CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION at Canterbury Christ Church University

Criminal investigation is a central part of police activity, and one only has to look at the news every day to see how it has an effect on the public perception of the police and their accountability and legitimacy.

This programme allows you to study the historical rise of the detective, from the early days of the new police into the modern era. The increase in crime, and the manner in which crime is committed provides very different challenges to the detectives of the past. Students will have the opportunity to critically analyse how the police service has met some of these challenges by exploring high profile cases that demonstrate how criminal investigations can fail due to systematic or individual error, and equally, good examples of police practice which demonstrate the highest standards of professionalism.

You will also seek to understand the current context within which detectives work, including a national shortage of detectives, government austerity measures and the rise in technology and complex criminality.

Why Criminal investigation?

Studying criminal investigation gives you an exciting opportunity to critically analyse aspects of police investigations from a range of perspectives and to understand the way in which crimes receive different levels of response depending upon their perceived seriousness. For example, a high volume crime (such as a theft) is likely to be investigated by a constable trained to investigate at that level, whilst a homicide is likely to be investigated by a team of trained and experienced specialists, headed by a highly trained senior investigator. Each criminal investigation has its own uniqueness in terms of what happened, what forensic material exists, who witnessed it, what other evidence exists, and it is the role of a criminal investigator to objectively investigate crimes. But what is the measurement of success in these endeavours? Is it locking up criminals? Is it supporting victims? Is it finding out the truth? This programme attempts to explore the many different approaches to both proactive and reactive criminal investigations.

What will i study?

The BSc Criminal Investigation degree is composed of a range of criminal investigation focussed modules which will provide you with an excellent grounding in investigative practice.

Once you have completed your first year modules, designed to provide you with a good grounding in key aspects of the policing function, years two and three allow you to become more focused on specific aspects of criminal investigation. Core modules relate to aspects of Investigating Crime, Evidence, Investigative Interviewing, Human Decision-Making, Major Crime Investigation, and Investigating Sexual and Domestic Abuse. You then have access to an array of optional modules from Policing, Criminology and Forensic Investigation disciplines which will allow you to gain a broader understanding of multidisciplinary aspects of the investigative process.  Options include: Human Rights, Cybercrime, Terrorism and Political Violence, Transnational Crime, Expert Evidence and Mental Health and Violence modules.

Threaded within the core modules is a consideration of the aspects of police function that relate to the National Intelligence Model, including how investigation of specific crimes link to the intelligence function, and the use of covert strategies within criminal investigations. In addition, in your final year of study, you will conduct independent research leading to your final 8,000 word dissertation. For this module you will choose a specific aspect of criminal investigation that you find interesting, which you will study in depth with the support of an academics supervisor, allowing you to gain expertise in a specific area.