BSc (Hons) Forensic Psychology and Criminal Justice

The module aims to explore the criminal justice process in England and Wales. Students will learn about: police powers, including the power to stop and search; crime control and due process models of policing; sentencing and punishment.

This module will provide students with an understanding of historical and contemporary criminological theories, and highlight how these have shaped and influenced the modern day criminal justice system and responses to crime and deviance.

The aim of this module is to identify the interactions between Forensic Psychology and Criminal Justice, including an overview of the historical developments of forensic and legal psychology.

This module will introduce the tools needed for carrying out a literature search. It will provide you with a practical introduction on how to design an experiment, collect data in an ethical manner, perform statistical analysis and write up findings in a manner consistent with published material.

The aim of this module is to present a range of topics in developmental psychology and individual differences research. You will be introduced to methods applied to understanding key issues in developmental psychology and individual differences research to enable you to consult and summarise appropriate sources to explain key issues.

This module will introduce the tools needed for carrying out a literature search. It will provide you with a practical introduction on how to design an experiment, collect data in an ethical manner, perform statistical analysis and write up findings in a manner consistent with published material. Building on from Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology 1: Relationships and Associations, you will learn more complex statistical tests.

This module introduces you to biological and cognitive psychology. You will examine fundamental issues in cognitive psychology and will consider theoretical models of memory, as well as examining attention and perception. You will introduced to fundamental issues in biological psychology.

The aim of this module is to provide students with the ability to develop self-awareness and identify skills to improve their employability in criminal justice and allied areas. Students will also gain an understanding of the relationship between theory, policy and the experience of practice in various criminal justice agencies.

Within this module, you will explore in-depth the relationship between Forensic Psychology and Criminal Justice. You will also explore key concepts in modern psychological research, and their influence on key contemporary issues in Crime and Criminal Justice.

This module enables you to examine the use of advanced tests of differences and relationships in psychological research. You will develop an understanding of factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA), multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), simple regression and multiple regression.

This module covers key topics in the area of cognitive and biological psychology. This module builds on the biological and cognitive psychology materials introduced in level 4. You will explore current research relating to biological underpinnings that account for commonalities and individual differences in vision, touch, sleep, motivation, learning and consciousness.

In this module you will explore psychological development through the life span, covering key areas of development such as cognitive development, identity development and developmental disorders. The module will cover key concepts from individual differences research: intelligence, gender commonalities and differences, and personality and subjective wellbeing. You will also gain an understanding of social psychological concepts such as interpersonal relationships, group processes and intergroup relations.

The overall aim of this module is to develop a more meaningful understanding of victims of crime and to critically explore their role and experiences within the criminal justice system. Students will develop a critical appreciation of the conceptual development of victims and victimology as an academic discipline and also evaluate the notions of victimhood and explore challenges for victim service provision.

This module requires students to critically consider the innovative ways in which criminology theory is used today in the policy and practice of criminal justice. Students must demonstrate an ability to build upon existing knowledge of criminological theory developed through the core Criminological Theory module at level 4 and apply those understandings to contemporary criminal justice.

The syllabus includes:

• theories and theorising - agency and structure
• criminological theories, policies and practices - from classicism and positivism through to labelling and strain theory, and their relative influences on policy and practice
• expanding the criminological imagination
• critical criminology and critical criminologies - the influence of Marxism
• new directions in criminological theory - green criminology, ultra realism, zemiology, peace-making and convict criminologies

This module introduces students to the concepts of rehabilitation and desistance within the criminal justice system. It will consider the theory behind the concepts and their impact on policy and practice, regarding the Probation Service and Prison Service specifically and the criminal justice system more broadly.

Students will explore the relationship between rehabilitation. desistance, and risk assessment and management processes and practices. This includes: 

• making sense of rehabilitation and desistance - terminology and definitions
• history and the context of rehabilitation and desistance in the criminal justice system
• theories of rehabilitation 
• theories of desistance
• rehabilitation and desistance in the community
• rehabilitation and desistance in custody
• risk assessment and management - implications and impact
• barriers to effective rehabilitation and desistance 

This module allows you to pursue a more in-depth study of two of the main criminal justice institutions, Prison and Probation services. The design and delivery surrounding their administration has remained the subject of intense debate and controversy throughout their history. Therefore, you will be encouraged to critically engage with these debates taking into consideration the theory, policy, and practice which surrounds community and custodial interventions.

The aim is to provide students with an additional year of study at an approved overseas partner that will complement their programme at LJMU. This is an additional year of full-time study at an approved higher education institution. The modules to be studied must be agreed in advance, and must be appropriate for the student's programme of study. Assuming successful completion of this year, mark-bearing credit will be awarded by the Faculty Recognition Group. The grade conversion scale to be used will be made available in advance of the year abroad.

The aim of this module is to enable you to conduct independent research in a forensic psychology and criminal justice related topic and apply to existing literature to provide a set of arguments and relevant conclusion.

This module aims to allow you to critically evaluate and apply psychological theories and knowledge in relation to real-world forensic problems. You will work in cross-disciplinary groups to critically explore and evaluate a range of potential solutions to real-world problems.

