Dr Leonidas Cheliotis OLD.2.51

This course is compulsory on the BSc in Criminology. This course is available on the BSc in International Social and Public Policy and BSc in International Social and Public Policy with Politics. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit and to General Course students.

This is a first year course that offers a general introduction to some of the main subjects and ideas that are to be found in criminology, and that BSc Criminology students will encounter during throughout their degree. These subjects are taught in a critical manner, inviting students to challenge received wisdoms, general assumptions, and political claims. The second goal of the course is to enthuse the students; to offer them a glimpse of an exciting and stimulating programme ahead, not least by using a variety of media for presentations and as the basis for discussion, and in a series of practical tasks linked to particular subjects.

Indicative lecture content

1. What is Criminology?

2. What is crime?

3. Crime in the media

4. Crime and politics

5. What is happening to crime?

6. Who commits crime?

7. How we deal with crime I: formal social control

8. How we deal with crime II: informal social control

9. How do we prevent crime?

10. Victims and crime

11. Crime and the powerful

12. What is criminal justice?

13. Policing and its history

14. Policing: Is it effective?

15. Theories of punishment

16. A brief history of punishment

17. Thinking about prisons

18. Understanding crime: what’s the point of theory?

19. Criminology and social policy – ideas in practice

20. Crime, punishment and the future

10 hours of lectures and 15 hours of classes in the MT. 10 hours of lectures and 15 hours of classes in the LT. 1 hour of lectures and 1 hour of classes in the ST.

Students will be expected to produce 2 essays in the MT and LT.

Harding, J., Davies, P. and Mair, G. (2017) An Introduction to Criminal Justice, London: Sage

Newburn, T. (2009) Criminology: Key Readings, Cullompton: Willan

Newburn, T. (2017) Criminology, London: Routledge

Newburn, T. (2018) Criminology: A very short introduction, Oxford: Oxford University Press

Open University (2016) Criminology Beyond Crime, Free course

Roberts, J.V. (2015) Criminal Justice: A very short introduction, Oxford: Oxford University Press

Essay (40%, 1500 words) in the ST.
Project (40%, 1000 words) and presentation (20%) in the LT.

Summative assessment has three elements: a 1500 word essay (40%); a project studying social control out on London's streets (40%); and a presentation (20%)