Law with Criminology

In this module, you’ll dive into real world problems of crime and criminal justice. You’ll apply your criminology knowledge to:

• find solutions to key questions of crime and justice
• find solutions to problems in current practice
• explore how these solutions can inform future research. 

You’ll examine case studies from current policy and practice. You’ll apply the insights of:

• practitioners
• policy-makers
• politicians

currently working in criminal justice. You’ll gain a strong understanding of how criminology works in real life. And you’ll explore why there is a disconnect between the classroom, and criminology in practice. 

In this module, you’ll kick-start your career, and gain key work experience in organisations related to crime. You’ll do a placement, or work-based learning activity in:

• a public sector organisation
• a non-governmental organisation (NGO)
• a voluntary organisation.

Whether working with the police, prison services, schools or charities, you’ll gain invaluable skills for your future career and a strong knowledge of how organisations identify and fight crime. 

In this module, you’ll get to grips with intersectionality - a way of understanding someone’s identity as made of characteristics such as race, gender and class. Intersectionality offers you a unique way to study crime. You’ll discover how criminal justice institutions, such as the police and criminal courts, respond to and discriminate against different social groups.

In this module, you’ll dive into capitalism, and its key relationship with crime. You’ll use a political economy approach, meaning you’ll look at the economy and its relationship with law and government. You’ll explore free-market capitalism, as well as capitalism on a global scale. And you’ll gain critical skills, as you consider the:

• individual
• moral
• cultural
• social

elements of the economy, and how these relate to crime. 

In this module, you’ll explore and examine areas of crime and crime control across different regions of the world through the lens of 'globalisation', or the increased interconnectedness of social relations across the globe

You’ll use a combination of theoretical concepts and case studies to interrogate and understand the interconnectedness of crime and responses to crime in the contemporary world.

In this module, you’ll explore the key research methods of Criminology. You’ll gain invaluable critical skills, as you look at:

• research methods
• design 
• processes
• outcomes

You’ll also understand the ethics of research, including:

• the requirements of conducting research with vulnerable populations.
• how your identity can help or hinder research relationships.
   

You'll engage with the emerging field of Green Criminology. You'll learn the key theoretical concepts of green criminology and environmental justice. 

You'll focus on understanding Green Criminology as a transnational field. Including the social issues impacting individuals on a global scale. 

This module provides you with the opportunity to apply and test your subject knowledge, skills and competencies in a new context.

The opportunity can be approached in 2 different ways:

Study Abroad

Attend a non-UK higher education institution for a full academic year. You can choose modules in your own subject or in a subject you consider would benefit your overall course of study. You may choose to deepen your knowledge of your degree subject, or enhance it by developing complementary skills.

Work-based Learning

Undertake a work placement or work-related project based on your interests and existing skills. You will produce a Study Abroad Plan that shows clearly how your proposed placement or project links with your academic and/or professional aims.

Choosing this module will allow you to exhibit the development of self-management and working or studying in unfamiliar contexts, alongside practising cross-cultural communication and interpersonal skills.

Why do people enjoy committing crimes? How might crime offer identity and purpose? In this module, you’ll explore the role of:

• pleasures
• performance
• identity 
• meaning

in criminal acts. You’ll think about the multiple meanings and actions that crime holds for different people across time. You’ll consider the social benefits of crimes and resistance to the law. And you’ll explore how different interpretations of crime might affect crime control and criminal justice.

The internet rules society. In a vastly digital age, lawyers really need to understand technology and the legal challenges it presents. In this module, you’ll examine the legal issues of current internet technologies and hardware. You’ll gain key technical knowledge, as you evaluate the regulatory systems of these technologies, and how they affect society. You’ll explore how digital technologies challenge copyright law. And you’ll be introduced to some of the legal issues relating to the use of artificial intelligence. 

In this module, you’ll bust some key assumptions around psychoactive drugs. You’ll look at why we use them and how we control them in society. You’ll investigate:

• criminological
• sociological
• historical 

and policy insights, to explore the relationship between drug use, individuals and public morality. You’ll gain key critical skills as you debate drug policies, and how we can lessen the harm of substance abuse. You’ll look at alternative ways to regulate drugs than our current ‘war on drugs’ mentality. And you’ll explore the future of synthetic drugs.

How do we prevent discrimination against race and sexual orientation in the law? In this module, you’ll focus on the Equality Act 2010, and other legislation on:

• sex
• race
• sexual orientation
• religion
• disability discrimination
• equal pay. 

You’ll explore how courts interpret the Equality Act, and how it impacts the workplace. You’ll look at how it interacts with the law of the European Commission (EC), and how we might extend equality law. You’ll gain valuable critical skills for your career, as you ask:

• what difference the Equality Act has made
• who benefits (and does not benefit) from the act
• what we can do in the future to improve protection.

How can we effectively protect human rights? In this module, you’ll get to grips with international human rights law. You’ll gain key critical skills as you analyse arguments and ideas about human rights, and the ideas behind them. You’ll also consider their current legal and political meaning through examining: 

• relevant laws
• current debates
• case studies.

This module gives you the chance to do research on a topic that fascinates you. Over the course of your final year, you’ll work independently on a research project, with the help of an expert academic supervisor. Your dissertation will grow out of your specific passion, and you’ll gain excellent self-discipline and organisational skills for work. You’ll gain core skills for your career, including:

• research
• critical analysis
• time-management 
• planned and focused writing.

If you’re a combined honours student, you’ll be able to write a dissertation on both of your chosen subject areas

In this module, you’ll gain core practical experience in law, as you apply your knowledge and skills to a practical legal activity. You’ll gain fantastic skills for work and boost your legal career, as you do a placement in an environment related to legal work. You’ll understand how to transfer your law studies from an academic discipline, to practicing it in the real world.

In this module, you’ll get to grips with the structure of the NHS. You’ll explore topics such as:

• access to health care
• autonomy and consent
• responsibility
• accountability and negligence
• birth and its regulation
• death, dying and the incurably ill patient.
   

In this module, you’ll get to grips with nationality and immigration law, and what it reveals about British society. You’ll examine the key issues and policies around nationality, national identity and migration. You’ll gain a firm understanding of migration in the UK and abroad, as you debate critical issues of today. You’ll also consider current UK law, and the historical, social and political factors that have shaped it. 

How does the law deal with child abduction, and disputes over children? How can the state protect children who may be victims of abuse within their own families? In this module, you’ll get to grips with law relating to parents, children and the state. You’ll dive into law reports, as you look critically at the legal concepts around:

• relationships between parents and children
• the relevance of the state to parents and children.

You’ll consider:

• parental responsibility
• resolution of disputes over children
• child protection
• child abduction
• adoption.

You’ll gain vital skills in legal reasoning as you learn legal analysis techniques, and how to answer problem questions. 
 

In Year 2 and 3 you’ll have the opportunity to participate in the CLOCK scheme (Community Legal Outreach Collaboration Keele). Where you'll gain firsthand experience of the legal world. You’ll be interviewing and advising clients, in legal cases and courtroom settings. You'll join a commitment to provide wider access to justice in the local area and gain useful legal expertise for your CV.

If you take this module you will study Law in a university outside the UK for an academic year, experiencing different educational and legal cultures. This will help you develop your knowledge, skills and understanding. After the *International Study Exchange year you will complete your final year with Oxford Brookes and then graduate. The International Study Exchange year is not credit-bearing.

*To go on this exchange you must have completed all your Level 5 studies, and your exchange is dependent on the appropriate partner university's availability.