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Learning outcomes – Criminal justice


Criminal justice level 4 modules


Criminal justice level 5 modules


Criminal justice level 6 modules


Criminal justice Level 4 Modules

Introduction to Online Learning and Personal Development (15 credits)

  • Demonstrate the technical and personal requirements of online learning
  • Demonstrate competencies in the use of the tools available to online learners
  • Possess the ability to reflect on activities and personal development in terms of both process and task
  • Identify effective operational techniques in a variety of learning contexts
  • Explain the organisational, environmental and societal contexts in which their careers and lives will unfold

The Legal System (15 credits)

  • Understand how legislation is created
  • Identify the key differences between civil and criminal courts and their processes
  • Understand the roles of those key to maintaining the integrity of the judicial process
  • Identify and evaluate the role, importance, responsibilities and relationships between criminal justice agencies
  • Outline and assess aspects of police powers and practice
  • Consider the philosophy of punishment and the penal process

Crime and Society (15 credits)

  • Understand what constitutes and can be identified as a crime, and recognise the scale of criminality
  • Through the use of case studies and other models identify the key elements of several specific crimes and several key defences
  • Identify and evaluate the key issues associated with the social contexts of crime, including substance misuse and anti-social behaviour
  • Appreciate and assess the social and economic consequences of crime on local and regional communities, businesses and organisations and the state
  • Appreciate and assess the consequences of crime on local and regional communities, businesses and organisations and the state
  • Recognise the key issues involved in any relaxation of the current laws relating to particular types of criminal activity, for example prostitution or substance abuse
  • Understand and assess the impact of the increasing internationalisation of crime and its contexts

Dealing with Offending Behaviour (15 credits)

  • Outline the key principles of prevention, intervention and rehabilitation
  • Recognise and evaluate those factors which determine police action when dealing with offender behaviour
  • Recognise the legal constraints placed upon the judiciary when sentencing
  • Identify and differentiate between the key ‘tools’ for controlling offenders in the community
  • Understand the powers of the court to seize the assets of convicted persons
  • Understand the roles and responsibilities of the key agencies which deal with offenders after sentencing
  • Identify and evaluate the principles of 'Integrated Offender Management' and its impact on participating agencies
  • Differentiate between formal and informal social control

Skills for the Criminal Justice Sector (15 credits)

  • Identify the key skills required for a successful career in the criminal justice sector
  • Understand the importance of these skills
  • Recognise the benefit to the individual and the organisation of self development
  • Identify and assess various styles of leadership
  • Recognise the increasing impact of technology and their need to be able to maximise its potential

Terrorism Today (15 credits)

  • Articulate the main definitions of terrorism
  • Give an explanation of the use of terrorism as a weapon against the state
  • Recognise the key ideological issues that motivate terrorists
  • Understand and critically assess the link between terrorism and crime
  • Appreciate the social, political and economic consequences of terrorism
  • Identify and critically evaluate classic counter-terrorism strategies

Work Based Learning 1 (30 credits) 

  • Apply appropriate theory to a practical work based project
  • Identify appropriate solutions and evaluate the project in relation to the criminal justice sector environment and the implications of that environment for professional, management and working practices.
  • Undertake reflective learning by reviewing personal and organisational responses
  • Identify personal/professional development needs in relation to future goals

Criminal justice Level 5 modules

Criminology (15 credits)

  • Identify and critically assess a variety of definitions of crime
  • Understand and evaluate key historical and contemporary criminological theories of crime
  • Understand and critically evaluate both biological and psychological theories of crime
  • Recognise and critically assess a number of perspectives related to the role of punishment and the penal system
  • Appreciate the role of the 21st Century Police Force and consider the potential for discrimination within the Police Force

Risk Assessment and Management (15 credits)

  • Understand the concept of risk
  • Identify and critically evaluate the key assessment tools used to assess risk
  • Identify and critically assess the key issues arising from risk aversion to a) policing; and b) the treatment of offenders
  • Appreciate the social and economic consequences of crime policies based on risk aversion
  • Understand the impact of the guilty verdict in the 2007 Health and Safety trial of the Metropolitan Police

Human Rights, Values and Ethics (15 credits)

  • Define human rights, values and ethics in the context of criminal justice
  • Recognise the conflicts within and between personal, operational and organisational values and ethics
  • Identify the need for personal and organisational accountability in the Criminal Justice System
  • Identify and critically evaluate practical examples where the balance of rights and responsibilities between individuals and the wider society have been questioned in the Criminal Justice System
  • Critically evaluate some ethical conflicts faced by criminal justice practitioners

Work Based Learning 2 (30 credits)

  • Apply understanding of an issue within the criminal justice sector work context which is worthy of investigation and has potential as a vehicle for personal learning and organisational change
  • Critically present a response to the issue that has been selected from a range of alternatives and is underpinned by knowledge of appropriate theoretical models, professional practice, systematic data collection, analysis and evaluation
  • Implement the proposed response as appropriate to the work context and critically evaluate its impact on the organisation
  • Apply the skills of observation, investigation, reflection, and problem solving in a criminal justice sector working environment
  • Manage independently the processes involved in the analysis, development and implementation of their response and communicate the results of the project fluently using appropriate media and methods to a variety of different audiences
  • Reflect critically on personal competencies and personal learning

Youth Crime and Justice (15 credits)

  • Identify and critically evaluate the effectiveness of key facets of current legislation relating to youth crime
  • Understand the role of the media in defining and highlighting youth crime
  • Evaluate historical and contemporary criminological debates around youth justice
  • Discuss the concept of anti-social behaviour and critically evaluate key anti-social behaviour legislation
  • Differentiate between historical, cultural and political influences on contemporary definitions and treatment of young offenders