The aim of this module is to enable you to develop your learning and understanding of penology building on the Penology module at level 5. You will be given the opportunity to critically evaluate and consider contemporary issues in penology with a clear focus on the theory, policy and practice which surrounds community and custodial interventions.  Specific consideration will be given to the tensions, dilemmas and critiques which surround the delivery of interventions with those individuals who present complex needs.

The module gives students an understanding of contemporary policing methods, evaluating how the police service has attempted to respond to changes in society. In doing so the module examines the concept of a 'police service' borne out of the rejection of notions of a 'police force'. On completing the course students will have a broad knowledge of the general role of policing, and how the organisation links in with other agencies of the criminal justice system. The module provides students with a global understanding of contemporary policing in the 21st century, critically exploring the concepts of 'partnership', privatization, pluralisation, diversity and positions them all within the challenges presented by contemporary (global) socio-political contexts.

This module will provide students with a critical understanding of the position of youth in society today, the relationship between youth and crime, and the range of ways in which criminal justice responds to youth crime in England and Wales. It will provide students with knowledge of the past and current policy and legislation relating to young people. Students will have the opportunity to develop practice skills of assessing seriousness, suitability and risk assessment in relation to offences and sentences for young people, as well as oral presentation skills by preparing and completing the module's assessed presentation.

This module aims to provide students with a broad understanding of the sociocultural place of substance use. It will investigate different paradigms and perspectives on substance (mis)use and explore relevant drug policy. The module will also seek to provide a comprehension of how we practically respond to substance use via treatment interventions.This module attempts to critically deconstruct the role and place of substance use in contemporary society. Furthermore it will provide an analysis of the legitimacy of drug policy and the efficacy of interventions with substance (mis)users.

Within this module, students will be introduced to the area of governance, regulation and regulatory bodies in the context of non-conventional harm and victimisation. Students will also be able to critically investigate non-conventional harm and victimisation and explore and apply concepts such as regulation, accountability and justice.

The overall aim of this module is to examine the practices, policies, and philosophies of criminal justice in different cultural and geographical contexts and provide an overview of different types of criminal justice systems around the globe. This module will therefore provide a critical understanding of the development of alternative justice processes across the globe.

This module aims to raise student awareness of issues relating to the nature, extent and typology of environmental crime. The module also aims to stimulate critical evaluation of the current responses to environmental crime, and of green criminology's contributions to the debate about the most effective responses.

This module aims to develop advanced and theoretically-informed knowledge of the range of typologies of violence that exist in society, the nature and extent of different forms of violence, and the challenges of regulating violence

This module will enable students to think critically about the criminal courts in England and Wales - where they came from, how they operate, why they operate in the ways in which they do, and how they could be enabled to operate more fairly and justly in the future.

This module will allow students to develop a critical understanding of terror and terrorism, both in terms of its history, contemporary manifestations, and likely forward trajectory.  As a level 6 module it will allow students to build on their critical engagement with key concepts, legislation, regulation  and operational realities within the wider criminal justice system, both from UK specific and global perspectives.

This includes:

• the contested terrain of defining terror
• the intellectual traditions of terror and terrorism
• religiously and politically inspired terror  
• organisational models of terrorism
• state terror and terror by proxy
• psychology of terror (the terrorist)
• psychology of terror (the victims of terror)
• geo-politics of terror
• the economics of terror
• emerging technologies and terror
• responses to terror: attacking the causes, or liquidating terrorists and terrorist organisations?
• does the concept and laws regarding Human Rights have any purchase in the world of terror and counter terror?

This module implements LJMU's employability strategy by delivering work-based learning to students which relates to their academic studies and their onward employability plan, thereby allowing them to develop examples of skills development and learning with a live employer-driven brief.

This module will explore psychological theory, as it relates to public health care. It will also examine some of the major threats to public health, including obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. You will explore in-depth the major concepts and research methods used in the field of health psychology.

Cognitive Neuroscience addresses the question how the brain enables human cognition and behaviour by employing a variety of different methodologies. The module will examine how methodologies as for example lesion studies, functional brain imaging, electrophysiological studies and behavioural experiments contribute to our understanding of a variety of cognitive functions such as memory, attention and perception.

The aim of this module is to explore in-depth the major concepts and research methods used in the field of positive psychology. You learn in-depth discussions of the psychology science associated with human strengths, flourishing and positive emotions. You will also explore the position of Positive Psychology in relation to other branches of Psychology.

This module will introduce you to popular drugs of abuse, their mechanisms of action and their effects. You will learn how the effects of drugs can be harmful and are related to many factors including purity, dose and route of administration.

The aim of this module is to introduce you to theory and research relating to the processes of attending to, categorising and recognising human faces. You will also be able to examine the forensic applications of research in face perception.

The aim of this module is to introduce you to theory and research concerning social cognition and to analyse and evaluate key models and theories within the field of social cognition. You will also be able to explore contemporary applied issues in social cognition.

The module is designed to provide a clear introduction to work psychology by covering contemporary research material to enable students to develop a critical understanding of some of the key themes in work psychology.

This module aims to provide criminal justice practitioners of the future a basic understanding of sexual violence and sexual offenders, providing you with an understanding of the different types of sexual violence and an understanding of the psychological theories and motivational explanations which underpin our current understanding of why offenders commit such offences.