.jpg)
SOC3108 - Criminology, Law and Policy (Capstone)
- Offered for Year: 2027/28
- Module Leader(s): TBC
- Owning School: Geography, Politics & Sociology
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 1 Credit Value: | 20 |
| Semester 2 Credit Value: | 20 |
| ECTS Credits: | 20.0 |
Aims
This module acts as one of two capstones available to students on the Law with Criminology, Criminology, /Criminology and Sociology programmes, the other being the Dissertation capstone (LAW3098) or (SOC3097). The dissertation constitutes a more research-intensive capstone project for students, whereas Criminology, Law and Policy is a more 'applied' skills-based module, in which students work in groups and then independently to reflect on the social, legal and policy dimensions of crime governance, informed through criminology and criminal justice insights. Working with a brief provided by external stakeholders, or on the basis of contemporaneous calls for evidence (for example, Law Commission of England and Wales or House of Commons consultations), students devise a set of social, legal or policy reforms to tackle an issue of crime or criminal justice. This results in the completion of a portfolio that tests both substantive knowledge and core skills/competences, serving as a culmination of the learning undertaken throughout the programme.
Outline Of Syllabus
- Contextualising criminology: the legal and policy dimensions of crime
- Evidence gathering and persuasive argumentation
- Writing for different audiences: position and policy drafting
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 3 | 2:00 | 6:00 | Workshops used to develop skills identified in Learning Outcomes |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 1 | 2:00 | 2:00 | Presentation workshop |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Dissertation/project related supervision | 3 | 1:00 | 3:00 | 2x Supervision meetings with groups for presentation and position paper, 1x Supervision meeting independently for policy brief |
| Structured Guided Learning | Structured research and reading activities | 4 | 10:00 | 40:00 | Targeted reading in advance of the workshops |
| Guided Independent Study | Project work | 1 | 100:00 | 100:00 | Group work to complete presentation and position papers, involving independent research, evidence-gathering, and group discussion |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 50:00 | 50:00 | Time dedicated to creation of presentation and position paper group assessment activities |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 100:00 | 100:00 | Time dedicated to drafting of policy paper assessment |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 1 | 99:00 | 99:00 | N/A |
| Total | 400:00 | ||||
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
The three workshops are dedicated to the three core elements of the syllabus: the first, on the interaction between the insights developed over the course about criminology and criminal justice, and how these insights inform law and policy; the second on information-gathering, and how information can be used as evidence in the context of legal and policy reform; and the third on writing for different audiences, including in the context of position paper and policy brief writing. These sessions are all interactive, combining elements of lecture with group work.
The final workshop is an opportunity for students to give their group presentations, which constitute one part of the overall portfolio of practice that is the summative element of the module.
Students also receive dedicated project supervision time with representative colleagues from either the Law School or GPS, in advance of the presentation, the position paper submission, and the policy brief submission. For the presentation and position paper, this supervision is performed with groups, and individually for the policy brief.
The guided independent study will involve each student reading and reflecting for the workshops, developing their own skills and preparing for the assessment. A core element of this will be the group work in advance of presentations and position papers, in which students are expected to manage their time and work together effectively in a way reflective of common professional practice.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral Presentation | 1 | M | 15 | Group presentation of 15 minutes |
| Written exercise 1 | 2 | M | 35 | Group position paper of 2,000 words. |
| Written exercise 2 | 2 | A | 50 | Policy brief |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
The presentation is a 15 minute group presentation in which students identify a particular public policy problem with a clear criminal law/criminology dimension, based on the information provided by either an external stakeholder, or current call for evidence from a public body. They highlight the issues, the type of information that may be relevant in gathering evidence on that topic, and what proposals for reform could look like. The feedback (both immediate after the presentation) and in written feedback will provide advice and guidance for the purposes of drafting the position paper and policy brief. This piece is worth 15% of the overall grade.
The position paper is also written as a group, testing students' abilities to gather and synthesise information, and apply it in the context of a particular stakeholder with an interest in that issue of criminal law/criminological policy. It also tests their ability to work together in the ways expected in professional practice, working to a common agenda with a collective output. It is worth 2,000 words, and is assessed on the clarity on information provided, the ability to write for a particular audience, and the ability to represent that stakeholder authentically. Both these pieces are submitted in the first semester. This piece is worth 35% of the grade.
The final piece is written individually in the second semester. This is a policy brief of 4,000 words, in which students are expected to outline legal or policy reforms in their issue of study, referring to a range of different evidence sources and the position papers they wrote in the first semester, in order to identify the specific responses that their chosen body will provide. Students may write on behalf of bodies such as the House of Commons, UK Government, or depending on the issue, bodies such as the European Commission, UN (as appropriate), or selected think tanks working on issues of criminal law and policy. This piece is worth 50% of the grade.
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/