Child and Adolescent Development (15 credits)

  • Understand the key theories in child development
  • Critically evaluate how successfully psychologists are able to devise experiments to test their theories
  • Discuss the influence of parents and family on child and adolescent development
  • Recognise that there is no definitive answer on how biological and social factors combine culminating in a particular event

Substance Misuse and Crime (15 credits)

  • Identify the key pieces of legislation
  • Recognise the types of crime affected by substance misuse
  • Understand and critically evaluate the role of those agencies primarily responsible for the implementation of Government Policy relating to substance misuse
  • Identify and critically evaluate the effectiveness of key facets of the legislation

Custodial Care (15 credits)

  • Gain an understanding of how to deal with different categories of prisoners
  • Evaluate relevant legislation relating to specific categories of prisoner
  • Describe some of the major themes and debates
  • Assess a range of approaches to the treatment of prisoners

Mentally Disordered Offenders (15 credits)

  • Gain an understanding of both mental disorder and mentally disordered offenders
  • Evaluate relevant legislation and map policy developments related to mentally disordered offenders
  • Summarise the courts’ powers in relation to mentally disordered offenders
  • Distinguish between insanity and diminished responsibility
  • Describe the roles of those who work with mentally disordered offenders
  • Assess a range of approaches to the treatment of mentally disordered offenders

Prisons and Penology (15 credits)

  • Demonstrate an understanding of the penal system
  • Evaluate relevant legislation and map policy developments related to rehabilitating offenders
  • Summarise the options available to deal with offenders
  • Describe the roles of those who work with offenders in the penal system
  • Assess a range of approaches to rehabilitate offenders

Probation and Community Justice (15 credits)

  • Understand the concept of community justice
  • Recognise the role of the community in relation to victims of crime
  • Establish the relationship between the judiciary and the community
  • Recognise the need for visible and transparent processes in organisations dealing with community justice
  • Understand and critically evaluate the role of the key agencies primarily responsible for the implementation of community justice

Criminal Investigation (15 credits)

  • Define, describe and critically assess an investigation in accordance with current national standards
  • Identify and critically evaluate objects and locations capable of being crime scenes
  • Recognise and apply the different stages of an investigation
  • Identify the need for individual strategies in key areas of an investigation such as treatment of witnesses and suspects
  • Identify and critically assess the resources and support available to investigators
  • Understand how the national Intelligence Model is applicable to investigators
  • Understand the reasons for the failure of cases and critically assess if developments in the legal and investigative framework will be effective in preventing this

Theory and Practice of Multi-Agency Partnerships (15 credits)

  • Identify the growing trend towards using legislation to encourage the development of partnerships within the criminal justice arena
  • Critically evaluate the impact of such partnership based legislation
  • Identify the key facets of this legislation
  • Develop an awareness of the approaches being adopted to implement this legislation
  • Outline the vision for the future of partnership activity within criminal justice

Criminal justice Level 6 modules

Victimology and Criminal Victimisation (15 credits)

  • Apply an understanding of criminological theories to assess the political and social processes of victimisation and criminalisation
  • Demonstrate the relationship between diversity and social inequality in relation to victimisation
  • Understand the role of the victim in the criminal justice process and the support services available to them
  • Evaluate comparative approaches to victim services in the European Union and United States

Criminal Justice in the Information Age: Cyber Crime and Security (15 credits)

  • Understand the history, scope, scale and trends in cyber crime
  • Assess the economic and social impact of cyber crime
  • Evaluate the implications of the technological age on criminal and deviant behaviour
  • Outline the approaches taken to police and the internet including transnational cooperation
  • Evaluate strategies of control and the responses of the Criminal Justice system to cyber crime

Research Methods for Criminal Justice (15 credits)

  • Identify a range of different research strategies and methods used in the Criminal Justice setting
  • Formulate and examine a research question in the Criminal Justice context
  • Construct effective instruments for data collection
  • Evaluate data identifying any flaws in the collection, process or sample
  • Write an effective research proposal and report
  • Apply ethical principles and responsibilities to the research process

Criminal Behaviour and Deviance (15 credits)

  • Understand how psychology and sociology can inform the study of crime
  • Recognise the different factors that can influence and exacerbate violent behaviour
  • Detail the history of criminal responsibility and mental disorder
  • Apply an understanding of a variety of mental disorders to the study of criminal behaviour
  • Understand criminally violent behaviour in a variety of contexts

Policing (15 credits)

  • Understand the history and development of policing
  • Identify and evaluate police methods of investigation and control in a variety of contexts
  • Explain the legislative provision of police powers
  • Appreciate how issues of accountability, professional ethics and human rights protections shape policing
  • Apply an understanding of modern policing to evaluate some of the contemporary issues affecting the future of policing

The Economics of Crime (15 credits)

  • Understand the relationship between economic theory and criminological theory
  • Assess the economic and social costs of crime
  • Apply basic economic theory to understand illegal markets and organised crime
  • Evaluate the economic efficiency of punishment and crime reduction and prevention initiatives

Criminal Justice Project (15 credits)

  • Demonstrate an understanding of appropriate strategies used in criminological research
  • Apply comparative analytical and evaluative skills pertinent to the chosen research project
  • Develop a structured approach to manage the outcome of a project
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the basic principles and approaches to research
  • Identify appropriate research methods and apply them to investigate a criminal justice related issue
  • Study independently using initiative
  • Apply knowledge, skills and understanding of crime, deviance and victimisation
  • Display a depth of understanding of the subject researched and communicate ideas in a clear and coherent way
  • Demonstrate an ability to analyse, evaluate and synthesise ideas and information
  • Reflect on the practice of self directed working and learning