Criminology

Three years full-time or flexible part-time

Criminology at The University of Northampton has the distinctive approach of drawing on the disciplines of Sociology, Psychology, History and Law. This provides a comprehensive introduction to some of the key theoretical and methodological issues at the heart of the discipline and enables students to acquire and develop a realistic view of this complex social phenomenon.

The course, which is divided into three stages, is designed for students who have an interest in crime and the criminal justice system. Stage one provides an interdisciplinary foundation to the study of crime and justice within a broad social science framework. A key focus of the single honours course at stage two is a practical fieldwork project where students have the opportunity to study a specific criminal justice agency or institution. The third stage builds on the knowledge and the analytical skills acquired in the previous stages.

Stage one

The course begins by mapping out the relationships between crime, society and the legal system. One compulsory module, Crime and Society, is designed to introduce students to major theoretical debates and empirical studies that locate dimensions of crime and risk of crime within broader social divisions of class, ethnicity, gender and age. The second compulsory module at this stage, Socialisation, Conformity and Deviance, aims to provide students with a basic understanding of the patterns and processes of socialisation examining the family, education, religion and historical perspectives on law enforcement.

Stage two

Students are introduced to issues and methods in social science research, whilst a focus on crime and justice forms the broader organising theme at this stage, taking students through the levels of criminal justice procedures, from point of arrest to disposal of criminal cases at court. A number of specialist modules are available in addition to these two compulsory modules.

Stage three

The core module for stage three is Crime and Punishment which provides an overview of the philosophy and theories of punishment as well as an examination of the institutions responsible for the punishment of offenders. This stage builds on the knowledge and the analytical skills acquired in the previous stages, in order to develop an advanced theoretical understanding of criminological debates and their application to a range of policies.

• Contemporary issues such as globalisation of crime
• Issues of gender and race
• Multi-discipline approach to criminology
• Offender profiling
• Opportunity for placement experience
• Policing and crime control

• Crime and Punishment
• Forensic Psychology
• Introduction to Psychology
• Media Representations of Crime
• Policing
• Socialisation, Conformity and Deviance
• Terrorism
• Transnational Crime
• White Collar Crime
• Crime, Youth and Justice
• Crime and Society

Course outline

As well as causing widespread public concern and seemingly endless political debate, crime is a source of fascination to us all. This means that almost everyone has an opinion on crime, its causes and the most appropriate and effective ways of dealing with offenders. Unfortunately, most of these views are ill informed and wrong. One of our main objectives in Criminology at The University of Northampton is to challenge some of these 'common sense' views and clarify some of the common misinterpretations of this complex phenomenon. To do this we have assembled a team of dedicated and enthusiastic lecturers who, often drawing from their own research, deliver interesting and challenging courses on numerous aspects of contemporary criminology. We hope this will ensure that studying Criminology at The University of Northampton will be stimulating, rewarding and an enjoyable experience.

What is criminology?

Criminology is the science that investigates the extent and nature of crime in society. Criminology as a science was established after the positivist movement of the 19th century. Since then, criminology was developed into a multi-discipline science incorporating a number of other social sciences to the study of crime. The programme of study at The University of Northampton provides the multi-discipline profile of Criminology by combining Sociology, Law, Historical and Psychological Sciences. Each of these fields is well established at The University of Northampton and has a tradition of focusing on criminology-related issues. All our modules are taught within the School of Social Sciences and, apart from the core team, contributions come from members of the faculty and experienced external visiting lecturers and speakers in applied areas of criminology.

• Develop a critical understanding of crime, criminality and victimology in the context of broader structural developments, processes and conditions
• Develop an informed understanding of how different aspects of the criminal justice system operate in relation to both broader social institutions and processes to individuals
• Critically evaluate policies and practices directed at crime and crime control
• Appreciate and demonstrate the intellectual relationship between criminology and other disciplines
• Foster an appreciation of the significance of social diversity to crime and crime control

You can study Criminology as a single or Joint Honours subject.  

The Joint Honours degree is designed to provide students with a firm grounding in the theoretical debates, methodological issues and substantive concerns of the discipline.

The single honours degree is designed for students who are interested in a greater understanding of criminological issues, especially research and practical applications. For this reason the single honours students are undertaking a greater number of compulsory modules, three of which are on researching criminology and placement investigation on the field. In the final year the dissertation allows all students to develop their skills further and explore specific criminological issues and ideas.    

The course begins by mapping out the relationships between crime, society and the legal system. The compulsory module, Crime and Society, is designed to introduce students to major theoretical debates and empirical studies that locate dimensions of crime and risk of crime within broader social divisions of class, ethnicity, gender and age. The course engages with historical and contemporary debates around crime and social structure.

The second compulsory module at this level is Socialisation, Conformity and Deviance which distinguishes between crime and deviance and explores the wider focus of deviant behaviour and its perception as a social problem.

For those following the single honours degree there is an additional compulsory module of Social Science Research Methods that aims to introduce key methodological issues in criminological research and to promote an understanding of techniques of data generation, their use and their limitations.

A further module available at stage one is Law and Society which aims to provide students with a basic understanding of the principles of the legal system within England and Wales and how this is administered and applied within a democratic society. Also, for single honours students, An Introduction to Psychology is available as a compulsory module. This module, later on, links with stage two and three psychology modules that are more related to the study of criminology.

Moot room

This course is designed for students who have an interest in crime and criminal justice. The course provides a broad critical grounding which could be relevant to careers in policing, probation work, the prison service, the home office, the criminal courts and for those interested in pursuing postgraduate studies, although all of these require further training for full professional qualification. As the problem of crime has increasingly become a matter of public and political concern, so the prevention of crime has been prioritised as a matter of social policy. Under the terms of the 1998 Crime and Disorder Act, every local authority in England and Wales has a statutory obligation to introduce crime reduction programmes.

The government has devoted considerable financial resources to this project and as a consequence there are many employment opportunities on projects such as crime reduction teams, drug rehabilitation programmes and youth offender teams.