Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Crime and Criminal Justice University of Bolton, UK

Crime is evolving. New technologies and more complex societal pressures are leading to new criminal activities. Our BA (Hons) Crime and Criminal Justice degree is designed to educate future criminal justice professionals. We offer you the deep understanding of the causes of crime, criminal behaviour and how to combat crime that are needed for a career safeguarding the public, supporting victims, protecting the vulnerable, and helping to rehabilitate offenders.

We’ll guide you as you investigate the individual, social, legal and political forces that shape both crime and how it is controlled, as well as the interrelationships between research, theory, policy and practice in criminal justice. Areas such as criminal investigation, multi-agency working, ethics and diversity, the penal system, mental health, human rights, social justice, restorative justice, community safety, poverty, and safeguarding people at risk will be addressed, along with specific crimes such as human trafficking, modern slavery, gender and domestic violence, hate crime and terrorism, youth crime, illegal drug use and anti-social behaviour.

Our academic staff come from a diverse range of professional criminal justice backgrounds. They will encourage and support you to develop the practical skills, academic knowledge, and personal qualities (such as grit and resilience) needed to succeed in this dynamic sector.

Highlights

• Our Criminology courses are ranked first in the North West of England for teaching quality and student experience for the second year running by The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2022.
• Also, The Complete University Guide 2022 ranks us second in the UK and first in England for student satisfaction for Sociology (which includes our Crime and Criminal Justice courses).
• You’ll have the opportunity to learn interviewing techniques from experienced specialists.
• We work closely with organisations such as the College of Policing, the Crown Prosecution Service, Public Health England, the Home Office, and Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service, ensuring our course offers a truly holistic view of crime and criminal justice in the UK and fosters a culture of multi-disciplinary working and information sharing between agencies.
• If you’re an experienced criminal justice professional, you may be eligible for exemptions from certain modules based on your prior experience or qualifications. Please ask about our Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) process.
• The course covers the four knowledge modules required by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) as prerequisites for Probation Officer training. We’ll encourage you to gain the relevant experience necessary, and can advise and support you as you approach potential placement providers.
• We offer opportunities for you to visit criminal justice workplaces, such as prisons, law courts, police stations and rehabilitation centres so you can gain a first-hand understanding of these environments and how they operate.
• We work with experienced forensics professionals who have been responsible for training Scenes of Crime Officers (SOCOs) for the police, and offer you the chance to visit crime scene training locations to learn about securing crime scenes and evidence collection and preservation.

Key Features

• The criminal justice sector offers a wide range of rewarding and challenging careers. We’ll support you to gain both the professional and personal skills to succeed, coaching you in areas like critical thinking, evaluation and analysis, self-reflection, cultural sensitivity and developing mental resilience.
• We’ll also support you to gain vital academic and lifelong learning skills so that you are well prepared to research new innovations, apply your knowledge in new ways, and keep abreast of shifts in policy and practice in the criminal justice sector throughout your career.
• Our professionally experienced tutors bring their wealth of on-the-job expertise and practical knowledge into their research, teaching and one-to-one advice, ensuring you’re able to benefit from a wide range of highly informed criminal justice perspectives.
• We prefer to keep seminar and practical classes relatively small, so that you have plenty of opportunities to ask us questions and get help, as well as benefit from the ideas and support offered by your classmates.
• We’re committed to helping you develop your employability and career network. You’ll be encouraged to attend guest lectures and undertake volunteering activities that enhance your learning, help you make contacts in the industry, and contribute to your professional development.
• As well as helping you to develop academic and technical professional skills, we’ll focus on preparing you for the emotional and psychological demands of criminal justice work, and the intense situations you may face during your career.
• By choosing to study with us, you'll have the chance to enjoy Bolton's many shops, bars, restaurants and leisure facilities. Manchester, one of the UK's most multicultural and lively cities, is less than 20 minutes away by train. Not forgetting, the North West of England is renowned for its beautiful countryside, coastline and heritage. This makes Bolton an ideal base from which to explore some of the best cultural and outdoor activities the UK offers.