Criminology (Criminology / Law Enforcement / Cybercrime) MA

This module provides the theoretical background that you will require for this course. It will familiarise you with the way criminologists currently explain crime, criminal behaviour and law enforcement from classical and contemporary perspectives. There is a particular emphasis on contemporary theoretical debates within the criminological literature.

This module provides the policy and practice background that you will require for this course. It will expose you to a broad spectrum of both domestic and global crime and justice issues, alongside competing notions of ‘effective’ crime control. There is a particular emphasis on the interplay between policy and practice, enabling you to apply a comparative critical lens to conceptions of, and responses to, crime and harm whilst also considering what informs this process.

This module combines taught research methods along with the development and delivery of a substantial research project. The module will include a critical exploration of research methods, to develop and advance your understanding of the essential alignment of social research ontologies, epistemologies and research design. You will develop and demonstrate empirical research and expertise in your chosen specialised area, focussing on a piece of academic research which may include a work-based evaluation (either through existing employment or a student sourced placement) related to criminology, law enforcement or cybercrime. This will allow you to conduct a valuable piece of research that contributes to existing knowledge.

This module focuses on the important role of offender management in the context of crime reduction initiatives, paying particular attention to the National Offender Management Service and National Offender Management Model. It demonstrates that managing offenders has become more complex over recent years. In large part this can be attributed to the growth and inter-connectivity of organisations statutory or otherwise that are employed to ensure that offenders are effectively managed.

This module considers the policy, legislative and regulatory frameworks of intelligence, surveillance and investigation as interpreted and implemented by law enforcement agencies in a range of contexts, both nationally and internationally. The module will enable students to evaluate the various structures, roles and functions of intelligence, surveillance and investigatory practices, and debates surrounding such issues. Students will also reflect on the ethics of covert and overt surveillance and intelligence gathering, the associated human rights debates regarding rights to privacy versus crime detection, protection of critical national infrastructure or national security demands.

The module is delivered via two distinct but interconnected thematic groupings. Part one, cybercrime, explores the history, nature and pattern of cybercrime including the criminological study of cybercrime, development of new technologies, cybercriminal behaviour, victimisation, and offenders’ motivations, among other concepts, as well as philosophical debates about ethics, surveillance, and privacy issues. Part two, cybersecurity, addresses the challenges of the digital divide between the global north and south, and how cybersecurity is defined and incorporated in different regions. Integrated into this setting will be a critical evaluation of preventions, detections, and responses, as well as how to build digital resilience and preparedness to manage the developing and changing risks and threats.

This module develops knowledge and skills of leadership in a criminal justice context. It explores contemporary theories, models and concepts of leadership and encourages students to critically consider the notion of ‘effective’ leadership and management, along with the application of this to a range of criminal justice contexts and organisations, both nationally and internationally. This module will explore the everyday ethical, practical and policy challenges of leadership and management in a real-world setting, taking account of international approaches to leadership and the impacts of different organisational cultures.

This module explores the intersections between technology, power, and resistance in the digital age. Students will critically examine the role of cyberactivism, hacktivism, and digital resistance movements in shaping contemporary political and social conflicts. It will investigate phenomena such as cyberwarfare, cyberterrorism, information disorder, and memetic warfare, considering how state and non-state actors engage in online battles over narrative, influence, access and control. Drawing from criminology, security studies, and digital media theory, this module provides a critical framework for analysing the new frontlines of conflict/war in cyberspace.

This module takes a critical and comparative approach to miscarriages of justice, examining how these are influenced by their social, legal and cultural context. In doing so, the module examines miscarriages of justice as an international/global criminal justice issue, examining how and why miscarriages of justice occur in different settings and remain an issue for all justice systems.

This module is designed to develop advanced understanding of transnational organised crime, the people involved and the nature of the crimes. The module adopts a market-based approach through examination of trafficking crimes of people, drugs, wildlife, illicit goods and firearms, along with other crimes such as money laundering and racketeering. This will enable students to explore crimes of a transnational nature committed by individuals, groups, corporations and states that require an international response from governments, law enforcement and societies.

