the Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, particularly in the extent to which it has established principles to guide the courts in the exercise of their discretion. Proposals for reforming the sentencing structure and process are evaluated, as are empirical studies of judicial decision-making and sentencing disparities. Some philosophical issues connected with the justifications of punishment implicit in sentencing, parole, preventive detention, and other penal practices affecting an offender’s liberty, are discussed.

Questions of penal policy for adult offenders are explored in some depth. Among the topics usually covered are: the organisation, control and inspection of prisons; the nature of prison conditions and regimes and the changing justifications for them; the role of prison staff; security, control and justice in penal institutions; the effects of attempts to rehabilitate prisoners; the problems of dealing with habitual and dangerous criminals and with young adult offenders; the status and rights of prisoners; the early release of offenders through parole; the spread of noncustodial penalties and their impact on the prison population and recidivism; and the assessment of the incapacitative and general deterrent functions of punishment.

Special consideration is given to evaluating the development of juvenile justice and the measures which have evolved to deal specifically with children and young persons. Attention is also paid to the role of the victim and to restorative justice. The extent to which the operation of the criminal justice system involves unfair discrimination against citizens on the grounds of race or gender is also explored, with some tutors incorporating this question into all of the other issues studied. Indeed, while the teaching is organised into discrete topics, it should be emphasised that much of the material covered in one topic has implications for issues highlighted in other parts of the course.

Although the course is intended to be of general interest it should prove to be particularly useful to those who are contemplating work in a criminal practice or in any branch of the criminal justice system. It will also be good preparation for those who may wish to proceed to postgraduate study in criminology or criminal justice.

Why are criminal laws made? Why are they broken? How do we, and how should we, react to the breaking of criminal laws? These three questions are the stuff of criminology. They also occupy a central and controversial place in public and political debates about the condition and future of contemporary liberal democratic societies. This course provides students with the chance to study them in depth.
Criminology and Criminal Justice offers students an opportunity to study crime and the ways in which it is dealt with by the criminal justice and penal systems. It enables students to explore the nature of crime and its control by examining the issues at stake using the resources of legal, penal and social theory. It also offers students the chance to think about crime as a social phenomenon and to explore using criminological research and analysis how criminal justice and penal systems operate in practice.

A one-year sample of courses from our BA programmes, aimed only at students visiting from our partner universities.

This course offers an opportunity to study the phenomenon of crime and the ways it is dealt with by the criminal justice and penal systems. The subject is approached from the socio-legal, philosophical, historical and empirical perspectives. The aim of the course is to provide students with a sound analytical understanding of some central developments and debates relating to this subject.

An essential requirement is an understanding of: the value and limitations of official statistics and research relating to the dimensions of crime; the exercise of discretion by the police and the courts; the characteristics of offenders and of persons convicted; the punishments imposed and the effects of these punishments on the conduct of offenders and other citizens. Naturally, this entails a willingness, and some ability, to discuss the merits of research and to use statistical evidence in analysing a problem. But it should be noted that students are not expected to acquire a sophisticated knowledge of research methods, nor are advanced mathematical skills called for. There is no single textbook, but clear guidance is provided to students on core reading materials, which include research reports, scholarly journal articles and chapters from books, as well as proposals for reform from pressure groups and government.

The course includes an assessment of the scope and different manifestations of criminal behaviour, and goes on to examine the processes of the criminal justice system prior to conviction - police practices in relation to the recording of crime, arrest and charging of suspects; prosecution; and plea negotiations. Sentencing is approached from a consideration of the role of the Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, particularly in the extent to which it has established principles to guide the courts in the exercise of their discretion. Proposals for reforming the sentencing structure and process are evaluated, as are empirical studies of judicial decision-making and sentencing disparities. Some philosophical issues connected with the justifications of punishment implicit in sentencing, parole, preventive detention, and other penal practices affecting an offender’s liberty, are discussed.

