Penal Policy

Learning Outcomes

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• critically evaluate others' arguments;
• develop and present a written argument with appropriate evidence;
• evaluate the material obtained from primary and secondary, electronic and paper sources;
• effectively research, organise and manage an independent project using available primary and secondary, electronic and paper sources;
• engage in effective policy analysis.

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• critically evaluate selected key issues in contemporary English Penal Policy;
• critically evaluate the capacity of selected theoretical frameworks to adequately explain recent penal policy developments;
• assess a recent example of penal policy in terms of the activities within and beyond the formal processes of government that shaped its development;
• critically compare selected key issues in contemporary English penal policy to historical and international comparators.
• assess a recent example of penal policy in terms of the diverse, sociological influences and competing ideologies that shaped its development;

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• the diverse, sociological influences and competing ideologies that shape penal policy;
• selected theoretical frameworks which seek to explain recent penal policy transformation;
• some key historical and international comparisons to the contemporary English approach to penal policy.
• the activities within and beyond the formal processes of government that shape penal policy;
• selected key issues in contemporary English Penal Policy;

The module will begin by exploring questions fundamental to the module as a whole in an introductory fashion. Such questions include: what is policy? What is 'penal' policy? What are the direct sources of penal policy? What indirect sources are there? What are the key influences on the direction of penal

policy? Is there an 'ideal' way in which penal policy ought to be made in a liberal democracy?

In the next few sessions there will be in-depth discussion and analysis of leading scholarly texts that explore prominent developments in penal policy.

In the last few weeks of the module a number of case studies of contemporary penal policy making 'episodes' will be undertaken (encouraging you to apply the theoretical frameworks encountered during the module).

Teaching and learning methods

The module will be taught be way of a weekly 2 hour seminar.

The main emphasis will be on deep engagement with academic texts and policy materials through class discussion.

The module will broaden its coverage to a number of alternative perspectives, look at some historical and international comparators before concluding with sessions which will encourage you to apply the analytical techniques you have learned to recent examples of penal policy development. The emphasis throughout will be on doing rather than simply knowing.

Resources & Reading list

Textbooks

Hobbs and Hamerton (2014). The Making of Criminal Justice Policy. Abingdon: Routledge.

David Garland (2001). The Culture of Control: Crime and Social Order in Contemporary Society. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Formative

This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.