| CODE | CRI1001 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Introduction to Criminal Justice Studies | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 01 - Year 1 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Criminology | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit provides the student with a general introduction to criminology, with particular emphasis on victimization and crime statistics. Basic and core criminological theories will be discussed with reference to actual experiences (also from policing), shedding light on topics, such as: hate crime, the plight of victims, the rights of offenders and interpersonal violence. The 'dark figure' of crime will be also discussed. This is the extent of crime that goes unreported. However, since criminology researchers must also investigate the unseen and unrecorded (by official means), students need to be made familiar with means of gathering unofficial data - through, for example surveys. Naturally, there are problems associated with the gathering of unofficial data. Students will be made aware of these problems and of problems associated with the collection of primary data and secondary data. Crime trends and patterns will also be addressed, discussing issues associated with age, gender, ethnicity, social class and other social factors. Study-unit Aims: This study-unit aims at: - Introducing students to the field of criminology; - Introducing the multi-disciplinary approach to the study of crime - outlining the the 'causes' of criminal behaviour and its consequences for victims and for society as a whole; - Introducing criminological theories and issues particularly related to policing; - Familiarizing students with the (crime) victimisation process and victims' rights; - Giving an initial hands-on overview of statistics in crime and victimization; - Familiarizing students with the realities of crime-reporting and victimization; - Familiarizing students with the tools available for victimization surveying. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Define crime; - Compare and contrast the Criminological Classical School vs the Criminological Positive School of thought; - List the (crime) victimisation stages and the main victims' rights; - Describe the victimization surveying process; - Describe the possible problems of crime data collection; - Describe the relationships between crime-related variables and others such as age, sex, and social class. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Define crime; - Discuss patterns and trends in crime; - List the stages of (crime) victimisation and the main victims' rights; - Understand what a crime victimization survey is comprised of. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: - Bachman R., & Schutt R.K., (2008), Fundamentals of Research in Criminology and Criminal Justice, SAGE Publications, Inc, ISBN: 9781412960526. - Dantzker M.L. & Hunter R.D., (2006), Research Methods for Criminology and Criminal Justice: A Primer, Second Edition, USA, Butterworth Heinemann, ISBN-13:978076373615, ISBN-10: 0763736155. - Finkelhor D., (2008), Childhood Victimization: Violence, Crime, and Abuse in the Lives of Young People (Interpersonal Violence), Oxford University Press, USA, ISBN-13: 978-0195342857. - Hagan, Frank E., (2006), Research methods in criminal justice and criminology, 7th ed., Allyn & Bacon. - Jupp, V., Davies, P. and Francis, P. (2000). Doing criminological research. London: Sage Publications. - Knepper, P. (2007) "Criminology and Social Policy". Sage: UK. - Siegal, L. J. (2008) "Criminology" (10th Ed.). Wadsworth Publishing Company: USA. - Walklate, S. (2005) "Criminology: The Basics". Routledge: UK. |
||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
|
||||||||
| LECTURER/S | Neville Aquilina |
||||||||
|
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
|||||||||