Questions of penal policy for adult offenders are explored in some depth. Among the topics usually covered are: the organisation, control and inspection of prisons; the nature of prison conditions and regimes and the changing justifications for them; the role of prison staff; security, control and justice in penal institutions; the effects of attempts to rehabilitate prisoners; the problems of dealing with habitual and dangerous criminals and with young adult offenders; the status and rights of prisoners; the early release of offenders through parole; the spread of noncustodial penalties and their impact on the prison population and recidivism; and the assessment of the incapacitative and general deterrent functions of punishment.

Special consideration is given to evaluating the development of juvenile justice and the measures which have evolved to deal specifically with children and young persons. Attention is also paid to the role of the victim and to restorative justice. The extent to which the operation of the criminal justice system involves unfair discrimination against citizens on the grounds of race or gender is also explored, with some tutors incorporating this question into all of the other issues studied. Indeed, while the teaching is organised into discrete topics, it should be emphasised that much of the material covered in one topic has implications for issues highlighted in other parts of the course.

Although the course is intended to be of general interest it should prove to be particularly useful to those who are contemplating work in a criminal practice or in any branch of the criminal justice system. It will also be good preparation for those who may wish to proceed to postgraduate study in criminology or criminal justice.

The proposed course aims to provide an in-depth understanding of the theoretical underpinnings, justifications, and contemporary practices of punishment and security. The subject is approached from criminological, socio-legal, philosophical, and historical perspectives. The course explores the role of the state in the exercise of its most coercive functions against individual citizens – whether punishing those found guilty of criminal wrongdoing or taking security measures against those deemed to pose a risk to the safety of the public and the nation. In Michaelmas Term it will focus on ‘why we punish’ by examining major debates in penal theory concerning the justification and rationale for punishment (not least desert theory and its critics, communicative and consequentialist theories). The second half of the term will consider ‘how we punish’ by exploring diverse social, economic and political aspects of punishment and examining whether it is possible to do justice to difference. In Hilary Term the focus will shift from punishment to the pursuit of security and critically examine what is meant by security (whether, for example, as pursuit, commodity, or public good). Successive seminars will consider whether the growth of markets in private security and the development of communal and personal security provision evidence the fragmentation or dispersal of state power. They will go on to examine exercises in state sovereignty in the name of risk management, counterterrorism, and migration and border control. These reassertions of state power permit significant intrusions into individual freedom and the deployment of exceptional measures and the course will address important questions about the limits of legality and the balancing of liberty and security. In Trinity Term two final seminars will provide an opportunity for critical reflection and engagement with issues raised throughout the course. The first will examine the case for ‘civilizing security’ and consider how security should be pursued, distributed, and governed and by whom; the second returns to the question of punishment to explore the notion of penal excess and the case for penal moderation.

The proposed course aims to provide an in-depth understanding of the theoretical underpinnings, justifications, and contemporary practices of punishment and security. The subject is approached from criminological, socio-legal, philosophical, and historical perspectives. The course explores the role of the state in the exercise of its most coercive functions against individual citizens – whether punishing those found guilty of criminal wrongdoing or taking security measures against those deemed to pose a risk to the safety of the public and the nation. In Michaelmas Term it will focus on ‘why we punish’ by examining major debates in penal theory concerning the justification and rationale for punishment (not least desert theory and its critics, communicative and consequentialist theories). The second half of the term will consider ‘how we punish’ by exploring diverse social, economic and political aspects of punishment and examining whether it is possible to do justice to difference. In Hilary Term the focus will shift from punishment to the pursuit of security and critically examine what is meant by security (whether, for example, as pursuit, commodity, or public good). Successive seminars will consider whether the growth of markets in private security and the development of communal and personal security provision evidence the fragmentation or dispersal of state power. They will go on to examine exercises in state sovereignty in the name of risk management, counterterrorism, and migration and border control. These reassertions of state power permit significant intrusions into individual freedom and the deployment of exceptional measures and the course will address important questions about the limits of legality and the balancing of liberty and security. In Trinity Term two final seminars will provide an opportunity for critical reflection and engagement with issues raised throughout the course. The first will examine the case for ‘civilizing security’ and consider how security should be pursued, distributed, and governed and by whom; the second returns to the question of punishment to explore the notion of penal excess and the case for penal moderation.