CRI-10014 - Investigating Crime: Criminological Perspectives
Coordinator: Leah Koumentaki Room: N/A
Lecture Time: See Timetable...
Level: Level 4
Credits: 15
Study Hours: 150
School Office:

Programme/Approved Electives for 2023/24

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

No

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2023/24

This module is concerned with the social history of modern investigative techniques. It will examine the emergence of criminal justice bureaucracies and of detective work as a specialism within them. It will go on to take a critical, sociological look at the development, impact and limitations of a range of technologies - motor vehicles, ICT, psychological and DNA profiling and technologies of regulation and surveillance - in the context of the investigation of crime and criminal justice practice more generally.

Aims
To increase students appreciation of a criminological understanding of crime investigation.
To increase students understanding and appreciation of modern investigative techniques.
To enable students to understand and reflect upon how the emergence of criminal justice bureaucracies and detective work impacts upon crime investigation.
To enable students to evaluate the impact and limitations of a range of crime investigation technologies.

Talis Aspire Reading List
Any reading lists will be provided by the start of the course.
http://lists.lib.keele.ac.uk/modules/cri-10014/lists

Intended Learning Outcomes

Reognise and describe the contributions made by various parties in investigating a criminal event: 1,2
Recognise and describe the contributions, compexities and limitations of a range of investigatory and evidence-gathering techniques: 1,2
Recognise and illustrate the impact of processes of social change such as globalisation on crime investigation: 1,2
Describe the development and current organisation, governance and operation of crime investigation: 1,2
Recognise and identify the importance of comparative analysis in crime investigation: 1,2
Identify different representations of crime investigations in the media and by agents of crime control: 1,2
Recognise the social context in which investigative techniques and practices have emerged and operate: 1,2
Describe the processes involved in gathering, evaluating and presenting evidence of a criminal event: 1,2

Study hours

11 hours lectures
10 hours seminars
20 hours preparation for seminar tasks
8 hours completion of online tasks
101 hours personal study, preparatory reading and other work for lectures, seminars and assessment

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment

1: Online Tasks weighted 40%
Short answer online tasks.
Students will complete a set of online tasks administered via the KLE, which will feature a range of problems, short answer questions and related activities that will require students to demonstrate breadth of engagement with the topics covered on the module as a whole. These tasks and activities are designed to ensure that student identify and reflect on the bodies of knowledge and theories they are being asked to engage with rather than simply 'looking up' and reproducing answers. In order to give the students sufficient time to engage fully with the nature of tasks and complete the assessment, students will be given 4 days to complete the tasks but the tasks will not take any more than 8 hours to do. The tasks will be released on the KLE and feature short activities/tasks that will take approximately four hours to complete in total, but students are encouraged to focus on completing the tasks fully and correctly rather than quickly, so students have the opportunity to pause the tasks to consult their lecture notes, readings and related module resources and to reflect on what is being asked of them in each activity. Students will attempt a set of tasks assembled randomly for each student from a bank of activities/tasks/questions, so that students each attempt a unique assessment to discourage collusion.

2: Essay weighted 60%
1250 word essay
Students choose from a set of provided essay titles which align with topics explored in detail in seminars