The module is delivered via two distinct but interconnected thematic groupings. Part one, cybercrime, explores the history, nature and pattern of cybercrime including the criminological study of cybercrime, development of new technologies, cybercriminal behaviour, victimisation, and offenders’ motivations, among other concepts, as well as philosophical debates about ethics, surveillance, and privacy issues. Part two, cybersecurity, addresses the challenges of the digital divide between the global north and south, and how cybersecurity is defined and incorporated in different regions. Integrated into this setting will be a critical evaluation of preventions, detections, and responses, as well as how to build digital resilience and preparedness to manage the developing and changing risks and threats.

This module explores the intersections between technology, power, and resistance in the digital age. Students will critically examine the role of cyberactivism, hacktivism, and digital resistance movements in shaping contemporary political and social conflicts. It will investigate phenomena such as cyberwarfare, cyberterrorism, information disorder, and memetic warfare, considering how state and non-state actors engage in online battles over narrative, influence, access and control. Drawing from criminology, security studies, and digital media theory, this module provides a critical framework for analysing the new frontlines of conflict/war in cyberspace.

This module develops knowledge and skills of leadership in a criminal justice context. It explores contemporary theories, models and concepts of leadership and encourages students to critically consider the notion of ‘effective’ leadership and management, along with the application of this to a range of criminal justice contexts and organisations, both nationally and internationally. This module will explore the everyday ethical, practical and policy challenges of leadership and management in a real-world setting, taking account of international approaches to leadership and the impacts of different organisational cultures.

This module takes a critical and comparative approach to miscarriages of justice, examining how these are influenced by their social, legal and cultural context. In doing so, the module examines miscarriages of justice as an international/global criminal justice issue, examining how and why miscarriages of justice occur in different settings and remain an issue for all justice systems.

This module is designed to develop advanced understanding of transnational organised crime, the people involved and the nature of the crimes. The module adopts a market-based approach through examination of trafficking crimes of people, drugs, wildlife, illicit goods and firearms, along with other crimes such as money laundering and racketeering. This will enable students to explore crimes of a transnational nature committed by individuals, groups, corporations and states that require an international response from governments, law enforcement and societies.

This module develops knowledge and skills of leadership in a criminal justice context. It explores contemporary theories, models and concepts of leadership and encourages students to critically consider the notion of ‘effective’ leadership and management, along with the application of this to a range of criminal justice contexts and organisations, both nationally and internationally. This module will explore the everyday ethical, practical and policy challenges of leadership and management in a real-world setting, taking account of international approaches to leadership and the impacts of different organisational cultures.

This module considers the policy, legislative and regulatory frameworks of intelligence, surveillance and investigation as interpreted and implemented by law enforcement agencies in a range of contexts, both nationally and internationally. The module will enable students to evaluate the various structures, roles and functions of intelligence, surveillance and investigatory practices, and debates surrounding such issues. Students will also reflect on the ethics of covert and overt surveillance and intelligence gathering, the associated human rights debates regarding rights to privacy versus crime detection, protection of critical national infrastructure or national security demands.

This module explores the intersections between technology, power, and resistance in the digital age. Students will critically examine the role of cyberactivism, hacktivism, and digital resistance movements in shaping contemporary political and social conflicts. It will investigate phenomena such as cyberwarfare, cyberterrorism, information disorder, and memetic warfare, considering how state and non-state actors engage in online battles over narrative, influence, access and control. Drawing from criminology, security studies, and digital media theory, this module provides a critical framework for analysing the new frontlines of conflict/war in cyberspace.

This module takes a critical and comparative approach to miscarriages of justice, examining how these are influenced by their social, legal and cultural context. In doing so, the module examines miscarriages of justice as an international/global criminal justice issue, examining how and why miscarriages of justice occur in different settings and remain an issue for all justice systems.

This module is designed to develop advanced understanding of transnational organised crime, the people involved and the nature of the crimes. The module adopts a market-based approach through examination of trafficking crimes of people, drugs, wildlife, illicit goods and firearms, along with other crimes such as money laundering and racketeering. This will enable students to explore crimes of a transnational nature committed by individuals, groups, corporations and states that require an international response from governments, law enforcement and societies.