APPLIED CRIMINOLOGY (POLICING) at Canterbury Christ Church University

The Applied Criminology (Policing) provides you with an exciting opportunity to study crime and criminal justice and their relationship with society as well as to critically analyse aspects of police investigations from a range of perspectives.

This degree prepares you for a range of exciting career paths focussing on criminal justice and the treatment of victims and offenders. You will explore the true nature, extent and causes of crime, along with the methods used to manage crime and criminal behaviour.  Our experienced teaching staff will take you through key criminological theories, applying them to our understanding crime, the experiences of offenders and victims in the criminal justice system, and the ways in which society constructs crime problems and responds to criminal behaviour. 

You will also adopt a critical approach to policing, exploring police effectiveness. Further, there will be the opportunity to explore what the research evidence tells us about the practice, and relate it to ongoing debates about effectiveness, objectivity, bias, decision making, ethics and evidence based policing.

The varied expertise of the teaching staff allows you to explore these themes from a range of perspectives. You will also be supported by a range of criminal justice professionals and agencies, who teach on the programme and provide volunteering and networking opportunities to help prepare you for your career.

why Applied Criminology with Policing?

Are you aspiring to embark on a career that is interesting, exciting, varied and challenging?  Are you interested in contributing to crime prevention, harm reduction and victim support? Are you interested in understanding crime, criminals, criminal investigation and criminal justice?  If so, Applied Criminology with Policing may be the degree for you, as it provides an excellent grounding for a range of criminal justice career pathways. 

The Applied Criminology programme at Christ Church covers key criminological and policing concepts, thereby providing you with a strong grounding in criminology and policing.  This grounding is then applied to specific areas of study such as police practice policy and procedure, community policing and police cultures and society. The nature of the programme enables you to develop your research skills and to cast a critical eye over the processes of policing.  We have developed close links with local, national and international criminal justice agencies to enhance our distinctive ‘applied’ focus to learning about crime. Through our ‘insights from practice’ initiative, you will experience a range of guest speakers who are professionals and practitioners working within the justice system.

Our degree is delivered by staff who have worked as practitioners or researchers within criminology, or its related fields. As such they have an excellent understanding of the core knowledge and skills required for criminology job roles This allows them to support and prepare our students for future employment through volunteer work, paid work, projects with external partners and through regular exposure to criminal justice professionals through guest lectures. Students will also benefit from visiting lecturers, most of who are professionals working in the criminal justice field, will also support the core content of the course providing lectures on their field of expertise.

What will i study?

This course provides a thorough grounding in core criminological themes, concepts, debates and perspectives. You will also explore the essential concepts and practices within policing processes, along with a consideration of the aspects of police function that relate to the National Intelligence Model.

Students will further benefit from sessions that focus on study skills and employability to ensure success during your studies and in your career after graduation.

Where possible, trips or visits are offered to provide additional insight into the workings of the justice system.

Work experience

You will be guided in attaining relevant volunteering activities and part time work within the university and externally, to improve your employability. This can include experience in prisons, with the probation service, police, victim support, and a variety of charities. Employability is also enhanced through exposure to guest lecturers, who are experts and professionals in the field who contribute to the applied nature of the course and offer advice in gaining employment.

We promote volunteering to our students and provide support and advice in identifying and applying for volunteering posts and work experience. We have previously developed projects where students work and volunteer with staff on research related activities, giving valuable experience and enhancing employability skills. Staff are always keen to identify and develop such opportunities where possible. All volunteering activities, whether within the University or with outside organisations, can be formally recorded and can lead to an extracurricular award.

We work closely with a number of criminal justice professionals and organisations, as well as our colleagues in policing, forensics and law, to create opportunities for our students to experience criminal justice settings. When an opportunity for a visit arises, we make it available. Occasionally there are opportunities to participate in police training events- and, for several years, students have been able to spend an afternoon at a local prison as part of an optional module. During the visit students speak to both staff and inmates, as well as seeing a range of facilities within the institution. Students are encouraged to reflect on the experience afterwards, and many consider that it challenges their perceptions, as well as encouraging them to pursue a career in offender management.