LW2CS-Crime and Society

Module Provider: School of Law
Number of credits: 20 [10 ECTS credits]
Level:5
Terms in which taught: Autumn / Spring term module
Pre-requisites:
Non-modular pre-requisites:
Co-requisites:
Modules excluded:
Current from: 2021/2

Module Convenor: Dr Charlotte Smith
Email: C.L.Smith@reading.ac.uk

Type of module:

Summary module description:

This module adopts a historical and socio-legal approach to the study of the Criminal Justice System in England and Wales since 1750. It views the Criminal Justice System as a product of its history, and of the social, political and economic context in which it developed. It traces the shifting nature of this history and context in order to promote an understanding of the forces which shaped the Criminal Justice System, and the needs and objectives which it was designed to meet, and how these have changed over time. This facilitates a critical assessment of the fitness for purpose of different aspects of the system in the light of current social and political contexts.

Aims:

• To introduce students to different theories of punishment 


• To introduce students to the institutions of criminal justice in England and Wales since 1750.


• To develop an understanding of the relationship between the different institutions in the


• Criminal Justice system, and to explain the historical and philosophical roots that underpin those institutions.


• To develop a critical awareness of historical and contemporary debates and proposals for reform and an appreciation of the arguments that inform them.

Assessable learning outcomes:

By the end of this module it is expected that the student should be able to:

• Demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of theories of punishment and be able to critically evaluate their relative strengths and weaknesses.


• Understand the development of penal policy and critically consider the role of incarceration and other earlier forms of punishment in the criminal justice system.


• Identify and explain the structure of policing i n England and demonstrate an understanding of the historical processes that led to its development.


• Demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act and the Codes of Practice and critically evaluate their significance for police accountability.


• Demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of the structure of the criminal courts and critique the role played by the lay magistracy


• Consider the role of the trial by jury an d display an awareness of the debates concerning reform.


• Demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of the development of adversarial trial and critically evaluate the significance of various factors affecting that development

Additional outcomes:

Students will be encouraged and supported to improve their research skills and legal writing and to understand how to interact with both scholarly literature and relevant primary source materials.

Outline content:

The module then breaks down into four major areas, within which various topics are covered as follows:

1. Why we punish offenders:

A brief history of responsibility for law enforcement and the punishment of crime and the historical contexts and dimensions of punishment

1. An introduction to the philosophy of punishment

2. How we punish offenders:
   
   
   
   1. Pre-modern approaches – corporal punishment, hanging, transportation and the hulks
   
   
   2. Imprisonment as a criminal sanction
   
   
   
   

3. Policing and Prosecution:     
   
   
   
   1. The history and development of modern policing
   
   
   2. Policin g – contemporary challenges
   
   
   3. The history of criminal prosecution and the development of modern prosecutorial practices
   
   
   
   

4. How we Try Suspected Offenders:
   
   
   
   1. The role of the jury in trial upon indictment
   
   
   2. The development of adversarial trial
   
   
   3. The role of the lay magistracy and summary trial